Challenge Prompt:
Design the ‘reactions’ panel for a video conferencing app. As you prototype, incorporate audio feedback allowing participants to react with emojis and sounds!
There were two big realizations I had while working on this challenge:
1. Most of the time, I’m not designing for myself
2. I don’t always need to reinvent the wheel
This challenge was difficult for me at first, because I find sound reactions distracting when on a video call. After tossing a few ideas around in my head, I realized that, in this case, my personal preferences didn’t matter. While my designs will always be informed by my personal experience and preferences, the final product will be informed by business requirements and user research.
Keeping that in mind, I tackled the task at hand.
Here is where I ran into my next hurdle. My first paper sketches were frustrating, because each design I created felt like something I had seen before. That’s when I realized that not every design needs to be unique.
As a designer who is just starting my career, I want my designs to stand out, to feel new and exciting! But, if a design doesn’t work, it doesn’t really matter how novel it is.
As a designer who is just starting my career, I want my designs to stand out, to feel new and exciting! But, if a design doesn’t work, it doesn’t really matter how novel it is.
Keeping both of these in mind, I finally settled on a design and was able to move into my prototype:
I chose to keep the same color scheme and general theme as my first design. Both of these designs could be integrated together as part of the same suite of productivity tools.
Next Steps:
Right now, I know that this prototype has a few issues. I struggled with finding an appropriate sound that was the right length for this reaction. In the next iteration, I’d use something a bit shorter, so it would disrupt the meeting less. I’d also add interactions to the other emojis.
After this, I’d love to do some user testing to see exactly what emojis users want, or possibly look into the ability to customize the emojis that are seen.