Present GUI proposal variants side by side or one by one?

Question

I'm presenting different Photoshopped mockups of a certain view of an Android app I'm developing for a company.

I have around three, four variants. Is there a "best" way to present these? Specifically - is it easier for the viewers to grasp the variants if I lay them out side by side or to present them one by one.

I realize that to see differences, a side by side approach is perhaps best, while presenting them one by one allows the user to better get a feel for a specific screenshot.

I'm hoping you have experience of this and can share your view.

Answer 1

Every time you present wires or design, the process should be a little different depending on what your objectives are (what you are trying to get out of the meeting) and who your stakeholders are and what they are expecting.

In this case, not knowing much about where you are or the design process of your company/client, I think you should present each version independently initially. This way you'd be able to speak about: 1. How it solves the goals of the user 2. How it achieves the objectives you were given 3. Pros (dev time, usability, etc, etc,) 4. Cons (dev time, etc, etc)

At the end, with that information, your stakeholders will have a much better perspective, than just design observations.

Also, even though you might have 3 or 4 versions, go to your presentation with 1 suggestion out of the four. At the end it's you who knows this best. You should present all the options to show the thinking and how you covered all use cases/scenarios, but suggest the one you think does it the best way.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

It's best to present the best one.

I know we've become accustomed to showing "here's a bunch of options" from the world of graphic design/marketing. But even then that's not always a great idea.

You (in theory) spent a lot of time winnowing down the options already based on your expertise, research, skills and the like. The client (in theory) hired you because of this so do not burden them with having to make these decisions in a presentation. Just deliver the solution and explain it well.

That's not to say never show the other options, but don't present them as something to choose from. Maybe flip through them quickly to show some project history or add them to an appendix in the presentation.

What can happen when you show multiple options as equals you will invariably end up with everyone saying take part 'a' from this one, part 'b' from this one and part 'c' from this one. So you end up with a Frankenstein's Monster of a solution that likely a giant compromise.

(But as Miguel states, also add a health dose of 'it depends on the situation' to this advice)