Digital experiments / A practical fieldbook
Try one thing.
Keep the difference.
A notebook for small digital studies: a clear question, a visible change and an honest record of what the comparison does and does not establish.
Start an experiment record →01 / Specimen brief
A question small enough to inspect.
The example asks how spacing changes the separation between a heading, an explanation and a note. It is a visual exercise, not evidence of usability or performance.
- Question
- What relationship becomes more visible when the space between the three elements changes?
- Held constant
- The wording, order and frame stay the same in the two examples.
- Changed
- The vertical distance between the elements is larger in the variation.
- Observation task
- Describe the visible grouping and emphasis before making a claim about a reader’s experience.
- Limit
- No audience study, timing result or general design rule is established by this comparison.
02 / The visible study
Put the versions beside one another.
These two panels use the same text. The changed spacing is the material for the discussion; neither panel is labelled a winning design.
A clear starting point
This short explanation belongs to the heading.
A supporting note has a different role.
A clear starting point
This short explanation belongs to the heading.
A supporting note has a different role.
-
BASELINE / Establish the frame
Save the initial arrangement and the question. Record which elements are part of the study and which are simply context.
-
VARIATION / Name the change
Describe the relationship you altered. If several things changed together, say so instead of treating the comparison as a single-variable test.
-
REVIEW / Separate reading from outcome
Record what you can point to in the examples and which further question it raises. Keep an interpretation distinct from a measured response that was not collected.
An experiment can end with a better question.
A small study does not need to become a finished product. It can expose an assumption, show that two changes were mixed together or identify what would need to be examined with the actual audience and context.
If a later project requires operational, security or accessibility validation, use the appropriate sources and review process for that work. A visual comparison should not be presented as proof that those requirements are satisfied.