All About UX

User experience design (UX) is the process of enhancing user satisfaction with a product by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction with the product. It is a concept comprising many dimensions, including disciplines such as interaction design, information architecture, visual design, usability, and human-computer interaction. User experience design encompasses traditional human–computer interaction (HCI) design, and extends it by addressing all aspects of a product or service as perceived by users.

What role does UX play in businesses?

The goal of UX design in business is to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty through the utility, ease of use, and pleasure provided in the interaction with a product. According to Laura Klein, the author of UX for Lean Startups, UX design is the process used to determine what the experience will be like when a user interacts with your product. In other words, UX design is the process of designing (digital or physical) products that are useful, easy to use, and delightful to interact with by including a person’s perceptions of system aspects such as utility, ease of use and efficiency.

What do UX designers do?

UX designers combine market research, product development, strategy and design to create seamless user experiences for products, services and processes. They build a bridge to the customer, helping the company to better understand and fulfill their needs and expectations. Some projects that UX designers work on include website, application and software design, voice design, service design, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Why is UX so important?

To put it simply, UX is important because it tries to fulfill the user’s needs. It aims to provide positive experiences that keep users loyal to the product or brand by creating easy, efficient, relevant and pleasant experiences for the user. Additionally, a meaningful user experience allows you to define customer journeys on your website that are most conducive to business success. The value of UX design is immense not only for the end user, but also for the business or brand behind the user experience. From a user perspective, good UX design ultimately enables us to go about our daily lives as effortlessly as possible. From setting an alarm to chatting with friends online, listening to music or using a calendar app, the ease with which we complete these actions is the result of good design. When designing these experiences, UX designers must consider how they can bring value to all kinds of users by practising inclusive design (also known as universal design). From a business perspective, designing first-class user experiences is absolutely key to ensuring customer satisfaction and building brand loyalty. Only if a product or service is hassle-free and enjoyable will the user want to return.