Q&A

We believe that communication is key to a successful design and development process.
We strive to keep our clients informed and involved throughout the design process.

What is your process for conducting user research, gathering feedback and validating product or feature proposals. How do you know when you have achieved this?

Our process for conducting user research, gathering feedback, and validating product or feature proposals typically includes the following steps:

1. Defining the research questions: We start by defining the research questions that we want to answer. This helps us to focus our research efforts and ensure that we are gathering the information that we need.
2.Selecting the research methods: We then select the research methods that will allow us to answer the research questions. These may include: field study, diary study, user interview, stakeholder interview, requirements & constraints gathering, research publications about specific topic, surveys, interviews, focus group, competitive analysis, persona building, task analysis, journey mapping, write user stories, survey, analytics review.
3.Conducting the research.
4.Analyzing the results: We then analyze the results of the research, looking for patterns and insights that can help inform our design decisions.
5.Iterating on the design: Based on the insights gained from the research, we iterate on the design of the product or feature, making changes as needed.
We know that we have achieved our research and validation goals when we can see evidence that the product or feature is meeting the needs of the target audience.We also seek feedback from our clients and stakeholders to ensure that they are satisfied with the outcome and that the design meets their needs and expectations.

How do you approach and what is your experience designing mobile user interfaces that are intuitive and accessible for audiences that range between 40 - 80 years of age?

Here are some of the approaches we use:

1 Conduct User Research: We begin by conducting user research to understand the target audience's needs, behaviors, and preferences. This includes demographic research to gain insights into the age group we are designing for.
2 Use Familiar Design Patterns: We use familiar design patterns that the target audience is already familiar with, such as standard navigation and labeling conventions. Using familiar patterns allows the user to quickly understand how to interact with the app and makes it easier for them to complete tasks.
3 Keep It Simple: We strive to keep the user interface design simple and avoid cluttering the screen with too many elements. This helps the user to focus on the task at hand and reduces cognitive load.
4 Use Large Fonts and Icons: We use large fonts and icons that are easy to read and recognize, even for users with visual impairments. This ensures that the user interface is accessible for all users, including those with age-related visual impairments.
5 Provide Clear and Concise Instructions: We provide clear and concise instructions to guide the user through the app's functionality. This helps to reduce confusion and ensure that the user understands how to interact with the app.
6 Conduct User Testing: We conduct user testing with the target audience to ensure that the design is intuitive and accessible. This allows us to identify areas where the design can be improved and ensure that the app meets the needs of the target audience.
In our experience, designing mobile user interfaces for audiences between 40-80 years of age requires a user-centered design approach that prioritizes simplicity, clarity, and accessibility. By understanding the needs of the target audience and designing with their needs in mind, we can create mobile user interfaces that are intuitive and accessible for users of all ages.

How do you typically communicate progress and updates to your clients during the design and development process? 


We believe that communication is key to a successful design and development process. We strive to keep our clients informed and involved throughout the design process by using the following methods:

1. Regular Meetings: We schedule regular meetings with our clients to discuss project progress, review design concepts, and gather feedback.
2. Project management tool – we use Notion.
3. Status Reports: we provide regular status reports to our clients that outline project progress, tasks completed, and tasks to be completed.

How do you approach iterating and refining designs based on client and user feedback? How many revisions do you usually recommend?



A focus group is a very old but effective methodology to gain understanding for others. It’s been used widely in the UX industry as part of research deliverables to provide input and to gain insights of user behaviors and motives.
This is usually conducted in person or remotely with a group of 3 - 5 people with open discussion / questions related to our platform.Here is our approach to this process:

1 Gather Feedback: We collect feedback from both clients and users through various methods, such as user testing, surveys, and interviews. This feedback is then analyzed to identify areas where the design can be improved.
2 Prioritize Changes: We prioritize changes based on the feedback received and our design goals. We focus on making changes that will have the most significant impact on the user experience and align with the project goals.
3 Make Iterations: We create new design iterations that incorporate the changes identified in the feedback. These iterations are based on the original design concepts and aim to address the issues identified in the feedback.
4 Test the New Designs: We test the new designs with users to ensure that they are effective and address the issues identified in the feedback. We also gather feedback from clients to ensure that the new designs align with their vision and goals.
5 Repeat the Process: We repeat this process of gathering feedback, prioritizing changes, making iterations, and testing until we have achieved the desired result.
As for the number of revisions, we do not have a set number of revisions that we recommend. We believe that the number of revisions depends on the complexity of the project, the scope of the changes, and the feedback received. Our goal is to iterate and refine the design until we have achieved the desired outcome and the client is satisfied with the result. We work closely with our clients to ensure that the design meets their vision and goals, and we make revisions as necessary to achieve this goal.

Can you walk me through shipping a feature from conception to design to completion? 


The first step is to determine the purpose and scope of the feature. Goal is to identify the user needs, define the goals, and outline the requirements for the feature. Once the requirements have been defined, we move on to designing the feature. This involves creating high-fidelity wireframes and prototypes that showcase the user interface and user experience.
In summary, our process for shipping a feature involves research, conception, planning, design and testing.

How do you ensure that designs are technically feasible to build and can be implemented within our timeline and budget?

1 Collaboration: We work closely with our development team to ensure that they are involved in the design process from the outset. This helps us to identify technical limitations, explore potential solutions, and ensure that our designs are practical and feasible.
2 Prototyping: We create interactive prototypes that allow us to test the technical feasibility of our designs and identify any potential issues before they become problematic. This approach enables us to ensure that our designs are not only visually appealing but also technically sound. We are creating a design respect to Human Interface Guidelines and suggested Best Practises providing by Apple.
3 Design systems: We use design systems that allow us to create and maintain a consistent visual language across different platforms and devices. This approach helps to ensure that our designs are technically feasible and scalable.
4 Continuous testing: We conduct ongoing testing throughout the design process to ensure that our designs are technically feasible and meet our clients' requirements. This includes testing for usability, performance, and accessibility.

How do you prioritize features and functionality to ensure we're building what's most important to our users and our business?

1 User Research: We conduct user research to understand the needs and pain points of the target audience. This helps us to identify the features and functionality that are most important to users.
2 Business Goals: We work with the client to understand their business goals and objectives. This helps us to identify the features and functionality that are most important to the business.
3 Mapping User Needs and Business Goals: We map the user needs and business goals to identify areas of overlap and determine which features and functionality are most important to both users and the business.
4 Prioritization Matrix: We create a prioritization matrix to help identify and prioritize features and functionality based on their importance to users and the business. This helps us to focus on the features and functionality that will have the greatest impact on both user satisfaction and business success.

What is your experience working with startups or small teams like ours, how would you recommend staffing, given that we are a 3 person (business/product/engineering) team with a current development shop of 3 developers and a project manager, trying to achieve and show customer obsession as fast as possible? What is your approach to working collaboratively with our team?

We understand that startups and small teams often have limited resources, so we offer flexible staffing options. We want to provide our service as a team extension for our client, guide and handle all aspects of the design process.
We maintain regular communication with your team throughout the project to ensure that everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals.Overall, our approach to working with startups and small teams is focused on collaboration, agility.

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Mail us for collaboration   
hello@northpole.design