UX or UE stands for user experience. It refers to how well a user interacts with a product, system, or service and whether they have a good experience using it.
Some of the best user experience design companies are UX studio, Ideo, Digital Telepathy, Fantasy Interactive, Frog, and so on. These companies help make a product user-friendly by implementing different strategies.
Some Elementary Concepts Of UX
The first and most basic form of user experience clicks and scroll. Whenever we are using a device, say phone or computer, we are doing it with our senses of vision and touch. The actions of click and scroll are very fundamental to user experience. Hence, interaction design between a product and user is the foundation of UX.
Next comes the user interface which refers to a platform where a user interacts with a device. Like, while typing a document on a computer we use the keyword. The keyword here is the user interface. We should confuse UI with UX, as UX is what the user feels or experiences while UI is a medium of interaction.
Any product, device, or system that is difficult to use will repulse users. It can be frustrating to read pages of instructions before using a product. The usability of an item should be effortless so that most people can access it. That way it saves the user time and gives maximum efficiency.
Whether we are using a product, device, service, or website, we need it to be relevant and meaningful to suit the purpose of work. Not only that. Its functionality should be at its best. Something that is slow, uneasy to work with, lacking functionality gives quite a reason to the user to abandon using it or working with it.
The first thing that people notice about anything is what catches them by the eye. The same goes for any product, device, or simply a website. We always proceed to look more into something when it is pleasing to the eye. Hence, visual designs play a key role in UX.
Typography is the size, style, and appearance of written matters. To make a design more appealing and presentable, the font size, font design, pattern of writing, structure are all important. Something written too small or too large is not very pleasing to the eye.
There are a group of experts who decide how to organize a piece of certain information so that it can be easily understood. This process is known as information architecture. This method maximizes the functionality of the product and helps users work efficiently.
To get a clear view of what users like to experience or what they are looking for in a product, we need to conduct UX research.
What users enjoy, or what motivates them, what they look for as per their requirements, can be found out through research techniques like observation, task analysis, and several feedback methodologies.
Quantitative And Qualitative Research Techniques Are Central To UX Research
- Quantitative research is conducted to identify problems faced by users. The problems are statistically analyzed and shaped in the form of data. Methods implemented to collect data are- online surveys, mobile surveys, systematic observation, website interceptors, and online polls. Quantitative researchers may also use analytics to detect problems or make future assumptions of what to test. New strategies are explored to put an end to the problems.
- Qualitative research focuses on assessing user behavior by using techniques like observation, field studies, moderated usability tests, interviews, and ethnographic studies. These researches are cost-effective. It helps break down the problem into segments and understand it on a deeper level. Qualitative research helps measure those problems which are not quantifiable.
A List Of Most Useful UX Research Techniques
- The Expert Review
In this technique, a professional checks out the product and gives a review. The more expertise the individual possesses the better. An expert opinion can be very valuable in improvising a product. This method is cost-effective, quick, and simple.
- Card Sorting
This method was first used in psychological research. Later was implemented in UX research. In this, some words or phrases are written on cards and presented to a user. The user has to categorize them.
The card sorting technique helps experts to determine whether the IA is functioning properly or not.
- Eye movement tracking
Tracking the eye movements of a user, can help understand where the user is looking, to obtain the required information. Eye-tracking devices are not very expensive these days. With this method, one can determine whether a product requires a usability test or not.
- Field studies
As mentioned earlier, UX researchers apply the different methods of qualitative research; one of which is field studies. It is the best way to study user behavior “in the field”, which helps identify user problems and solve them.
- Usability testing
This technique involves observing users while they perform a task with a product. Naturally, you can understand why this technique is helpful. It gives us an insight into the user’s action.
How Can UX Designs Be Improved In The Following Years?
While building some new design, product, or system, we have to be word-friendly as most users are not familiar with technical terms. Using simple words of instruction can help users get hold of the product quickly and use it efficiently.
Taking references from old projects can be of immense help. Reusing ideas that were fruitful in the past and creating something new based on that give expected results and be profitable.
Once you have created a new design, conducting an audit to review it can be very useful. We know positive or negative feedback can always be helpful. It helps us identify the shortcomings and potentially bring changes.
We must keep ourselves up-to-date and learn about new tools. We can acquire new skills as it would help us to develop something new or bring changes around.
With growing changes around us, we can always try to do better and introduce something new.