I've been reading a lot about UX design of late. I read on UX basics, its fields, its applications and lots more. In under seven minutes, I'll to share with you everything I found out. Let's go!
Introduction
User Experience, UX is a term used first by Donald Norman in 1995 to describe the overall experience a user has when interacting with a product (either digital or physical).
It's all about designing experiences to suit the needs of the consumer to give users an awesome time while using the product. It looks after things like ease of use of the product, ease of navigation, quality of the product and the very aesthetic appeal of the product.
UX Design is a user-centered field that makes use of analysis of inputs from real users to help these real users enjoy a product better.
One can say "Good UX design" is a useful, usable, accessible, unambiguous and predictable system. So good experience = happy user
So what does the design process entail?
If you're like me, you probably want to know what UX design is like exactly. Well, I found out that there isn't just one 'ol way of "UX design"-ing, it's always project-specific. The reason for this is that it wouldn't be ideal if one rigid system was used for all users and projects. That wouldn't be very UX-y would it?
However, there still is a generic "scheme of work" if you want, for the UX design process. This template follows four key steps: research, design, testing and implementation.
User Research 👓✔️
First of all, UX designers have to scout out market rivals and other competitors to see what's out there and how these competitors make their products tick.
Then before they dive into the design, they need to look to understand the target user's pain points by engaging with users through focus groups, surveys, questionnaires, and other research methods to understand a user's motivations, needs, and behaviours.
Research is imperative because it's only when a UX designer understands what users want and need (i.e. their pain-points), that he/she can start looking for a solution to their most pressing problems.
Research Analysis 🧠💯
After carrying out extensive research, UX designers have to dissect the data obtained and turn it into meaningful information. This includes deducing user wants, needs and pain-points in an affinity map.
Subsequently, UX designers go on to draw up user personas, which are fictitious, yet realistic representations of target users based on the insights already derived from the affinity map
Once the personas have been created, it is then possible to assume specific actions that each persona might want to perform. A userflow is used to portray the route the persona will take to carry out said action.
Design 🎨🖌️
In this stage, a UX designer morphs his/her ideas into visually appealing and easy-to-use pages. Wireframes (sketches of the actual design) are used to demonstrate how the layout of the design will be. Using the wireframe, more detailed prototypes are then created before the final design is displayed as a mockup.
Testing 🔧⚙️
Testing is a crucial stage of the design process. It's the means by which a UX designer gathers authentic feedback in order to identify design flaws. Tests carried out include but are not limited to, usability tests, acceptance tests and accessibility tests. Products must go through thorough rounds of testing to properly mould them into the user’s ideal choice.
Implementation 🔄💨
In this final stage, the UX designer hands over to the developers so they can bring the design to life. The UX designer must work hand-in-hand with the devs to ensure the smooth completion of the project without any alterations.
The Areas Of UX Design.
There are basic things all UX designers need to know like user testing, prototyping and the like. These are all prerequisite skills. UX Design, however, goes deeper into four major specialized disciplines:
Experience Strategy; which aims to provide positive customer experiences throughout a customer's journey to ensure customer satisfaction.
User Research; where UX researchers conduct qualitative and quantitative research to gather in-depth insights into target users, working closely with the product team to identify questions, plan sessions, and inform product strategy.
Information Architecture; which is the science of organizing and structuring content in a logical, user-friendly way.
Interaction Design; which is the field of digital product design that focuses on user interaction with specific elements, aiming to optimize interactive systems for human use.
UX designers can also dive into UX writing, research or any relevant field of their choosing.
The Skills UX Designers Must Have.
Once I had learned about the opportunities in UX design, I needed to learn what it took to become an actual UX Designer.
In terms of soft skills, UX designers are required to be able to communicate and collaborate efficiently. They also need good problem-solving skills as well as creativity and storytelling skills.
These skills are very relevant and will push a UX designer to the peak of performance in the workplace.
Relevant technical skills, as aforementioned, include user research, information architecture, interaction design and prototyping.
How To Put Yourself On The Map As A UX Designer.
First of all, every UX designer needs a modern portfolio. A portfolio is a personal website that introduces you as a designer and showcases a selection of projects that you’ve worked on. Your UX portfolio aims to demonstrate the process—not just the end-result.
As part of a UX portfolio, case studies showcase a project's entire UX process, impact, and success metrics, showcasing your UX design thinking and approach to user problem-solving.
Conclusion
In conclusion, UX is a very intriguing field in high demand. In my opinion, it's one for both the brainy and the creative.
Hope you enjoyed this article. See you later!
