About

Arthur Law is a User Experience Designer & Information Architect with over 10 years of experience. He has been transplanted from his native Canada to the San Francisco Bay Area with a few stints in Germany, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates.

Resume (pdf)   •   Contact alaw [at] ischool.berkeley.edu

Design Process

I think of design as a process that helps achieve a goal. There are many techniques and methods out there out there but I generally follow this one:

1. Analysis – Understand & research the problem, get to know the people and the organization, and dig into data.
2. Concept – Talk, draw, hand wave, and work together to move towards solutions.
3. Detail – Pull together the concepts, the users, the technology, and constraints and do some detailed design, including wireframes.
4. Test – Get it in front of people, on paper or an interactive prototype. Test early & often.
5. Iterate – Problem solving is rarely linear or perfect the first time. Do it again and get better.

History

Once upon a time I was a UI developer for a product called Wordperfect. I created the function to change the menus and buttons to mimic Microsoft Word. This whole process prompted me to ask Why?

I switched into the field of User-Centered Design to get behind the reasons on how we make software better for us: as users, as consumers, as people.

I went on to design e-commerce software for IBM and afterwards went back to school for a Master’s in Information to understand how people learn, consume, and disseminate information. Since then I’ve done large and small web sites, advertising campaigns, and mobile apps.

I’m still asking that question today, why do we use computers the way we do? Why can’t the myriad digital devices in our lives work differently? Why don’t we do something better, newer, or just more fun?