Adding science to art with design research.

Building the next big thing doesn't need to feel like a risk. Research and prototyping can help validate your design.

Research has always been the primary way that companies reduce risk for new ideas and initiatives. Whether it's market research to test out a new product, or focus groups to gather feedback on a new ad campaign, organizations have turned to research to build consensus and reinforce their business case since before Don Draper was doing it.

DESIGN RESEARCH

That's why it's so surprising that design research for new software products isn't more popular. Many companies dive into design and make product assumptions based on their business objectives, rather than actually turning to the user to determine their needs. At Wolfco, we apply the same research best practices to our software design process to guarantee that we're making responsible product decisions that align with our clients' goals.

A design process that solves problems, by design.

Wolfco believes great interface design is the best tool we have to solve user problems. Our process applies the best practices of design thinking, along with the scientific method, to prove our design ideas and validate hypotheses. With user research, prototypes and usability testing, and data analysis, our team can ensure our designs meet our audience's expectations.

Testing with prototypes. How prototypical.

Before we spend time developing interface designs, our team builds lightweight interactive prototypes to test out our design ideas. These prototypes can be used to build alignment internally, experiment with new interaction concepts, and even gather real feedback from users in usability testing. Starting simple, and pivoting often, is a proven way to develop designs that people love to use.

Design personas, to help the design get into character.

Thinking in terms of well-defined user personas, which describe the basic desires and priorities of different user groups, can help anchor design discussions around real user problems. Wolfco develops workable personas after conducting user research interviews or prototype testing, and uses these personas to guide clients to make user-centered decisions throughout the design process.