1. Setting the scene
This week has been a perfect and much-needed opportunity to take a pause from the non-stop pace of the past five weeks. Thinking back over what I've been able to create so far in a relatively short time, I feel a combination of pride, disbelief, and just a touch of exhaustion. I decided to devote a large part of this week to resting – taking encouragement from the fact that "our minds make unlikely connections between ideas, memories, and experiences when we are at rest and not focused on a specific task or project" (Kelley & Kelley 2014: 83) – as well as starting to delve a little deeper into my design tool of choice: Figma.
1.1. Self-criticism: time management
More so than the other two modules I've completed so far, I've struggled at several points to keep on top of the weekly challenge activities. Alongside the course material, I'm also learning a lot of new UX tools, processes, and ways of working in my current role. It's been exciting to see how the knowledge and skills I'm gaining in both my academic and professional practice feed into and build upon each other; however, I have found myself feeling overwhelmed at times by the sheer amount of information I'm trying to absorb.
1.2. SMART goal: timebox my blog entries
I decided to ask my tutors for some advice and feedback on how I might better manage and get the most of out the time I spend on the course activities. During our conversation, it became clear that I was spending a lot of time on my weekly blog entries, which in turn meant that I had less time to get a head start on the content and challenge activities for the following week.
Writing is something I feel very passionately about, and I've enjoyed diving deeper into my practice in my blog entries so far. However, following my tutor's feedback, I've decided to give myself a little more time to feel more in control of my project work by experimenting with shorter posts, created within a set time frame. I've therefore given myself one hour to write this entry, plus half an hour to revise it at a later point.
2. Getting to know Figma
2.1. Depth of insight: enhancing my practice + Breadth of analysis: exploring key skills and domains – practising animations in Figma
While I've used Figma in projects for previous modules, as well as in my day-to-day UX practice, I've only ever felt that I have a fairly rudimentary grasp of how to make basic shapes, add and change text and colours, and create simple 'hotspot' connections between screens. I've really enjoyed the visual and interaction design aspects of projects I've worked on in the past, but haven't felt particularly confident in my ability to create something that looks polished (another show of my sneaky perfectionism).
This week, then, I decided to dive a little deeper into some of the more sophisticated techniques available in Figma for creating more innovative, life-like interactions.
On my tutor's recommendation, I started by looking at a few mini tutorials from UX designer Zander Whitehurst, including one on creating curved carousels in Figma (2023). It was inspiring to see how he was able to create such engaging designs in such a short amount of time; however, I decided to go back to basics a little before attempting to replicate any of his creations, so that I could feel a bit more confident in my understanding of Figma fundamentals.
The 'Animation basics in Figma' (2023) tutorial from Figma itself proved an excellent starting point. I was encouraged by the amount of knowledge that was more of a 'refresher' for me rather than brand-new information, which meant that I felt better prepared and more confident when newer concepts like components and Smart Animate were introduced. (See Figs 1-2 below for some of my basic explorations!)
Fig. 1: A bouncing ball created using delays and Smart Animate in Figma
Fig. 2: Checkable checkboxes made using components and Smart Animate in Figma
2.2. SMART goal: map out potential animations and interactions for my project
I practised my newfound knowledge throughout the week and enjoyed experimenting with different interaction styles and timings while prototyping (a feature I'd previously not dared to touch!). During next week's 'Prototyping & Usability' module, I plan on mapping out some potential points within my user flow where I might be able to apply specific animations and interactions to my project. This will not only allow me to enhance the user experience and give my solution a more realistic look and feel, but will also give me a clearer focus for where I can continue to develop my knowledge of Figma as an industry-standard prototyping tool.
3. Conclusions
I'm glad that I took some time off from the course this week to reset and recharge before we dive into part two. Allowing all the insights I've gathered so far to rest in the back of my mind has given me the space to start thinking about how these might translate into a tangible user experience – and my Figma explorations have given me a renewed sense of excitement to see how everything might come together.
3.1. How satisfied do I feel with my work this week?
1 = Very satisfied , 2 = Quite satisfied, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Quite frustrated, 5 = Very frustrated
Figma explorations: 1-2. Really enjoyed experiencing the 'small wins that felt big' while exploring micro-interactions like checkboxes and basic animations. Starting to see how I might be able to apply some of these techniques to my project. Want to learn more!
4. References
KELLEY, David and Tom KELLEY. 2014. Creative Confidence. London: William Collins.
FIGMA. ‘Figma for Education: Animation basics in Figma’ [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02fO4qVnbc0&t=3727s [accessed 9 March 2023].
WHITEHURST, Zander. 2023. ‘Designing curved carousels in Figma’ [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CnPBzD1qEbK/?hl=en [accessed 9 March 2023].
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