Practitioners-Guide-User-Experience-Design

AREN’T VISUAL DESIGNERS JUST PIXEL PUSHERS?
If you are a dedicated UXer not in charge of visual production assets, you’re always going
to work closely with your visual designer. This is one of the crucial roles of UX, but the
relationship can be fraught for a number of reasons. For one thing, many visual designers
working in the digital space have come from working in print media or advertising, and
some have limited understanding of the very different qualities and challenges of the
digital canvas. I’ve found that some don’t pay enough attention to the interactions and
what users need visually in order to optimize those interactions, such as clear feedback
and good copy. For example, they might be pushing for a minimalist look, which has been
so popular in recent years, and produce a design with no labels at all on the home page,
just icons they think users will know how to discern. But lots of users want clear labels,
and icons can be a good deal more ambiguous than designers may think they are. Have
you ever driven in a foreign country and encountered road signs with graphics that were a
total mystery? Everyone on the planet is going to understand what a kangaroo crossing
sign is warning about.
(Courtesy of Peter Firminger)
But what exactly is this supposed to mean?