What We Do

Chase the bold.

Our craft is a wide variety of backgrounds, skills, and techniques. Whether it’s complex design, deep dive research, or expanding on a way-out-there user experience idea, we work with our clients as partners to take on any user experience goal.

Services

Research

User and customer research is one of the most important first steps of the product development process. We draw on a variety of methods and services to make sure you have a handle on your users’ needs and desires. From 1:1 Interviews to Contextual Observation to Personas we’ll dive deeply into your users’ stories and potential markets to provide you with the information needed to focus on what matters most: your users.

Affinity Diagramming

Effectively visualize hidden trends and connections—and make it look cool.

In the words of our great mascot, Howard, “User experience abhors a vacuum.” Since user research involves an exploration of complex systems of interactions, we think the way we visually map these interactions should be more than a bulleted Word lis testsssssss
Personas

Personas bring to life your idealized users. Know them intimately to build what they want and need.

Understanding who your users are is sometimes more than conducting interviews or doing a focus group. Personas are great a way to make sure that users’ voices are heard long after the interview is over, and form a central part of our user centered desig
Contextual Inquiry

Deeply understanding users’ wants and needs leads to strikingly compelling products

Oftentimes the best way to understand a user’s wants and needs is to effectively join them in their world. Contextual Inquiry is a user research method whereby the researcher is embedded in the user’s environment, alternately observing and intervie

Interviews

Interviews help you understand the broader context of how users interact with your designs.

We love talking to people, because there’s no substitute for hearing what users think about your product or service from the users themselves. Designed as “structured conversations”, in our interviews we do our best to explore and understand the br
Diary Studies

Track users over time to harvest insights into thresholds of hidden behavior

Sometimes the best way to get the user’s side of the story is to let them tell it themselves. A diary study allows just this: a user to track, or “journal” their interactions and feelings with your product or service over time. From daily journal en
Competitive Analysis

Competition is not only the basis of protection to the consumer, but is the incentive to progress.

Hoover had it right: understanding your users is necessary for great product design, but sometimes it’s useful to understand what your competitors are doing differently—as that’s where opportunity lies. In our analysis we focus on understanding how
Surveys

Not quite a spigot, not yet a firehose. A quick way to start growing your user understanding.

Surveys are the quick and dirty method of getting a lot of feedback quickly. They're easy to create and administer. We can help you craft the right questions for your goals, mesh with your other user experience initiatives, and meet the needs of your busi
Use Cases

The blueprints for successful design

Use cases are the crossover from the user to design. Once you've thoroughly understood the users' wants and needs, then you can plan design by laying out all the needed use cases. From scenarios to step-by-step task flows, use cases are the blueprint for
Usability Testing

"Usability! Usability! Usability!" - What Steve Ballmer should have said.

Usability testing is the crucible of finding out whether you're succeeding or failing. You can test early to make rapid course corrections, or test late to establish metric benchmarks. The way we see it, uncertainty is part-and-parcel of the design proces
Heuristic Analysis

A fresh perspective to help improve design; and fast!

As usability and user experience experts, we can usually tell if a design will do well - and what needs to be fixed to make it better. Having a set of unbiased eyes can help you hone in on issues that you're struggling with or perhaps didn't even know exi
Benchmark Testing

You need to robustly measure? Then you need to benchmark.

How much is enough? It's a question managers (and customers) ask all the time. Experiences are hard to measure though. What's the solution? Benchmark user testing. Find out where you stand today. Compare to where you were in the past. Test against competi
Rapid Iteration

Rapid design. Rapid feedback. Rapid success (or failure).

The RITE Method, or Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation, is a unique approach that blends user testing with collaborative design prototyping in a quick and tidy package. RITE compresses the traditional testing-then-evaluation-then-design process into a
Remote Testing

User insight from a distance. Reach all customer markets quickly.

Remote testing is a great way of reaching users in different markets and regions that might not otherwise be available; for example, international users, disabled users, or people in their workplace. Much like our regular usability testing, remote testing
Eye-Tracking

The eyes have it... They have the key to whether your design is working.

“Everybody lies”, according to Dr. House. Just like doctors need to pay close attention when patients describe their illness, usability professionals are “examining” users to diagnose the issues in design. Are there any behavior-based ”tests”
Visual Design

visual design description

the next par

Design

EchoUser provides a multitude of design services, including interaction design, visual design, and industrial design. We also design for multiple devices and platforms, including the web, smart mobile devices, and elsewhere. We aim to create compelling, usable, and intuitive designs for any platform that best fits the underlying experience.

Contextual Inquiry

Deeply understanding users’ wants and needs leads to strikingly compelling products

Oftentimes the best way to understand a user’s wants and needs is to effectively join them in their world. Contextual Inquiry is a user research method whereby the researcher is embedded in the user’s environment, alternately observing and intervie

Visual Design

You want to go from "blah" to "BAM!!" You don't want lipstick on a pig.

We live and breathe visual design so you don’t have to. Whether it’s a simple re-skin, icon work, or a comprehensive redesign, our ever-evolving visual design toolkit is always at the ready. Our typical visual design process looks something like this:
Interaction Design

We design to optimize your product experience, your customer's satisfaction, and your success.

As a core part of our holistic design process, interaction design deals with the nuts and bolts of your design - how a user literally interacts with it to achieve certain goals. Get the nuts and bolts right, and everything else is gravy. But get them wron
Affinity Diagramming

Effectively visualize hidden trends and connections—and make it look cool.

In the words of our great mascot, Howard, “User experience abhors a vacuum.” Since user research involves an exploration of complex systems of interactions, we think the way we visually map these interactions should be more than a bulleted Word lis testsssssss
Use Cases

The blueprints for successful design

Use cases are the crossover from the user to design. Once you've thoroughly understood the users' wants and needs, then you can plan design by laying out all the needed use cases. From scenarios to step-by-step task flows, use cases are the blueprint for
Wireframing

Wireframing: LEGO, but for adults. Quick, draft design, but appealing and communicative.

The way we see it, uncertainty is part-and-parcel of the design process. As a result, wireframing and sketching out conceptual designs, testing out ideas and exploring uncertainty - it all comes with the territory. So whether it’s sketching something by
Prototyping

Prototyping, not practice, makes perfect design

Like wireframing, prototyping is all about exploring design concepts. However, where prototyping differs is that there’s often a user feedback element: because prototypes are meant to be interactive. We recommend putting them in front of users as soon a
Industrial Design

Industrial designer's hands are like carpenter's hands, just smoother. Let us build for you.

Tocar. Sentir. berühren. Toccare. прикосновение. What we touch is as important as what we see. Which is why getting the industrial design of a product down pat is so crucial. Whether you’re early on in the design process and need conceptua
Rapid Iteration

Rapid design. Rapid feedback. Rapid success (or failure).

The RITE Method, or Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation, is a unique approach that blends user testing with collaborative design prototyping in a quick and tidy package. RITE compresses the traditional testing-then-evaluation-then-design process into a
Visual Branding

How you look, matters.

The look of your product is the first, and often, only impression that you get to make to a potential customer or user, so you want to make sure that it effectively conveys the personality and traits that you want it to convey. Over the longer term, the right visual branding keeps your customers motivated to use the product to its fullest potential. We approach your visual branding needs by first, deeply understanding what you want to convey to your users and customers. We then turn your vision into a tangible, visual look and feel that we work closely with you to create and refine. Everything from color palettes, to icons, to logo designs, we cover it all.
UX Design for Startups

When you’re on the bleeding edge, your UX should be as cutting edge as you.

When you’re a startup, things move fast. You need to make wise and informed decisions without a lot of time and with limited resources. We understand this and have tailored our UX processes to work within these constraints. We help you determine where you need to focus your UX efforts, whether it be user research, product requirement definition, usability evaluation, or design, and then help you carry out these efforts in the most efficient way possible.
UX Design for Enterprise

We thrive on complexity.

In many ways, enterprise is the ultimate challenge for design. You are dealing with complex subject matter, usually the domain of a highly specialized few, that needs to be brought to a larger audience. It’s a struggle of maximizing simplicity without sacrificing power or flexibility. You need designers who can quickly immerse themselves in a highly specialized domain, untangle its complex concepts, and then package them into a cohesive, user friendly experience. This is who we are and what we do. We understand the classic tradeoff between power and simplicity and know how to find the right balance to get the best product possible.

Research: Discover

It’s important to understand the big picture before getting into the details. By exploring the business needs and market surrounding your product, we’ll help you to design an experience that fits in the broader ecosystem.

Interviews

Interviews help you understand the broader context of how users interact with your designs.

We love talking to people, because there’s no substitute for hearing what users think about your product or service from the users themselves. Designed as “structured conversations”, in our interviews we do our best to explore and understand the br
Affinity Diagramming

Effectively visualize hidden trends and connections—and make it look cool.

In the words of our great mascot, Howard, “User experience abhors a vacuum.” Since user research involves an exploration of complex systems of interactions, we think the way we visually map these interactions should be more than a bulleted Word lis testsssssss
Personas

Personas bring to life your idealized users. Know them intimately to build what they want and need.

Understanding who your users are is sometimes more than conducting interviews or doing a focus group. Personas are great a way to make sure that users’ voices are heard long after the interview is over, and form a central part of our user centered desig
Diary Studies

Track users over time to harvest insights into thresholds of hidden behavior

Sometimes the best way to get the user’s side of the story is to let them tell it themselves. A diary study allows just this: a user to track, or “journal” their interactions and feelings with your product or service over time. From daily journal en
Surveys

Not quite a spigot, not yet a firehose. A quick way to start growing your user understanding.

Surveys are the quick and dirty method of getting a lot of feedback quickly. They're easy to create and administer. We can help you craft the right questions for your goals, mesh with your other user experience initiatives, and meet the needs of your busi
Heuristic Analysis

A fresh perspective to help improve design; and fast!

As usability and user experience experts, we can usually tell if a design will do well - and what needs to be fixed to make it better. Having a set of unbiased eyes can help you hone in on issues that you're struggling with or perhaps didn't even know exi

Research: Understand

User research is a critical step of the product development process. We dive deeply into user stories and potential markets to understand user needs and desires through and through. These findings shape every subsequent decision in the process.

Competitive Analysis

Competition is not only the basis of protection to the consumer, but is the incentive to progress.

Hoover had it right: understanding your users is necessary for great product design, but sometimes it’s useful to understand what your competitors are doing differently—as that’s where opportunity lies. In our analysis we focus on understanding how
Interviews

Interviews help you understand the broader context of how users interact with your designs.

We love talking to people, because there’s no substitute for hearing what users think about your product or service from the users themselves. Designed as “structured conversations”, in our interviews we do our best to explore and understand the br
Surveys

Not quite a spigot, not yet a firehose. A quick way to start growing your user understanding.

Surveys are the quick and dirty method of getting a lot of feedback quickly. They're easy to create and administer. We can help you craft the right questions for your goals, mesh with your other user experience initiatives, and meet the needs of your busi
Contextual Inquiry

Deeply understanding users’ wants and needs leads to strikingly compelling products

Oftentimes the best way to understand a user’s wants and needs is to effectively join them in their world. Contextual Inquiry is a user research method whereby the researcher is embedded in the user’s environment, alternately observing and intervie

Remote Testing

User insight from a distance. Reach all customer markets quickly.

Remote testing is a great way of reaching users in different markets and regions that might not otherwise be available; for example, international users, disabled users, or people in their workplace. Much like our regular usability testing, remote testing
Affinity Diagramming

Effectively visualize hidden trends and connections—and make it look cool.

In the words of our great mascot, Howard, “User experience abhors a vacuum.” Since user research involves an exploration of complex systems of interactions, we think the way we visually map these interactions should be more than a bulleted Word lis testsssssss
Personas

Personas bring to life your idealized users. Know them intimately to build what they want and need.

Understanding who your users are is sometimes more than conducting interviews or doing a focus group. Personas are great a way to make sure that users’ voices are heard long after the interview is over, and form a central part of our user centered desig
Diary Studies

Track users over time to harvest insights into thresholds of hidden behavior

Sometimes the best way to get the user’s side of the story is to let them tell it themselves. A diary study allows just this: a user to track, or “journal” their interactions and feelings with your product or service over time. From daily journal en
Use Cases

The blueprints for successful design

Use cases are the crossover from the user to design. Once you've thoroughly understood the users' wants and needs, then you can plan design by laying out all the needed use cases. From scenarios to step-by-step task flows, use cases are the blueprint for
Heuristic Analysis

A fresh perspective to help improve design; and fast!

As usability and user experience experts, we can usually tell if a design will do well - and what needs to be fixed to make it better. Having a set of unbiased eyes can help you hone in on issues that you're struggling with or perhaps didn't even know exi
Visual Design

visual design description

the next par

Research: Assess

Capturing user feedback allows us to assess whether users truly understand your product. Integrating quantitative rigor into our design process ensures that we hold ourselves accountable to an unbiased usability standard. These metrics inform the roadmap for further improvement.

Interviews

Interviews help you understand the broader context of how users interact with your designs.

We love talking to people, because there’s no substitute for hearing what users think about your product or service from the users themselves. Designed as “structured conversations”, in our interviews we do our best to explore and understand the br
Diary Studies

Track users over time to harvest insights into thresholds of hidden behavior

Sometimes the best way to get the user’s side of the story is to let them tell it themselves. A diary study allows just this: a user to track, or “journal” their interactions and feelings with your product or service over time. From daily journal en
Competitive Analysis

Competition is not only the basis of protection to the consumer, but is the incentive to progress.

Hoover had it right: understanding your users is necessary for great product design, but sometimes it’s useful to understand what your competitors are doing differently—as that’s where opportunity lies. In our analysis we focus on understanding how
Surveys

Not quite a spigot, not yet a firehose. A quick way to start growing your user understanding.

Surveys are the quick and dirty method of getting a lot of feedback quickly. They're easy to create and administer. We can help you craft the right questions for your goals, mesh with your other user experience initiatives, and meet the needs of your busi
Usability Testing

"Usability! Usability! Usability!" - What Steve Ballmer should have said.

Usability testing is the crucible of finding out whether you're succeeding or failing. You can test early to make rapid course corrections, or test late to establish metric benchmarks. The way we see it, uncertainty is part-and-parcel of the design proces
Heuristic Analysis

A fresh perspective to help improve design; and fast!

As usability and user experience experts, we can usually tell if a design will do well - and what needs to be fixed to make it better. Having a set of unbiased eyes can help you hone in on issues that you're struggling with or perhaps didn't even know exi
Benchmark Testing

You need to robustly measure? Then you need to benchmark.

How much is enough? It's a question managers (and customers) ask all the time. Experiences are hard to measure though. What's the solution? Benchmark user testing. Find out where you stand today. Compare to where you were in the past. Test against competi
Rapid Iteration

Rapid design. Rapid feedback. Rapid success (or failure).

The RITE Method, or Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation, is a unique approach that blends user testing with collaborative design prototyping in a quick and tidy package. RITE compresses the traditional testing-then-evaluation-then-design process into a
Remote Testing

User insight from a distance. Reach all customer markets quickly.

Remote testing is a great way of reaching users in different markets and regions that might not otherwise be available; for example, international users, disabled users, or people in their workplace. Much like our regular usability testing, remote testing
Eye-Tracking

The eyes have it... They have the key to whether your design is working.

“Everybody lies”, according to Dr. House. Just like doctors need to pay close attention when patients describe their illness, usability professionals are “examining” users to diagnose the issues in design. Are there any behavior-based ”tests”
Visual Design

visual design description

the next par

Research: Define

Before we even start to build wireframes and mocks, we translate our understanding of user needs and behaviors into product requirements. This is where research starts to shape design. By mapping user needs to product functionality, we ensure that we build an experience that serves the user.

Interviews

Interviews help you understand the broader context of how users interact with your designs.

We love talking to people, because there’s no substitute for hearing what users think about your product or service from the users themselves. Designed as “structured conversations”, in our interviews we do our best to explore and understand the br
Contextual Inquiry

Deeply understanding users’ wants and needs leads to strikingly compelling products

Oftentimes the best way to understand a user’s wants and needs is to effectively join them in their world. Contextual Inquiry is a user research method whereby the researcher is embedded in the user’s environment, alternately observing and intervie

Personas

Personas bring to life your idealized users. Know them intimately to build what they want and need.

Understanding who your users are is sometimes more than conducting interviews or doing a focus group. Personas are great a way to make sure that users’ voices are heard long after the interview is over, and form a central part of our user centered desig
Affinity Diagramming

Effectively visualize hidden trends and connections—and make it look cool.

In the words of our great mascot, Howard, “User experience abhors a vacuum.” Since user research involves an exploration of complex systems of interactions, we think the way we visually map these interactions should be more than a bulleted Word lis testsssssss
Use Cases

The blueprints for successful design

Use cases are the crossover from the user to design. Once you've thoroughly understood the users' wants and needs, then you can plan design by laying out all the needed use cases. From scenarios to step-by-step task flows, use cases are the blueprint for
Wireframing

Wireframing: LEGO, but for adults. Quick, draft design, but appealing and communicative.

The way we see it, uncertainty is part-and-parcel of the design process. As a result, wireframing and sketching out conceptual designs, testing out ideas and exploring uncertainty - it all comes with the territory. So whether it’s sketching something by
Prototyping

Prototyping, not practice, makes perfect design

Like wireframing, prototyping is all about exploring design concepts. However, where prototyping differs is that there’s often a user feedback element: because prototypes are meant to be interactive. We recommend putting them in front of users as soon a
Industrial Design

Industrial designer's hands are like carpenter's hands, just smoother. Let us build for you.

Tocar. Sentir. berühren. Toccare. прикосновение. What we touch is as important as what we see. Which is why getting the industrial design of a product down pat is so crucial. Whether you’re early on in the design process and need conceptua

Research: Conceptualize

Once we thoroughly understand your product’s requirements and constraints, we map out how a user might conceptualize the product experience. We define relationships between elements of the product, and define user workflows for accomplishing tasks. This blueprint serves as a foundation for interaction design.

Interviews

Interviews help you understand the broader context of how users interact with your designs.

We love talking to people, because there’s no substitute for hearing what users think about your product or service from the users themselves. Designed as “structured conversations”, in our interviews we do our best to explore and understand the br
Visual Design

You want to go from "blah" to "BAM!!" You don't want lipstick on a pig.

We live and breathe visual design so you don’t have to. Whether it’s a simple re-skin, icon work, or a comprehensive redesign, our ever-evolving visual design toolkit is always at the ready. Our typical visual design process looks something like this:
Contextual Inquiry

Deeply understanding users’ wants and needs leads to strikingly compelling products

Oftentimes the best way to understand a user’s wants and needs is to effectively join them in their world. Contextual Inquiry is a user research method whereby the researcher is embedded in the user’s environment, alternately observing and intervie

Affinity Diagramming

Effectively visualize hidden trends and connections—and make it look cool.

In the words of our great mascot, Howard, “User experience abhors a vacuum.” Since user research involves an exploration of complex systems of interactions, we think the way we visually map these interactions should be more than a bulleted Word lis testsssssss
Personas

Personas bring to life your idealized users. Know them intimately to build what they want and need.

Understanding who your users are is sometimes more than conducting interviews or doing a focus group. Personas are great a way to make sure that users’ voices are heard long after the interview is over, and form a central part of our user centered desig
Use Cases

The blueprints for successful design

Use cases are the crossover from the user to design. Once you've thoroughly understood the users' wants and needs, then you can plan design by laying out all the needed use cases. From scenarios to step-by-step task flows, use cases are the blueprint for
Interaction Design

We design to optimize your product experience, your customer's satisfaction, and your success.

As a core part of our holistic design process, interaction design deals with the nuts and bolts of your design - how a user literally interacts with it to achieve certain goals. Get the nuts and bolts right, and everything else is gravy. But get them wron
Wireframing

Wireframing: LEGO, but for adults. Quick, draft design, but appealing and communicative.

The way we see it, uncertainty is part-and-parcel of the design process. As a result, wireframing and sketching out conceptual designs, testing out ideas and exploring uncertainty - it all comes with the territory. So whether it’s sketching something by
Industrial Design

Industrial designer's hands are like carpenter's hands, just smoother. Let us build for you.

Tocar. Sentir. berühren. Toccare. прикосновение. What we touch is as important as what we see. Which is why getting the industrial design of a product down pat is so crucial. Whether you’re early on in the design process and need conceptua
Visual Design

visual design description

the next par

Research: Visualize

Our interaction and visual designers bring product ideas to life via a variety of methods and tools, from sketches, to annotated wireframes, to hi-fidelity mockups.

Contextual Inquiry

Deeply understanding users’ wants and needs leads to strikingly compelling products

Oftentimes the best way to understand a user’s wants and needs is to effectively join them in their world. Contextual Inquiry is a user research method whereby the researcher is embedded in the user’s environment, alternately observing and intervie

Interaction Design

We design to optimize your product experience, your customer's satisfaction, and your success.

As a core part of our holistic design process, interaction design deals with the nuts and bolts of your design - how a user literally interacts with it to achieve certain goals. Get the nuts and bolts right, and everything else is gravy. But get them wron
Visual Design

You want to go from "blah" to "BAM!!" You don't want lipstick on a pig.

We live and breathe visual design so you don’t have to. Whether it’s a simple re-skin, icon work, or a comprehensive redesign, our ever-evolving visual design toolkit is always at the ready. Our typical visual design process looks something like this:
Wireframing

Wireframing: LEGO, but for adults. Quick, draft design, but appealing and communicative.

The way we see it, uncertainty is part-and-parcel of the design process. As a result, wireframing and sketching out conceptual designs, testing out ideas and exploring uncertainty - it all comes with the territory. So whether it’s sketching something by
Prototyping

Prototyping, not practice, makes perfect design

Like wireframing, prototyping is all about exploring design concepts. However, where prototyping differs is that there’s often a user feedback element: because prototypes are meant to be interactive. We recommend putting them in front of users as soon a
Industrial Design

Industrial designer's hands are like carpenter's hands, just smoother. Let us build for you.

Tocar. Sentir. berühren. Toccare. прикосновение. What we touch is as important as what we see. Which is why getting the industrial design of a product down pat is so crucial. Whether you’re early on in the design process and need conceptua
Rapid Iteration

Rapid design. Rapid feedback. Rapid success (or failure).

The RITE Method, or Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation, is a unique approach that blends user testing with collaborative design prototyping in a quick and tidy package. RITE compresses the traditional testing-then-evaluation-then-design process into a