My conclusion to NM4210

Finally, its the end of a challenging but yet fulfilling course. I have always loved designing modules. From NM2208, 3208,2217 and to this. But it seem that NM4210 is one which I can learn to see the expectations and difficulties involved in designing a good product.

Before this module,designing UX, is something I have always thought to be easy and 'common sense' . But through the various exercises and especially the final project, I finally understand that all the while, I have been taking the notion of UX in my own context and perception. To understand the opinions and quality of the experience of others is definitely not easy because I am not them. Even with the various research conducted to try to understand my user, it is a challenge for me not to misinterpret their opinions and the data collated. The strange phenomenon which I discovered is that sometimes even users themselves do not know what they want. This is because experience is something so complicated that it comprises on not only a single factor. It is a mixture of emotions, looks, learnability, desirability, accessibility, credibility, usability, usefulness .....and the list goes on. It all depends on what the users are looking out for in his/her interaction with the product. And here comes the biggest challenge of all because sometimes what we as users exactly what from a product is also very elusive and inexplainable. Hence, to find out and capture these hidden intuitive factors accurately also requires skill, such as the way we structure our interview questions, research methods etc. But even with the perceptions of users aptyly captured, there still inlies numerous unknown factors in balancing context, content and users.

Throughout this module, I have indeed learnt many refreshing theories, principles and approaches to designing UX. Some of these even contradict one another and it is a learning process for beginners like us to decide what approaches to use because it depends on the context of our design as well. On another note, I guess an important point which I have gotten from this module is to learn how to look at the bigger picture by simplifying and intergrating all the small details to create good UX. This is of course easier said than done as experienced in my final project. More often than not, we tend to fall into the 'functional trap' by trying too hard to be creative and add on strange functions to our product design. But feedback from Mr Reddy and the class each week never fail spur me to review my design ideas from other more wholesome perspectives. So I can say that after this module, I do sense a change in my perceptions and approach towards designing a product.

But with the end of this module, I honestly still find designing UX to be something difficult to grasp. I do appreciate all the assignments and final project in this module because they let me develop basic insights into the realm of UX. But what I believe what I have learnt about UX is just the tip of an iceberg. I guess ultimately, as what Christopher Fahey mentioned, grapsing UX design which is something so subjective involves experience as well.