The term User Experience (UX) or User Experience Design (UXD) has been one of the hottest terms mentioned in the current design world. So what is UX design? Why does it matter? How does it help with your brand?
What is UX?
Here’s the definition of User Experience according to Wikipedia.
“the process of enhancing user satisfaction by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction between the user and the product.”
What does a UX designer do?
Most companies focus on their brands first. However, a UX designer focuses first on the users. While a company thinks about how to get more traffic to their sites, a UX designer says, “How does the user spend time on the site? What are they looking for? Is the site easy to navigate? What information is missing?”
A typical UX designer touches many areas of marketing, engineer, research, design, and so on. A UX designer’s goal is to bring all these experiences to a user. Here are some common aspects a UX designer usually focuses on …
Who is the primary target user?
EX: College students? Gamers? Realtors?
How does a user get from point A to point B?
EX: What route did they end up taking?
How long does it take for a user to complete a task?
EX: How many steps to complete a profile setup?
What action did a user end up taking?
EX: Did a user sign up for a newsletter? Did a user click on the ads or purchase a product?
How does UX help the brand?
In order to solve your brand problem, you must first solve your user problem. Think of it this way, a brand without a user is not a brand. At the end of the day, it only matters if your product helps your users accomplish their tasks. Only then your brand will be remembered.
Let’s take a look at a real-life example – Starbucks Coffee
Why is Starbucks one of the most successful coffee company in the world?
- Original product
Starbucks coffee tastes nice and smooth because they roast their beans at a higher temperature for a longer period of time. It helps to bring out more of the flavor. (source – Starbucks) - Satisfy experience
Starbucks specialty drinks such as Mocha Frappuccino, Pumpkin Spice Latte, and Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonade are so popular that it keeps their customer coming back every day. No one else makes them like they do. - Trusted brand
Starbucks’ brand is a trusted brand. You can expect the same experience at any Starbucks. Same great taste coffee, same environment, clean restroom, free WiFi, and so on. This is what customers can count on at every visit.
How does a UX designer help improve user experience?
There are many ways to measure the success of a UX design. It can be time-saving, increasing new customers, increasing volume of a mobile app download, and so on. However, a good UX design should at least improve these three areas.
- Ease of use
Is the product simple to use? How easy is your app navigation? How easy is the product checkout process? - Easy access
It should make it easy to access and get information about your product. The actual product label, a website, and a mobile app should all shared the same experience. - Satisfaction
Is your product helpful? Does it make a user happy? Is your product safe? Does a user feel proud to share your product with others?
As you can see, UX design is all about understanding the end users. Without them, your product is meaningless.
I hope that you find this article helpful. Next time, we will take a look more closely at the UX design process.
Happy designing, 🙂
