UX design in knitting patterns
Big companies spend a lot of money investing in user experience. Outside of my job as a knitting tech editor, I work in the world of software development where there is a role called the user experience (UX) designer.
According to Glassdoor, UX designers are “responsible for enhancing customer satisfaction by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure associated with a product in a way that is attractive and convenient for users.”
And with an average salary of $97,500 (with more experienced designers earning possibly up to $157,000 per year), it’s clear this is a highly valuable skill.
Though as an independent knitwear designer you may not have the cash to shell out to hire someone to do this sort of work, you can still think about how your pattern layout and instructions impact your users.
Remember, happy knitters might be return knitters, and the opposite is true too. If your pattern is confusing and hard to follow, knitters may never buy from you again because they remembered how frustrating it was the first time.
Part of my role as a tech editor is to help improve the clarity of how a pattern is written, but my goal with this blog post is to help you get there on your own before it’s my turn to look at the pattern.
Principles of UX design
According to Coursera, these are the main tasks and responsibilities of a UX designer:
Understand the user and what problem you’re trying to solve for them.
Conduct user research to understand their needs, goals, behaviors, and pain points. This can be accomplished through surveys, interviews, focus groups, and A/B testing.
Build user personas based on that research to identify important elements of the product and begin to map out the user flow.
Build out the design using site maps, wireframes, or prototypes.
Conduct user testing to identify problems with the design and develop solutions.
Applying these principles to pattern development
As you read that list, you may start to see how this process can be applied to pattern design. For example, in step 2, you could look at patterns from designers you love to see what it is about their patterns that you love. Pay attention to how they’ve laid everything out and try to answer the question: why did they do it like this? Thinking critically about other designers’ choices may enable you to think more critically about how to organize your own pattern.
Once you’ve done this, you can go back through the existing patterns in your catalog and compare them with what you learned in your research. Questions to ask yourself include:
Why did I put this here instead of elsewhere in the pattern?
Would this fit better elsewhere?
Is this information necessary?
How can I emphasize a particularly important piece of information?
Is there any prerequisite information needed that is missing?
This could also be a good opportunity to engage with your customers by asking for feedback. You could ask them to answer a brief survey, do Instagram polls about pattern elements in general, etc.
Be intentional about what feedback you want during test knitting
When you’re prepping for a test knit, come up with a good list of questions, like the ones above, asking for specific feedback on the pattern. While testing is a good opportunity to see you pattern knit up by others before you release it, it’s also important to go into it with specific ideas on what sort of feedback you’re looking for.
Don’t just ask testers to “let you know if anything is confusing.” Be specific and you’ll get better and more thoughtful answers. For example:
Were there any stitches in the abbreviations that need further explanation? Did you have to watch a tutorial on your own or were my instructions sufficient?
Did my instructions for shaping the sleeve cap make sense to you?
Would you have preferred if (this bit of information) was before (this instruction)?
Do I need to provide additional advice on choosing a size?
It’s a lot easier for someone to answer a focused question like that than to try to come up with an answer to a broad question that is just asking if anything was confusing. Be as specific in your questions and you’ll get specific answers.
Continuing UX research post-publication
Even after your pattern is released, you can continue conducting user research on your customers so that you can make your future patterns better too. For example, you can check Ravelry project pages and Instagram posts of people knitting your pattern and see if they mention anything they struggled with.
Additionally, if you offer pattern support, make a note of every question that comes your way. If someone struggled with something, assume there is someone else that is confused but doesn’t want to bother you. Take in that feedback and keep it in a centralized place so that when you go to write your next pattern, you have a list of things to avoid or improve upon.
By investing effort upfront into improving the user experience of your patterns, you will save yourself a lot of pattern support time and ensure your customers enjoy the process of working from your patterns.
Ready to take your knitting patterns to the next level?
As a knitting tech editor, I can work with you to ensure your patterns are clear, accurate, and easy to follow. Visit my Tech Editing Services page to learn more and get started today.
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