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9 questions to our stellar UX Designer

Coming all the way from Abruzzo, Federica has recently joined the glueglue forces as new UX designer! Navigating between the world of art and design, she combines pixels with crafts. If she could go anywhere in the globe tomorrow, she would take a flight to Patagonia to live by wild nature and see the South Pole Penguins.

Give us an overview of how you got into UX Design.

I am from the art history field, actually, but I’ve always wanted to do something more practical and tangible, so I discovered graphic design and fell in love with UI design first and then UX.

What is the most important thing the working environment has taught you that you wouldn’t learn at school?

Dealing with people. Knowing the human being. Behind every project, there are real people who have needs to be understood and who may not always be easy to connect with. I think the real rules of communication can be only learned only through the real working experience.

What is your design principle?

At the risk of being not so original, simplicity is what drives me, it’s my personal state of mind. Good design happens when there is a purpose, a strong vision that can be materialized in the clearest and simplest way. You can’t solve problems with messy and overloaded solutions. Also, I feel like a superhero who fights with ugliness every day.

I feel like a superhero who fights with ugliness every day.
Federica Corneli

What are you really into outside work?

I’m an expansive person and a loner at the same time, so I often need to do some meditative stuff like yoga or just reading on the beach (and binge-watching, of course). Hanging out with friends and having a beer still remains as one of the most mind-clearing activity, though. Oh, and I really love dancing, too.

Do you think there will be more female UX designers in the years to come?

I think and hope so. Women are still under-represented within UX and tech industry, especially in Italy. Without devaluing a great job of male designers, the female mindset is obviously different in many ways and I think that the women’s approach to solving problems is a great strength and a precious resource. I’m sure we are going to prove our worth in the immediate future.

In UX Design form follows function or form equals function?

In social psychology, there is this concept called “halo effect” which can be transposed in design according to which people assume that good-looking product is perceived as more valuable. Although the primary function of design is providing good functionality and usability, I think that form and function are equals, both of them contributing to the perception of a product, either a good or bad one.

Two crucial UX Designer skills?

Empathy and endless curiosity

What do you do to get inspired?

I’m simply a tireless observer. The best inspiration comes from visual triggers, from your screen as well as nature and anything that surrounds you. Sometimes I also leverage my art studies. Adding the music to the mix, that really helps too.

Why do people confuse UX with UI?

Some people even think websites are some weird mumbo-jumbo code+design stuff, and I think it’s difficult for outsiders to understand the subtle line between the two fields which often overlap. Moreover, when you talk about design, the majority thinks about the visual and graphics side and hardly about usability or interactions. As a matter of fact, we have contributed to this confusion by often handling both specialties in our job.

 

Federica Corneli UI / UX designer in love with art and beautiful things. The strong supporter of freedom and naps, crazy about the sea, cats, unusual trips, and neon colors

 

Our replies
to your questions

Apri o chiudi
Why choose glueglue?

We are a digital product agency with more than 10 years of experience and highly specialized skills in both design and development.
Over time, we have consolidated an agile and effective method to work best with all types of clients: from the start-up that needs some kind of support to the multinational corporation that wants to integrate a team with design and executive agility, our most appreciated peculiarity.
We are positioned in a medium-high market segment and are able to offer excellent value for money. Direct supervision by glueglue's founding partners of each project ensures the highest quality of service and finished product. We are on the top list of the best User Experience and digital product agencies on Clutch, the most widely used database of digital consulting agencies in the world.

Apri o chiudi
How does glueglue work and what are the areas of expertise?

We always start with a careful analysis of the customer's needs considering not only the product needs but also the medium and long-term business objectives.
As a first step, we often deal with the visual identity, evaluating the positioning by analyzing the competitor and identifying areas for improvement in terms of branding and image.
Then, we move on to the UX/UI area: we study the user experience of your product or service through a UX Review with 3 dedicated professionals to identify the points which it is necessary to act to improve the usability of the site or app examined.
In the following phase, we design the User Journey Map, i.e. the map of all the paths that the user follows, interacting with the product and the brand . Identifying all the contact points is of strategic importance in order to immerse ourselves in situations of real use and understand where value can really be created for the end user and therefore for the product.
We will then move on to the phase of creating the wireframes, with the sharing of an interactive prototype that will define the functionality and structure of each single page and interaction of the product.
Once the wireframes have been consolidated, we will move on to the design phase of the graphic interface, with attention paid to the smallest details in so as to ensure a positive and truly satisfying user experience.
At this point, our developers come into play for the implementation part. We use the most current technologies such as React, Flutter, Gatsby JS, Symfony, Node.JS and others to create products with high standards of quality and stability, working and pixel perfect.

Apri o chiudi
What distinguishes glueglue from other top design or product agencies?

To offer maximum value, the glueglue team works on a limited number of projects. In this way, our professionals can dedicate an uninterrupted focus to always obtain excellent results.
Each project is managed on the basis of precise deadlines and intermediate meetings with the client. We take care of the unique needs and potential of each product and consequently, each solution created is exclusive and highly customized.
Thanks to the experience of 10+ years in the digital sector, we have developed a successful method to achieve the highest goals in the areas that matter: strategy, design and development.

Apri o chiudi
Can you do web design?

We work on all types of digital products, from iOS and Android apps to webapps and complex platforms.
Furthermore, part of the team specializes in creating marketing websites, i.e. websites totally focused on promoting the product or services.

Apri o chiudi
Do you also do branding or should I look for another agency?

Being a full-service agency, we also offer branding services such as naming and logo design. Among the products we create for our customers, the brand guidelines stand out, i.e. the detailed guidelines document for the corporate image. We are totally comfortable working on existing guidelines or in collaboration with a branding agency.

Apri o chiudi
How much does it cost to entrust you with a digital project?

We like to always be as transparent as possible and we believe that talking openly about the budget is important to understand how to get added value from the partnership for both parties. Given this, since each customer has its own peculiarities and presents different challenges, we do not use a price list, but we invest time to understand the customer's reality well and provide a specific approach and an appropriate price.
Indicatively, the price of user experience and graphical interface design projects can vary in a range between €10,000 and €30,000, depending on various factors such as the client's needs and the complexity of the project.
The cost of the projects in area Branding is positioned between €5,000 and €15,000, always taking into account any possible peculiarities.
As regards the more technical part, the cost for the development of iOS and Android web and mobile apps ranges from €20,000 upwards .
Website development starts from a minimum of €10,000. Our average hourly rate for single consultations is €60 per hour.
If you want to get to know us better, you can schedule 30 minutes free by appointment.

Apri o chiudi
Do you also work with early stage startups, therefore with limited resources?

Of course, we love startups! Over time we have met many enlightened and highly talented entrepreneurs.
We have invested in some startups, preferring work for equity. Our experience has always been positive, contributing to the achievement of various rounds of investments for a total value of over 30 million Euros.

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