Journey mapping is a tool used in UX/UI design to help a team visualize how a user interacts in a website or app design and how they feel about it. Like other tools in the design process, journey maps can change as the designer learns more about the user’s experience. A journey map can also help a design team come to a consensus and a shared mental mindset, which is important for good working relationships.
Why Are Journey Maps Important?
Journey maps are an important part of the UX design process because it lets the design team see how users feel about the product. The maps are made from user testing, which is used to follow a particular user in a specific scenario. Each journey map looks at one particular user, but different maps can be put together to form a user experience narrative. This gives a clear picture of what the user’s experience is with the design or product.
Evidence is growing for the importance of considering user experience in design. Research from Forrester found that people were willing to pay as much as 4.5 times more for a product when they felt that it provided an excellent customer experience. For some consumers, the experience is more important than the quality of the product.
What Is a Journey Map?
A journey map looks at a specific user with particular goals in a certain scenario. The scenario is broken down into phases and the steps the user takes within them. There are user journey maps and customer journey maps. While they are very similar, a user journey map is more common when a team is designing a new product such as a website, while a customer journey map can be used to study satisfaction with an existing product and help to increase sales.
The user or actor is listed at the top of the map and the scenario and expectations are described next to the user. A scenario is something a user wants to do, and expectations are how the user wants the scenario to go. Below are the phases in vertical lists next to each other. Under each phase are the particular actions the user took, which are based on the research data collected by the team. Journey maps look at user actions, mindsets, and emotions as part of the phases. At the end are listed opportunities to improve the experience.
How Are Journey Maps Used?
Journey maps are used to better understand the user experience and keep the focus on the user during the design process. Being honest is important in order to get the results you need in order to see a clear picture of the scenario.
Creating a journey map helps teams align themselves into the same mental space and can help build empathy among the group. The process can also bring the team to a better understanding of the product. Further, journey maps can help explain the project to people outside the design team. It can help the team form their message and deliver it consistently to the client.
How to Create a Journey Map
You can make a journey map on a piece of paper, with sticky notes on a wall, draw it on a whiteboard, build an Excel spreadsheet, or use the whiteboard feature in some design software applications. A timeline is a common layout and there are many templates available online. A simple layout with horizontal and vertical axes is a good choice.
In a timeline layout, the user is listed at the top left and the scenario is described next to the user on the top right. The phases are numbered and placed in vertical lists next to each other in chronological order. The actions are presented in numbered lists under each phase. The user’s mindset is presented in thought bubbles among the actions, and their emotional reactions are represented by a line moving up and down across the phases, depending upon how the user was feeling at that point. It can also be helpful to identify pain points, particular problems or areas of difficulty. Finally, listed at the bottom are the opportunities to improve the experience.
Who Uses Journey Maps?
Many people in different positions can use journey maps. UX/UI Designers use them to gain an understanding of how a user interacts with a website and how they feel about it. They can also be used by sales teams to look at customer satisfaction and make a plan to improve the experience.
Software for Journey Mapping
There are many digital design applications available for all parts of the design process, but these are four of the most popular.
Adobe XD
Adobe XD is a design tool based on vector graphics that allows you to create digital designs for everything from mobile apps to websites. XD is part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud and works well with other CC apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Animate. There are many repeating features that make your workflow move faster, and XD also includes collaboration features that make it easy to share and test prototypes. You can run XD on both macOS and Windows.
Sketch
Sketch is a Mac application that doesn’t work on Windows. You can use vector editing tools or design at the pixel level. It allows you to scale to any size of screen and speed up your workflow with mathematical shortcuts. As with XD, there are repeatable components and you can organize your design so everything is easy to find. Sketch recently added real-time collaboration, so now it is easier for a team to work together, and you can also create libraries of the elements the team is using. There are also many plugins available to customize your workspace.
InVision
InVision works to support the entire design process from brainstorming, designing, testing, collaborating, and delivering. The application includes Studio, Cloud, Freehand, Craft, and Enterprise. InVision works on both macOS and Windows.
Figma
Figma is another design application. It includes FigJam which provides an online whiteboard for collaboration to let your design team plan, define, and workshop together. You can use the pen tool for vector graphics or plugins like an instant arc design. Auto Layout moves and stretches items automatically, and Figma makes the work move along efficiently. Figma runs on a browser so it will work with macOS, Windows, or Linux systems.
Where to Learn UX Design
If you would like to learn how to use software like InVision, Sketch, Adobe XD, and Figma in order to switch to a career in UX/UI design, one of the best ways to do that is to sign up for classes. You can choose classes that meet in-person or online to learn design software and other applications. Some people prefer to attend brick-and-mortar sessions when learning new information, but that isn’t always available. Live online classes have a similar set-up with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and take control of your monitor--with permission--to show you how to do things. Training is part or full-time and available weekdays, weeknights, or weekends.
The best way to prepare for a career shift to a field like UX design is to enroll in a bootcamp or certificate program. These are intensive training courses that run from a few weeks to a few months and will cover motion graphics and animation in much more depth than tutorials can. Another plus of training is that you will leave class with a professional-quality sample video portfolio that you can show to prospective employers.
It’s easy to learn UX design and start a new career. Check out Noble Desktop’s UX design classes. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online UX design courses and attend from anywhere. Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other UX design bootcamps in your area.