1.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
JAI DJWA
jai@agentic.ca
User
Experience
FOR THE WIN

2.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
Who am I?
• Principal of Agentic Digital Media
• Creative technologist and
digital strategist
• I work with social change
organizations in Canada and
internationally
• Teach UX at Capilano University
in the IDEA Design school and at
Emily Carr University in
Vancouver JAI DJWA
jai@agentic.ca
Grateful to be a visitor and live and work on unceded territory of the sḵwx̱wú7mesh
(Squamish), selAílAwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) naKons.

3.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
What is User
Experience
(UX)?

4.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
User Experience
** Jennifer Aldritch explaining to
her daughter what she does.

5.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
In other words

6.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
User Experience is the
total experience a given
product or service creates
for the people who use it
in the real world.
(from Elements of User Experience, by Jesse James Garret

7.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
Why? Who cares?
• 💕 Inclusion
• 💕Adop%on
• 💕 Usage
• 💕 Sa%sfac%on
• 🚫 Failed projects
• 🚫 Support calls
• 🚫 Errors
• 🚫 Frustra%on

8.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
👍 Holis&c – it must consider the whole experience.
👍 Dependent on the Context of use.
👍 Must be Useful, Useable, and Compelling within that
context. And why not make it Deligh7ul!
What is Good UX?

9.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
BAD UX ignores these and does the
opposite of good UX.
👎 Not useful
👎 Not usable
👎 Not compelling….. No joy!

10.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
Common Misconceptions
• UX IS NOT 🙅 Usability
• UX 🙅 Visual design
• UX 🙅 UI (user interface)
• UX 🙅 IA (information architecture)
• UX 🙅 IxD (interaction design)

11.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
UNDERSTAN
D your
audience and
ask them what
they need.
ANALYZE their
needs, and
PROTOTYPE
an example.
Go back to
your audience
and
VALIDATE!
User
Experience
Process

12.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
Learn more
• h>ps://www.smashingmagazine.com/
category/user-experience
• h>ps://www.uxpin.com/knowledge
• h>ps://uxmag.com/
• h>ps://www.nngroup.com/
• h>ps://www.uxbooth.com/
• h>ps://uxmovement.com/
• h>ps://usabilitygeek.com/

13.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
Agentic Digital Media
Jai Djwa
jai@agentic.ca
@jaidjwa
Need a UX
Consult?
Get in
touch!

14.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
Jakob Nielsen’s
“Ten Commandments”:
1. Keep users informed of system status with constant feedback.
2. Set information in a logical, natural order.
3. Ensure users can easily undo/redo actions.
4. Maintain consistent standards so users know what to do next without
having to learn new toolsets.
5. Prevent errors if possible; wherever not, warn users before they commit
to actions.
6. Don’t make users remember information; keep options, etc. visible.
7. Make systems flexible so novices and experts can choose to do more or
less on them.
8. Design with aesthetics and minimalism in mind – don’t clutter with
unnecessary items.
9. Provide plain-language error messages to pinpoint problems and likely
solutions.
10. Offer easy-to-search troubleshooting resources, if needed.

15.
Agen%c.ca | jai@agen%c.ca
Empathy expert Whitney Hess:
1. Don’t interrupt or give users obstacles; make
obvious pathways offering an easy ride.
2. Offer few opKons – don’t hinder users with
“nice to haves”; instead, give them needed
alternaKves.
3. Reduce distracKons – let users perform tasks
consecuKvely, not simultaneously.
4. Cluster related objects together.
5. Have an easy-to-scan visual hierarchy
mirroring users’ needs, with commonly used
items handily available.
6. Make things easy to find.
7. Show users where they’ve come from and
where they’re headed with signposts/cues.
8. Provide context, showing how everything
interconnects.
9. Avoid jargon.
10. Make designs efficient and streamlined.
11. Use defaults wisely – offering predetermined,
well-considered opKons helps minimize
decisions and increase efficiency.
12. Don’t delay users – ensure quick interface
responses.
13. EmoKon – pleasure of use is as vital as ease
of use; arousing users’ passion increases
engagement.
14. Less is more – make everything count in the
design. If funcKonal and aestheKc elements
don’t add to the user experience, forget
them.
15. Be consistent with navigaKonal mechanisms,
organizaKonal structure, etc., to make a
stable, reliable and predictable design.
16. Create a good first impression.
17. Be trustworthy and credible – idenKfy
yourself via your design, assuring users and
eliminaKng uncertainty.