这是一篇翻译自用户体验设计师 Catriona Cornett 发表在 inspireUX 的文章（原文链接）。随着国内越来越多的公司重视用户体验，也不少公司相继成立了独立的用户体验部门，而对于这样一个较新的部门，各成员应该如何合作才能更好地运作呢？此文虽然偏重理论上的介绍（个人翻译也比较生硬），但是确确实实能够给身处团队中各个位置的设计师一定的启发，特别是对在团队中要更多发挥协调作用的角色来说。

再啰嗦一下的是本人不是专职的英语翻译，所以翻译质量各位路过的朋友还得多多包涵，如有不足之处还请指正：）

Facilitating Collaboration Between Visual Designers and Other UX Roles
促进视觉设计师和其他用户体验角色的合作

[ 此文由 Chris 翻译。如需转载原文，请联系 Catriona Cornett；如需转载翻译，请直接留言：）]

In some organizations, “User Experience” is a treated differently from “Visual Design” (or “Creative”) and there is a distinct separation between the teams. In others, Visual Designers are an integrated part of the User Experience team. Regardless of team structure, however, there is often a pattern of UX deliverables such as wireframes or basic prototypes being handed off to Visual Designers to “skin,” or as some unfortunately call it, “make things pretty,” with little or no further involvement from the rest of the UX team.
在有些组织中，“用户体验”和“视觉设计”（或者说“创意”）是被区别对待的，并且这些团队之间有着显著的不同。而另一些组织中，视觉设计师则是整个用户体验团队的一部分。然而，不管团队的结构如何，可交付的用户体验模式往往是从线框图或者基本原型设计到视觉设计师再到“皮肤”；又或者用不幸的话来说就是，“把它弄漂亮点”——而同时仅有很少的用户体验团队成员参与，甚至是没有他们参与其中。

// There are some common problems with this approach:
// 这种方法有一些共同的问题：

• Information Architects and Interaction Designers feel they lose influence over the design process once it’s in the hands of a Visual Designer
  一旦设计过程被一个视觉设计师掌控，那么信息架构师和交互设计师就会觉得他们在设计过程中没任何影响力。
• Visual Designers don’t feel they are involved early enough in the process to understand design inputs or to influence what goes into a given design
  视觉设计师也不会觉得能在理解设计投入上或者能够影响到那些既定的设计上及时地进入到设计过程。
• There’s an inherent disconnect between the knowledge that went into wireframes/prototypes and what is translated over to the Visual Designer
  对于深入研究线框图/原型和应该给视觉设计师什么东西之间有着天生不可逾越的鸿沟。
• Design decisions are often seen as subjective as opposed to grounded in research and analysis
  设计决策通常被看作是主观的，而不是来自基础的研究和分析。

There are several techniques that members of the “big D” Design team (including all UX roles/responsibilities) can use to better collaborate to make sure the end design best represents an optimal user experience and is grounded in input from the entire team.
这里有几个来自“大 D”设计团队成员（包括所有用户体验角色和负责人）的技巧用以优化合作，使来自整个团队的基础研究能够确保最终设计以最理想的用户体验完美表现出来。

// Before visual design begins
// 在视觉设计开始之前

Goal: Capitalize on varying team perspectives to define the user experience and facilitate shared understanding of design inputs.
目标：利用不同团队看事物的角度来定义用户体验，从而使共同理解设计投入变得更容易。

• Collectively define the overall user experience separate from architectural or design elements: Engage the entire team in defining design principles and the user experience strategy that will filter down into all design deliverables. This helps keep everyone on the same page throughout the entire design process and helps to make sure that the visual design reflects design principles that may not be clearly visible in wireframe form.
  共同确定整个用户体验与（信息）架构或者设计元素分离：让整个团队都参与确定设计原则和用户体验策略，这样将可保证设计交付的时候不会有遗漏。这一步可以帮助所有人在整个设计过程中保持步调一致，并且可以确保在线框图不清晰的时候仍然将视觉设计反映到设计原则上。
• Have all roles participate in generative design activities: An example of a generative design activity is when each team member sketches out 10 ideas for a product in 5 minutes and then the team regroups to share ideas and discover patterns. The idea is to get as many quick ideas on the table as possible to discuss overall themes and experience approaches. Encourage all team members to participate in these activities to get input from all team members early in a project and to foster collaboration before any design decisions are solidified.
  让所有角色都参与有效的设计活动：这里举个有效设计活动的例子，当每个团队成员在五分钟之内勾勒出了十个关于产品的创意，随后团队重新组合并分享这些创意和发掘当中的模型。这种方法是收集尽量多的快速创意，以求能获得尽量广泛或者有经验的讨论。鼓励所有团队成员参与活动的目的是在任何设计决策拍板之前，能够尽早在这个项目中从其他的团队成员中获取信息，同时也培养成员之间的合作。
• Share early concepts with designers while they’re still in progress – IAs and IxDs should involve Visual Designers as early as possible to get their feedback about how a site/app will be structured both at a global level and at the page level. Visual Designers can provide a unique perspective in regards to information hierarchy, element placement, and how to create overall design cohesion. This can both help to refine wireframes and early prototypes as well as give Visual Designers a better understanding of decisions that went into IA and IxD deliverables.
  当设计师还在流程中时就应该和他们交换早期的想法——信息架构师和交互设计师应该像视觉设计师那样尽早地获得那些网站/程序结构设计的反馈，无论是在全局级别还是在单独的页面中。视觉设计师关于信息结构分层、各元素的布置以及如何整合设计可以提供一个独特的视角。这样不单可以帮助完善线框图和早期的原型，同样还可以让视觉设计师对信息架构及交互设计的可交付有个更好的理解。
• Conduct user research that can influence visual design early in the process: While it is fairly common for UX Designers to validate user behavior and mental models with techniques such as card sorting, paper prototyping, or conceptual usability tests, we often neglect to perform early techniques that can specifically influence visual design. Performing research techniques such as user-generated mood boards or getting reactions to storyboards of an experience can help feed the visual design process and help designers start to think about ideas even before wireframes and prototypes are complete.
  引导用户的研究可以影响进程早期中的视觉设计：有个常见的问题，用户体验设计师在使用卡片分类、纸原型、或者概念可用性测试等技术来验证用户行为和心理模型的时候，我们常常忽视使用可以明确影响视觉设计的早期技术。诸如使用用户生成的情感展示板，或者获得来自经验故事板的反馈，这些都可以向视觉设计进程提供帮助，也可以帮助设计师开始考虑那些创意——甚至是在线框图和原型完成之前。
• Discuss usability tradeoffs of high-level design approaches: Before a designer invests a lot of time into creating a visual design, the team should collectively discuss potential usability implications of various approaches. For example, how a Flash site might pose usability problems that might not be present in a standard HTML site. The team should also discuss how proposed style guides should be adjusted to account for things such as optimal readability.
  从高级设计方法来讨论可用性综合标准：在设计师花费太多时间去做一个视觉设计之前，团队应该集体讨论各种方法对潜在可用性的影响。例如，出现在一个 Flash 站中出现的可用性问题怎么让其不出现在标准的 HTML 站中。团队还需要讨论如何计划（风格）样式管理，例如通过要得到最佳可读性来进行调整是可以的。
• Document IA elements and interaction models that impact visual design: Wireframes and prototypes should be annotated to explain intended page-level interactions and any other specific details that might influence the visual design. In cases where the Visual Designer is not actively involved in all stages of the project, this becomes even more critical to make sure that no aspects of the experience are lost in the transition from wireframes to visual design.
  信息架构元素和交互模型归档影响视觉设计：线框图和原型应该给页面级别的交互做注解，以及任何可能会影响到视觉设计的具体细节。在某些情况下，视觉设计师并没有全身心投入到整个项目中，在确保从线框图到视觉设计过渡期间不会丢失任何一个方面的体验时，归档变得更加重要。

// During the visual design process
// 视觉设计进程中

Goal: Through frequent cross-team collaboration, treat visual design as an element of an iterative user experience design process as opposed to an isolated activity.
目标：通过频繁的跨团队合作，使视觉设计变成交互用户体验设计过程中的一个环节，而不会成为孤立的活动。

• Don’t “hand-off” deliverables: User Experience is a continual iterative process. It is not simply a matter of checking off deliverables on a to-do list, passing those deliverables off to another team member, and never seeing it again. All Design team members should remain involved throughout the visual design process.
  别对交付“撒手不管”：用户体验是一个持续的交互过程。它并不是一个简单的核对在待办清单上的交付，然后将其转手到另外的团队成员手中，就再也看都不看的事情。所有的设计团队成员都应该在整个视觉设计过程中保持参与其中。
• Conduct frequent reviews of the design: Design team members should frequently review visual design deliverables and be available to clarify what was presented in wireframe or prototype form. Design reviews allow Visual Designers to explain how to best display elements of an interface while other UX roles can make sure that other key elements of the defined experience are incorporated into the design.
  对设计实施经常性地审查：设计团队成员应经常审视视觉设计的交付物，并可以阐明线框图或者原型表格表达的内容。允许视觉设计师做设计审查，在另外的用户体验角色确定其他的关键要素按照之前的定义纳入到设计之中的时候也能解释如何以最佳的方式展示界面元素。
• Collaborate to effectively convey information hierarchy: An IA can help determine what information should be most prominent on a given page to help the user complete a task, while a Visual Designer can help translate those priorities into an elegant and effective design. This is just one example of how multiple roles need to work together to achieve similar goals.
  协作让信息层次有效传达：为了帮助用户完成一个任务，信息架构师可以确定哪些信息是需要在页面上显著突出的，而视觉设计师则能够将这些需要优先考虑的事做成优雅且高效的设计。这就是一个多角色要实现一个共同的目标而需要通力合作的例子。
• Balance aesthetics with usability: The Design team should have an ongoing conversation regarding how to best balance aesthetic presentation with usability principles. Heuristic reviews should be conducted to help the design reach optimal usability, while the Visual Designer should help determine how to best balance beauty and function to represent the brand in ways that appeal to the end user. Ideally, the team should reach a point where aesthetics and usability are considered equal as opposed to constantly fighting each other based on varying team members’ priorities.
  平衡美学与可用性：考虑到如何最好地平衡美学展示和可用性原则，设计团队内应该有一个长期、持续的讨论。启发式的回顾实施起来应该可以帮助设计达到最佳可用性，而视觉设计师应该可以在表达品牌特征上吸引最终用户，并保证美化和功能之间的平衡。理想情况下，基于团队中不同成员的侧重点不同，团队应该可以在两者不断地相互较量中找到一个让美学和可用性平衡的点。
• Ask a lot of questions: The iterative nature of the design process should encourage team members to question specific design approaches. Visual Designers should question decisions made by other Design team members and help to evolve the experience based on discoveries made throughout the visual design process.
  多问问题：设计过程中的交互本质应该鼓励团队成员去质疑具体的设计方法。视觉设计师应该质疑哪些由其他团队成员做的设计决定，并通过视觉设计过程中的发现来施展自己的经验。

// After the visual design is complete
// 视觉设计完成之后

Goal: Encourage a united front in communicating the design to other project team members and foster a shared interest in analyzing the design’s performance.
目标：鼓励与其他项目团队成员在沟通设计上达成统一，并培养在设计表现分析中共同的兴趣。

• Document the rationale behind design choices: A design direction should be communicated to clients in a way that accounts for the inputs that all team members contributed to the end design. Team members should present a unified rationale that solidifies the team as a whole as opposed to separate entities.
  为设计选择背后的基本原理存档：从某种程度上说，将设计方向传达给客户也是所有团队成员对终稿负责的体现。团队成员应该展现出统一的设计理念，巩固团队作为一个整体的存在，而不是相对分离的个体。
• Test the design: Conduct usability tests to make sure assumptions and design decisions made post-wireframing result in a positive user experience. Visual Designers should observe these sessions along with other members of the Design team to receive first-hand feedback about their designs.
  All team members should debrief following the tests to determine how to address user feedback.
  测试设计：管理可用性测试以确定那些线框图阶段之后的设定和设计决策能够带来积极的用户体验结果。视觉设计师应该和其他设计团队成员一起留意这些对于他们设计的第一手的反馈。所有的团队成员应该听取跟踪用户反馈的测试报告。
• Follow-through during development to make sure the design is developed as intended: All members of the Design team should take on the responsibility of reviewing designs as they’re developed to make sure that all of the detailed decisions the team made prior to development are incorporated into the product. This also includes things such as making sure the design is built to be accessible, optimized for search engines, and compliant across browsers.
  后续开发中应该确保设计也应该有计划的进行：所有设计团队成员应该承当起责任，如当初他们开发时确保所有的设计细节都来自团队决策并整合到了产品当中，设计审查也当如此。而这当然也包括了诸如确保设计是基于易于使用进行的，允许搜索引擎优化，并且可以做到跨浏览器兼容。
• Monitor the effectiveness of the design to influence future iterations: Monitor web analytics and consider conducting A/B or multivariate tests to optimize the design post-implementation. Having all members of the Design team involved in this process helps encourage design changes (including architecture, interactions, and visuals) to be based on data as opposed to subjective opinion.
  监控设计对今后迭代开发效率的影响：监控网络分析以及考虑进行 A/B 或多元测试来优化实施阶段之后的设计。让整个设计团队都参与其中来推动设计的改进（包括结构、交互，以及视觉方面），让这些改进能够基于客观数据，而不是主观的个人看法。

What techniques have you implemented to facilitate collaboration across the entire user experience team?
你有什么可实现的方法来促进整个用户体验团队的合作？