M. Thibodeaux

UI/UX Artifacts

This page contains samples of the typical artifacts associated with User Interface and User Experience Design created as part of my graduate program. Designers create solutions to design problems. They are problem solvers and conceptual thinkers. Graphic design involves creating visual meaning through the thoughtful manipulation of the elements and principles, but also typography, positive and negative space, and imagery of various media.

Site Map

Serenity Site Map

The first step to creating a new site or graphic often starts with pencil and paper. The designer sketched out ideas until they start to make enough sense to create a Site Map.


This site map was created using Adobe XD as part of a graduate class spa redesign project. Site maps should include all pages necessary to meet the client requirements and reflects appropriate parent/child page relationships; users can navigate to child pages by clicking on the corresponding parent pages.

Wireframe

Serenity Spa Wireframe

Wireframes provide a simple way to show how the elements of a webpage would be laid out on the page, before the elements are added.


This wireframe was created using Adobe XD as part of a graduate class spa redesign project. There are more pages to the site than are shown in the image as this is snapshot of the wireframe in Adobe XD.

Prototype

Serenity Spa Prototype

A prototype is the next logical step in the process where there is way provided for the us to interact with the wireframe. “Prototyping is an essential activity to reduce risk and uncertainty as early and as cheaply as possible, to improve the quality of [our] final deliverable, and to eventually implement [our] project successfully.” (Hormess, Lawrence, Schneider, & Stickdorn, 2018).


Electronic prototypes are interactive mockups of a website without being launched on the Internet, that have the ability to apply easy-to-understand, portable visual tools. This is a method of testing that we can use to determine if our design has met our expectations. The electronic prototype can include more detail, and will supply an immediate picture of how a website will behave, what will capture a user's attention, and how that user will navigate the site.

Persona

Persona

Personas, also known as user profiles, are a user-centered website design research method used to define the typical users of your website. Personas can be used to answer questions such as these: Who are the users and how will they behave on the website? Will they find their way around the website easily? Will the website meet the goals of those users?


This Persona is a demographical snapshot of a fictional client that frequents Serenity Day Spa and Salon. Her name is Evelyn Carter and she is a local business owner located near the Spa. Her business is a bed & breakfast; therefore, it is tourist-driven. Not only does Evelyn frequent the spa, but she is often asked to recommend local salons by her guests. Most of these guests are women looking for massages after travelling long distances to get to the Inn. Many of them are repeat guests; they are all comfortable using the site to register their email for appointments and receiving text message verifications.

Journey Map

Journey Map

The goal of a web designer is to make a website based on user needs, we want to view the website from the perspective of the client. A powerful tool that we use to accomplish this is called a customer journey map. The purpose is to gain understanding about the path a user travels and what they experience along the way.


This image is a User Journey Map for a fictional client named Selene Bishop. She is a 33-year-old archaeologist out of University of Maine at Orono. She is originally from Camden, Maine, and visits home as often as possible. When Selene visits, she and her younger sister, Kera, look forward to spending time at the spa.

Experience Map

Experience Map

The customer experience map is an illustration of the path a client will take to complete the task of researching the website, registering, scheduling an appointment, and receiving confirmation. We want to try to understand the thoughts and feelings they experience throughout the process of achieving the goal set forth.


In this case we are looking at an experience map for a new potential client named Selene Bishop. The map shows her path through discovering the spa’s website and how she felt about her journey. When she arrived at the site, she was hopeful and had indifferent expectations. Her initial impression of the site was pleasant enough, but she quickly became annoyed when she couldn’t immediately find the services she was looking for.