Principles of UX Booklet: Google

ROLE ON THIS PROJECT

Layout design, research, illustration, copy editing, project management

For this freelance project, I worked with Google’s Publisher Marketing department to create an easy to understand guide that explains basic principles of user experience in a short booklet format. The booklet was distributed by Google’s AdSense team to digital publishers to help them improve their websites.

PROJECT AND PROCESS

DISCOVERY

The client’s goal was to create a simple, easy to distribute guide to educate independent digital publishers about basic UX best practices for their websites. My task was to create 5 illustrations and a layout for the guide in such a way that it could be easily translated into 30 languages. The illustrations also needed to be able to stand on their own so they could be used in Google AdSense social media and blog posts outside of the context of the guide.

I brainstormed various layout options, considering the distribution method and the audience. The first concept I explored was a large poster layout that folded up like a map and could be read like a book as each page was unfolded.

After testing several poster layouts, I proposed that we abandon the idea because it seemed crowded and unnecessarily complicated. The content was fairly text heavy, which was not conducive to the large format. We switched to a booklet layout which was more expensive to produce, but much easier for users to read and provided space for the illustrations to shine.

DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION

I quickly nailed down the layout, but the illustrations proved more challenging. The client provided the Google style guide and some rough sketches showing general concepts for the illustrations. I provided examples of my previous illustration work to help establish a direction.

Halfway through the project, my point-person at Google changed, and she had an entirely different direction in mind for the illustrations. We scrapped all the illustrations I had done, and started over. This was somewhat frustrating since I had already submitted several rounds of illustrations, and the deadline was fast approaching. Hoping to avoid further setbacks, I tried a new approach. I asked the new point-person to identify additional examples of illustrations outside of my own work, which quickly got the project back on track.

Meanwhile, I worked with the client to refine the copy. They provided a rough version of the copy, which I revised using my knowledge of the subject matter (UX design), to fit into the small booklet format. I hired a freelance copy editor to proof and further refine the copy until the text was as concise as possible.

REFLECTIONS

This was my first project with Google, and I learned a lot about their process which involved more trial and error than I was used to. The client kicked off the project without a clear vision of the finished deliverable, and relied on me to steer the ship. I kept an agile mindset when stakeholder requirements changed by staying open minded about the new direction and maintaining a positive attitude when I had to start over. Sometimes you must kill your babies to deliver the best product possible.

I also learned just how important it is to establish clear expectations up front, and incorporated new methods for doing so into my process. Later, I did another freelance design project for Google that went much more smoothly because I knew what to expect. I did more concept refining work upfront, and did not start designing until I was 100% on the same page with the client. I have incorporated this into my process for working with other freelance clients which has greatly improved my efficiency and client satisfaction.