These days, it seems like we’re bombarded with products whose sole purpose is to move life faster.

Take coffee, for example.

I’m too young to remember, but I bet that when drip coffee makers came onto the market, people were blown away by the ease of use. No more boiling water on the stove! Then came a certain retailer who brought good coffee to the eyes and tongues of the masses, in a convenient to-go cup. Next came their instant coffee, supposed to be “just as good” as what you’d get at their coffee shop.

At this point, how much more time can we save?

Don’t get me wrong; I’m all for efficiency but personally, I see something being lost in our rush for results. I think we’re losing our connection with the process of creation. We’re forgetting the tangible sensation and satisfaction of making something. Instead, we just consume.

This is why I draw.

When I pick up my pencil, I start by drawing basic shapes. Then I flesh these shapes out into whatever they’re supposed to be: a face, an arm, a car, or a building. Then I go back and thicken some lines, scribble here to indicate shading and light, and think about how to highlight what’s important. After this, it’s time to really polish things up, do some fine shading and fix lines. And this doesn’t mean I’m done. I may get out another piece of paper, slap it on top of my drawing, go to my lightbox, and redo the whole thing.

Something happens when I slow down and immerse myself in this process. Psycologists call it being in a “flow state.” I just know that it’s when I’m most creative, and I find that happy mistakes often occur — like when I wind up drawing something other than what I intended, but it looks great anyway.

Going through such a time-consuming process when I’m drawing may seem tedious, but I believe that it’s an essential part of the creative process. It helps me connect with what I’m creating, care about it, and feel like I’m part of it.

Designing a website isn’t much different.

I start by drawing squares and circles on a page, carefully deciding where text, images, and buttons should go, according to the client’s needs. I may end up doing this three or four times until I find what’s right for the job. Then it’s onto choosing fonts, colors, and images, all the while keeping in mind the site’s audience and purpose.

I constantly hear people say that they’re “passionate about their work.” I don’t think this can really be understood until you yourself are passionate about something. As designers, we need passion. We need to feel connected to our work.

That’s accomplished by giving the process of creation the time it needs. Only then can we create something that we’re proud of — and something that our clients will be proud of too.

Designing a website without usability testing is like building a boat without a blueprint. You’ll make something, but whether it floats is a different matter.

Usability testing fascinates me; in fact, I’m enrolled in grad school at DePaul University, studying for an MS in Human-Computer Interaction. And when I heard some debates recently about whether current usability tools were still valid, I took notice. The crux of the issue seemed to be the value of wireframes vs. prototypes, and whether technical specification documents are necessary.

As someone who believes that a focus on usability should be the focus of building a successful web site or application, I definitely had an opinion. I believe that each of these tools has a distinct place in today’s web development cycle. And as a web developer who handles new projects daily, I’ve seen firsthand how these tools expedite development time and directly reduce the number of bugs found and revisions required after development.

Let’s take a look at how each of these tools works.

  • Wireframes – Wireframes are basic layouts for a site or application. The goal of this phase of usability testing is to focus on determining the basic information architecture and interaction design for a site, without the distractions of interactivity or design elements like color, font, and images. By removing these elements, the development team can focus on the best possible placement for the individual elements of the site or application. They can also begin to think about options for interaction design.
  • Prototypes – Prototypes are beta versions of a site or application that allow information flow and interaction testing. The actual functionality of a site isn’t implemented. However, a user can click through interfaces to get an idea how a site will look and feel. By getting feedback from project stakeholders at this stage and making needed changes, you avoid the difficulty and cost of making revisions after development has taken place.
  • Technical Specification Document – This document combines the information flow, interaction design, and functionality decisions reached during the wireframe and prototype phases of development. It’s presented to the site developers along with other tools generated during usability engineering, giving them a complete, accurate understanding of the site’s usability and functionality requirements. This document also enables clear communication between stakeholders (agency, client, users, designers, and developers) regarding what functionality is expected for each interface.

From my perspective, all three of these tools are essential. They enable a reasonably pain-free development process, and significantly cut down on revision and rework. One small change made during usability testing can save literally days of time and struggle — and beau-coup dollars — later in the process.

So for now, I’m sold on these tools. I’ll be ready to learn about better ones as I continue my studies, but for now, they’ll stay in my tool belt.