Given our expertise in wayfinding systems and branded environments, many of our projects are realized in both built and digital environments. This is where our deep bench in design takes the lead, translating the concepts from all previous phases into ideas that can be prototyped, tested, specified, built and launched. We always find that the process results in potential solutions we could scarcely have imagined at the outset — but that’s where user experience research bears fruit.
Process
This phase allows us to apply our thinking to physical and digital spaces. Throughout the project, we’re extensively photographing and documenting the environment as we talk through ideas with the stakeholders. In facilitated, interactive sessions we draw over site plans and sketch potential solutions along with client stakeholders and, in most cases, end users.
From these work sessions, we develop schematic design documents that describe the concepts in detail, including other applications that may have inspired the concepts, potential locations, materials, typography, installation techniques and other generalized specifications. We may often develop digital renderings (seen above) so everyone has a firm grasp of how the ideas might be implemented, and can take part in discussions about accessibility, feasibility, potential costs, etc.
We then build a “minimum viable product” of the design interventions that depict scale, form, color, materials use, etc. so that audiences can partake in the intended experience. Depending on the need, budget and the timeframe of the testing period, these could be anything from digital wireframe descriptions, large format prints on foam core to fully realized digital or physical prototypes.
We recruit individuals, both from the client side and the end user, to take part in a curated discussion as they experience the prototype, and collect feedback. This is where feedback blows our minds … despite our best intentions to cover every conceivable use case, we may not have anticipated user responses until it’s realized in the built environment.
We review that feedback and make recommended adjustments to the prototype process and, if necessary, test and review one more time to assure that our response to the feedback has been thoroughly vetted and approved.