Many clients come to me with a sketchy business idea, especially startups. I help them develop it into fully detailed, usable, targeted application.
Personally I prefer to prototype early in the design process. That way clients get to see and evaluate ideas early and become part of the discussion when it is most crucial. This approach is quick but demands deep involvement.
For the client this is by far the most effective use of my time. And for me, the most gratifying, as I get to design and direct the complete user experience. I become part of the project very early on and often stay through the full development cycle.
My deliverable is a clickable prototype and style guide that forms the absolute reference point for developers and product managers.
First time clients often come to me when they are ready to a launch! In panic, looking for a quick fix face lift. To make their product visually match up to its value proposition.
In such scenarios, I limit my input to improving the clarity of information presentation and enhancing the brand appeal. This is often achived through tweaking white space, color, typography, images, textures, lines and other graphic elements.
My deliverable is a set of template screens and style guide.
A very effective technique during design iterations and pre-launch cleanups. I play the user, step through critical interactions using user scenarios like a script. This kind of testing has proved its effectiveness over and over again in discovering key issues and problem areas. It is cost effective and quick compared to extensive user testing involving large sets of users and expensive testing gigs.
My deliverable is a set of recommendations for usability improvement.