When one is thinking or imagining a good design, the last thing in their mind is going to be digits or data. Anything “quantitative” seems too odd to connect with design.
A beautiful design coming to life seems far away from numeric and any kind of data but the truth is that data can be very helpful in bringing a wonderful design to life. Quantitative data is used in numerous ways. It not only helps the designers in connecting and learning about their audience or people but it also aids in achieving inspiration and identification.
The 21st century is getting modernized with the passage of time and our lives are becoming more and more digitalized. These digital works requires more data-driven information and thus data has become the core of our lives, without us, really noticing it. There are so many ways in which data can inspire our design process and we will be sharing some of them right here.
Ways in which data inspires design
Here we have summed up 3 ways of how data inspires design and becomes a very useful and helpful element in designing anything and everything these days.
- Connecting with extreme users:
When establishing a connection with extreme users, it is highly probable that the users might find a particular flaw in the design of the data, which inspires the data-maker to modify the data accordingly. On the contrary, it is imperative to connect with the users who are familiar with the usability of the product beforehand, so they could provide their feedback and highlight the product features that need to be reshaped or re-enhanced.
Quantitative data is the saviour here as it lets the designers identify the extreme users. Data helps them to look into the behaviours of these extreme users and what attracts them to the product or what distracts them away. Data further help in enlightening the qualitative research as the extreme users share their experience relating the product quality as well. Thus, data helps in inspiring and improving the design.
- Engaging in people’s lives:
The best way to understand your audience is to engage in their lives. You are designing for them so you better know them too. This is very crucial as research in the environment of your audience lets you know about what they want, how they feel and what they might be looking for. This is the basis of a brand’s success; providing a customer with what they want, not what you think that they “might” want. This helps immensely in bringing proper insights about the audience and creating new designs accordingly.
Data is easy to collect through various digital applications and software’s that allow the brands to do so. Looking into the customer’s life, from their eye and mind is one of the best ways to understand them and their needs and it is super important for a business to flourish. With the help of great software, you can engage in people’s lives and see what they want and design accordingly.
- Creation of Prototype:
A prototype is a key to getting your design out of your head into the real world so that you can see what it look and feels like. Rough prototypes allow the designer to see the reality of their imagination. Prototypes are usually built with our personal conversations and observations of the customers. However, with data now being the centre of importance, digital apps and tools allow us to collect accurate data in the prototype too. Live data is used to prototype digital practices that feel real for the users. It also allows the designers to look into a lot of different possibilities and explore more than they have initially planned to.
Verdict:
Design inspiration comes from different directions and sources and data are one of the topmost amongst the variety. Quantitative data helps a lot during the entire designing procedure in various ways. It aids in understanding the extreme users and why they are behaving the way they do. It also helps in knowing where one needs to focus on the design and production to make the business flourish. The combination of design and data does wonders and puts together a complete story that helps in bringing the best to life. Thus, turn to data and understand how one must merge it with design to get the best!
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