We live in a time where we have access to near unlimited information at the touch of our fingertips – either through our smartphones, tablets or computers. We use this technology every day for all sorts of activities, from online banking to checking the weather.
These incredible innovations are ubiquitous in modern life, but they wouldn’t be nearly as popular if they weren’t easy to use. A huge part of this is down to a well-designed user experience, or how we interact with this technology.
A good UX means that users can easily understand and use the technology without difficulty. It should be intuitively laid out and straightforward to navigate, so we’re going to take a look at what user experience is and why it’s important.
What is user experience?
User experience, also known as UX, is a catch-all term for how an individual interacts with a product, service or encounter. It is a term that is used in marketing, sales and swathe of other industries. In terms of IT, UX defines how well a user-facing piece of software or website is designed with the end-user in mind.
User experience is important across all types of software, applications and websites as it makes it easier for users to make full use of the product or service. Whether it’s social media or checking the news, a good user experience is largely responsible for the uptake of that application. There should be no steep learning curves if you’re aiming to make a program or website accessible.
Why it is important to learn UX design
User experience bridges the gap between user and functionality. A well-designed user experience will allow individuals to make full use of an application with little guidance – it should be as intuitive as possible. If you’re looking for an application to take off, then user experience design should be a part of its creation from the beginning.
In order to provide a good user experience, you will need to learn UX design or find a designer. Understanding the key concepts surrounding UX design can facilitate the creation of a well thought out, intuitive product.
What goes into a good UX design?
There are a few main considerations that UX designers will use to guide their UX implementations, almost all of them are geared around the end-user and their experience using the application.
Good UX design needs to be intuitive
In order for users to use all of the functionality of an application, the UX design must be easy to understand. Research shows that creating an intuitive user experience is key to the understanding and ultimate use of an application. One of the best indicators of an intuitive UX design is how quickly a user can pick it up and access the available functionality.
There are lots of factors that go into how well an individual will adopt an application, such as their own prior knowledge and past experiences. If the user has previous experience with something similar, they will quickly make a connection and understand how to use the application. For example, designing an ‘exit’ button that looks like an exit sign, or swiping the screen on a smartphone like you would a book.
UX design and Human Interface Design guidelines
UX design is an iterative process, with good design concepts being adopted as a standard across applications. These are flexible and don’t have to be used, but they can go a long way to improving UX design. Oftentimes, UX designers and developers will implement Human Interface Design guidelines (HID) as a way to improve the end-user experience and provide them with established conventions, such as an arrow to signify moving over to the next page.
It’s all about how a user will understand and interpret what they see when using an application. Known conventions from HID guidelines can offer users an understandable path to get somewhere within the application, as a roadmap of sorts.
UX design needs to keep the platform in mind
There are a few different platforms for applications, but smartphones, tablets and desktop versions are by far the largest and most accessible. When designing an application, it’s important to consider how the end-user will be interacting with it – will it be through a smartphone, a desktop or both?
Applications should be optimised to work across their preferred platform, so a mobile user won’t have to use a desktop interface to use it. HID guidelines can be useful here, particularly if you’re designing for cross-platform usage.
None of this is to say that you absolutely must use certain design conventions, but it will be a bigger hurdle for users to adopt if you go too abstract with your ideas.
Implement good UX design with the user in mind
UX design can be hard to get right, as there is a balance to strike between sticking with established design conventions and making your own mark through your design. However, the risk of abstract concepts scaring away users means that any changes to the conventions should be slight and conservative. Going too far is a huge liability for the future of that application.
Understanding UX design is not simple, but as long as you keep the user in mind throughout the design, along with some HID guidelines, you will help tremendously in the uptake and retention of the application.
If you’re interested in learning more about UX design tools, get in touch with us at the UX Philosophy to discuss your requirements or to book a place with us. We offer an innovative UX design course to help you get UX design jobs.
