Among the proposed alterations included many changes to the interface of DoneBerry, with an emphasis on the users’s experience of the product (i.e. UX). While it may seem like something a designer would be responsible for (at least it did to me) UX is something that cannot be easily accomplished by any one person, and definitely stretches further than making a site look good. UX accounts for the questions that you can’t ask until a product is complete, and couldn’t ask before then, a Catch 22 at its finest. How long will it take a user to view an item? perform an action? find something they’re looking for?

All of these questions may in fact be the most important things to answer when developing a product, as they are what set you apart from your competition. UX takes trial and error, critical thought and innovation. To really streamline a product in to something that is both useful and people enjoy nothing short of a collaborative group effort from a variety of opinions will produce anything beyond mediocre. This eye-opener, that great UX is essential to a great product and indeed is present in virtually all popular software today, is really an area where I hope to improve this product over the coming weeks before its launch.