As I finish my User Experience course, I learned a lesson that no book could have taught me. I wasn’t just designing a time management app but also was living on both sides of the app design process simultaneously. In one group, I was the Designer, tasked with translating a user’s vision and needs into a functional interface. In another, I was the Customer, giving feedback on a different peer’s design. Juggling these two roles was challenging, but it was also the most profound learning experience I’ve had.
You can see the final prototype for the app I designed here:
Time Management App Prototype
(I also added new pages)
What I Learned from Wearing Two Hats
The biggest revelation I had was how being a customer also made me a better designer, almost instantly. As a customer for my peer’s project, I found myself trying to articulate why a certain feature felt confusing, like when I had to pinpoint that a set of ‘Task tabs’ on the main screen was unclear and left me unsure how to navigate. It’s a bit harder than it seems! This experience gave me incredible understanding. So, when I switched back to being a designer and received feedback from my own customer (e.g., like needing a persistent calendar navigation, or more theme customization), I didn’t just just hear a list of changes. I understood the feeling behind the request. I realized that feedback isn’t a critique; it’s a necessary perspective.
Strengths and Areas for Growth
I feel I succeeded in my role as Designer by fostering a collaborative conversation and thoughtfully implementing feedback. While I await my customer’s reaction to the final footer and page designs, I am confident that this user-centered approach resulted in a functional and easily navigable app. The biggest challenge was the mental switch. In a couple hours, I’d be focused on component logic and flow as a designer, and in the next, I’d have to put on my customer hat and focus entirely on my gut feelings and user experience, without worrying about how it gets built. If I were to do it again, I would be even more intentional about documenting my experience as a customer, perhaps keeping a journal of my frustrations and “aha!” moments to better guide my own design process. This project taught me that the best designers aren’t just the ones with the best technical skills; they’re the ones with the deepest empathy, and nothing builds empathy quite like being in your customer’s shoes.
Below is the flowchart from my project. Fragments of a rewarding and eye-opening process.