In times when we are bombarded with colorful advertising, information and many options for one product on the market, it is difficult to effectively reach the buyer. It is even more difficult to keep him and encourage him to use the activities of our company.
What is UX Design
User Experience (UX) is responsible for the customer’s experience with our company and therefore whether they use the services, recommend the site or return in the future.
The user experience includes all of the following before, during and after using the app:
- emotions;
- reactions (both physical and mental);
- beliefs and preferences;
- all kinds of results;
- user behavior and achievements.
The process of good UX consists of many factors, the most important of which are:
- Usability improvement and simplification – it is known that all interaction of the client with the product should be completely understandable and convenient for him;
- Increasing attractiveness and aesthetics – you must take care of the user’s pleasure when using the application, while maintaining full functionality.
- Total accessibility and responsiveness – the application or site must be designed in such a way that the user is not limited in any way due to his physical and mental capabilities.
- Assurance of suitability – the product must satisfy predetermined needs of the customer.
Preparing for such a process requires answers to three important questions:
- Why do users choose this product and not another?
- What key problems should the product solve (including the features that will help solve them)?
- How can a product show all the benefits of good UX?
In summary, good UX design makes the user feel like the app is transparent (simple and intuitive) when using the app, they are satisfied with the experience it provided them, and they get what they expected from it.
So it’s hard to define a “ready recipe” for great UXD because too many factors (such as a client’s available budget) influence their final plan.
Figuratively, it can be compared with boiling broth: each person expects his own specific taste from such a soup, and therefore uses different recipes. The broth can be made with duck, chicken or beef. The effect, although it is called the same, is completely different.
It’s the same with a web app – although they have the same name, a food ordering app and a recipe app that lists specific macronutrients are completely different end products. Continuing to explain what UX is, let’s take the example of a restaurant where we accidentally went for coffee after searching for it on a search engine.
After the visit, we are delighted with the location of the restaurant, the atmosphere and interior design, as well as the music that perfectly unites the whole experience. In addition, the menu looks very attractive and the service is much better than we expected. So, in general, the impressions are positive and we decided that next time we will go to this place for a family dinner with our loved ones. At the moment, success can be noted by everyone who contributed to our feeling about this place: a team of chefs and waiters, managers, designers, copywriters, a photographer, a web developer.
Returning to the elements that make up the recipe for a good user experience design, we can mention:
Research
In fact, the most important component influencing the positive effects of UX design is research, which is based on testing human-computer relationships and user-centered design/development (UCD/UDD). For this, elements from various fields are used, including interaction and visual design, information architecture, user research, etc.
The rest of the research is based on understanding the purpose of the application and the role and needs of the end user (which should be verified at each design stage).
Visual design
It has long been known that buyers buy with their eyes. Visual design can bring tangible value and high conversion, especially in the case of impulsive buyers. Clients who prefer more thoughtful investments are also partial to visuals. The vision of creating fruitful visual communication can be found in the foundations of visual perception and Gestalt psychology.
Graphic design has many facets such as creating visual communication, defining aesthetics and appearance, and most of all, designing the user interface. Visual design is not just limited to the concept of graphic processing – it is the whole process of choosing thoughtful images, symbols and colors that, as a whole, convey a pre-agreed message to the end user.
