Today we have something very exciting for you because this blog is going to be for UX designers. As you know we are a web design and development company and user experience is at the heart of what we do.
That includes a human-centred design that needs to be carefully created so that it’s just a smooth and lovely experience for the visitors.
However, user experience is very difficult to predict because we never know what users might like or if we have a design problem on our hands.
That is why it is essential that we have a fairly creative problem-solving approach to solve issues with UX design.
So, What is Creative Problem Solving Exactly?
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Creative problem-solving is something unique. It is not about following a fixed structure or method in order to solve the problem but creative problems solving is just thinking at the moment.
This is actually a term that was developed by Alex Osborn. He was the primary contributor to different creative methods and education techniques. This thinking is all about coming up with solutions that are custom created for the situation.
That is exactly what is needed in order to find effective solutions to UX problems. This is because it is impossible to predict user experience problems no matter how user-centred design philosophy you follow.
Here Is an Example to Help You Understand Creative Problem Solving
You might know about the Apollo 13 mission to the moon. This is an example of that.
There was a scenario where the astronauts needed to utilise the air filtration canisters but they did not have the appropriate adaptors. That is why they utilised simple duct tape to get the job done to fabricate those adaptors.
Now you might wonder, what has astronauts got to do with UX design and problem-solving? It has everything to do with it.
Creative problem-solving is about utilising whatever you have at hand so that you can at least get the job done even if it is partially, before you find a permanent solution. It is the spirit of thinking outside the box and using creativity to figure out a solution.
This is the same case when you are a web designer or developer. Our designers at Think To Share are always asked to provide creative solutions to design challenges. Sometimes we even do this as a part of a creative contest within the company, so that our designers can have fun while being creative.
Let us go deeper into the topic, here are a few UX problem-solving tips as well as steps that can help you as a designer when you have creative problems in your hand.
Here Are Easy Steps to Solve UX Problems with Creative Problem Solving
Find Out the Problem
You can only apply problem-solving techniques if you know what is the problem. It might sound silly but you need to have experience in order to understand if you have a problem design-wise.
You can take the help of anything from analytics to different types of data in order to find out if your design is effective. You can even do user testing in order to find out how the users are liking your design.
Whatever you do you must understand and be wise enough to recognise the performance of your website. Whether it is the front end or the back end, you should be able to understand if your website is performing as expected.
Dissect the Problem
If your website is not performing as you would have liked and if you have found out the problem is related to UX(user experience) then this is the next logical step to follow.
Perhaps the problem is about the layout being too complicated for a certain group of the audience, then you should break down that problem into its design process.
You can only design solutions if you can break down the problem into its basic elements.
Let us take the same example about the layout being too complicated. In that case, you should find out what are the areas that are complicated.
Perhaps the icons that you have used in certain areas are not very well known to millennials or older people. That is why you can then implement your own strategies and techniques and change those icons into something that everyone understands.
Identify the Pattern
If you find out that your user-centred design is not working very well. Let’s say that you see the problems that you are solving are coming back again and again then there is something even more important that you should do.
You should find out the crux of the problem and understand the flaw in thinking as well as the pattern of the flaws in the design. Let’s say that you find out that your design is not doing good when it comes to analytics then there are more serious problems within the user experience design.
In order to do this, designers should understand their target audience. Having knowledge of your target audience will enable you to not come to the point where creative problem-solving is required at all.
The truth and the actual fact are that creative problem-solving is good but it is not something that any designer wants to experience, nobody wants to experience problems in the first place.
If you always keep the mentality of making sure to get to the bottom of the problem after you have creatively solved it, you can make sure to avoid this problem-solving at all.
Rely On Feedback
Feedback is one of the rare blessings in this brutal industry where if you are not the best you don’t stand a chance. When we talk about the process for UX in solving problems we cannot stress the importance of feedback highly enough.
You must always make sure that there is a chatbot or any other kind of feedback box out there so that visitors to the website can leave their feedback.
You should make sure to encourage the visitors to leave their feedback but also make sure that these feedback dialogue boxes are not very intrusive so that they do not annoy the visitor.
We request you to take a look at the first point or step as you can find that the first step is to identify the problem. There is no better way to identify the problem than using feedback.
Use Pen and Paper
We can talk about UX designers problem solving skills but here is something that will help you a lot and it is actually something quite simple and traditional.
Never forget where you started and always keep a pen and paper handy. This is especially important since you are trying to solve creative problems with creative Solutions.
You don’t always have to focus on high-fidelity wireframes when you can try and find solutions with low-fidelity wireframes as well as sketches. Creating simple sketches will help you improve the concept of the design in your mind.
If you feel like your design isn’t working then you can simply doodle your concepts in 2D so that you will have the time to perfect them and how they move around.
So, What Is the Secret To A Good Designer?
We can talk about so many things about what makes a good web designer. Like pointing out obvious things like the level of skills of the designer as well as the experience they have managed to accumulate over time.
We can also talk about their company and the kind of project that the designer is engaged in. But the most important factor and the best secret to a good designer is humility.
If you are a designer then you need to be humble and understand how the human mind works. This is because you are going to face so many different kinds of design challenges that you will need to be humble in order to keep on learning and utilising creative problem-solving techniques.
There is a saying that we really love at Think To Share, “In UX design, everybody is a beginner”. This is because there is always something for you to learn. There is always something you can mess up even when you are a professional.
We always try to keep that in mind whenever we take on projects and making mistakes is not the issue but the real challenge is identifying those mistakes and rectifying them.
What Should Your Goals Be as A UX Designer?
Your one and true goal as a UX designer is to understand humans. Whenever you are creating a design, you must understand it and be able to look at it from the perspective of the person visiting the website.
This is just like any other art form where the writer or the painter has two visualise what their audience is thinking. That is why if you can visualise the thought process as well as the psychology of the website visitors then you are always going to succeed.
It is not about predicting the future but it is about calculating the future based on what you think should be effective. That is why you should visit as many successful websites as you can and learn from the best of the best when it comes to designing.
You should also utilise things like AI and never cheap out on tools because designing a website is about putting in all your dedication and all your imagination.
If you can combine the vision of the client as well as the prediction of the reaction of the audience and blend it together with your capability as a designer then you are going to be successful.
We hope we have been able to add value and help you understand what is creative problem-solving. Understanding web design and development is an ongoing process and even after being in the industry for nearly a decade we still like to call ourselves learners at Think To Share.
We hope you will be able to excel as a UX designer and if you are someone who is looking for a professional web designing and development company then we had here for you.
We are Think To Share IT solutions PVT. LTD. and we are the fastest-growing and most popular web design company in Kolkata.
We bring you the latest techniques and the finest individuals combined together with a very hands-on and customised web design experience.
Web design and development is just the tip of the iceberg because we do so much more and we welcome you to check out everything else that we have to offer.
We welcome you to check out all we have to offer when it comes to web designing and development and we are sure we will be able to help create the finest websites for you no matter the industry.