How to visualize the results of marketing UX research. UX design: how to make the interface readable
When it comes to visualizing research results, most marketers automatically think of a graph or chart. You also imagined something similar, didn’t you?
Indeed, this format clearly demonstrates existing trends and observed deviations.
However, this mainly concerns quantitative research. Often, graphs are not the best way to present the results of applications such as surveys or observations. Often the number of participants in these types of studies is too small to create meaningful graphs. Additionally, sometimes the ideas you want to convey to your team cannot be expressed in purely quantitative terms.
In this article, we'll show you how you can visualize the more subjective and vague data obtained from qualitative marketing research methods.
A little about visualization
“The purpose of visualization is understanding, not pictures.”
— Ben Shneiderman, famous American computer scientist.
When you create a results report qualitative research, your goal is most likely to develop an understanding of your target audience and the tasks they need to complete to get what they want. Particularly relevant this type surveys at the beginning of the design (to know what to design) and at the end (to understand how well your project is meeting its goals).
Depending on who exactly you're delivering your report to (for example, developers or clients) and its depth (in other words, whether you need a deep understanding of users, or more of a sense of the context in which the product will be used), you will need to determine , what type of visualization is best suited to display the results of the study.
Imagine that you conducted several surveys of people from your target group: informal caregivers who care for older relatives with early signs of dementia.
Respondents shared with you some important information about the fears they have about their situation to help you develop a product that should help them be more independent in caring for their loved ones (let's say this is a mobile application that functions as an online consultant).
You used a thematic analysis technique using sticky notes and discovered four categories of fears that would be appropriate to consider when developing a new product:
- change in relationships
- constant feeling of anxiety,
- lack of competence,
- lack of personal time.
By what methods would you prefer to disseminate your findings? Would you simply provide clients with a short list of four fears? Or pie chart, showing how often it was mentioned specific category fears in the survey? However, we can argue that the above methods of conveying information do not lead to the deep understanding that you are seeking to achieve. A list by itself is not a compelling enough presentation to generate any empathy.
Below we'll show you three ways to visualize quality results that work much more effectively than regular lists or diagrams.
Affinity diagram
The moment you used the post-it notes to apply thematic analysis to identify the top four fears facing your target group, you have already used one of the visualization techniques: affinity diagram(Affinity Diagram).
You recorded each of the user comments received during the surveys on a separate sticky note, then grouped them according to the degree of similarity, creating processes as you went along categories. As a result, the diagram that you created as an analysis tool showed great amount information.
Now you need to “clean up” this chart so that it better represents the information you want to convey in your report.
You may decide that the categories you create should reflect the four main fears you discovered in your surveys. Then you need to ask yourself what pieces of information will help your fellow developers and your clients understand what these concerns entail.
- What impact do these fears have on the lives of your users?
- When is this particular concern most pronounced?
- What causes it?
- Do you have any idea how it can be reduced?
All this information will already be in the survey data that you have sorted by individual categories. Now you just need to filter out the most important ones and present them in a clear and visually appealing way, taking into account the preferences of the people you want to reach with your message. You can use quotes or keywords, and also, if desired, illustrate them with drawings. The image below shows what an affinity diagram from the example described might look like:
An affinity diagram that groups quotes from user studies around the four most common fears you've identified. An image placed in the background of this affinity diagram, showing the user in the context of the study, would help bring the review to life and inspire empathy.
Empathy Map
An Empathy Map is an excellent way to create a clear picture of the four main areas that developers will need to focus on in order to empathize with a target group: what people said, did, thought And felt(see picture below). This is also very important for your client - the healthcare organization - regarding informal carers, as they may have some biases based on normal interactions with the target group. can provoke discussion within the client's team and force them to admit that they will have to adjust their point of view. In health care (but this is true in many other contexts as well), health care providers feel that they can speak for the patient or family, but tend to forget that they have limited understanding of the lives of those being cared for and therefore may not understand all the needs of the latter.
To create an empathy map based on your survey results, you review the notes and other materials you collected from your qualitative user research. For each quadrant—or each area of focus—you either select relevant quotes and images or summarize relevant findings from the data. As you can see in the image below, the resulting empathy map draws on the same data as the affinity diagram created earlier, but conveys different, different information. In this example, both visualizations can be important for successful design:
An example of an empathy map that might emerge from research on a specific user category: informal caregivers of patients with dementia. The image in the middle of the card should represent your user to increase the opportunity to empathize with her or him. You can apply an image from a user persona you created.
User journey map
So you create New Product to help lay carers of older people with mild symptoms of dementia to be more independent in caring for their patients. Your client is the management team of a healthcare organization that cares for these older adults.
One of the issues you likely should have focused on during your user research is the context in which informal caregivers provide support to their care recipients. You may have asked yourself questions such as:
- What tasks do caregivers perform?
- When do they perform these tasks?
- What other actions do they take before and after completing these tasks?
- How do they feel providing care to their loved ones?
What matters in your study is not only the direct answers to the above questions, but also the task flow they create throughout the lifespan (i.e., period of performance of a given activity) of informal caregivers. For example, it is important to know whether the care they provide can be planned in advance or whether planned activities will be interrupted by other activities.
IN highest degree An effective way to display this flow relative to a certain period of time is to create user journey maps(User Journey Map).
Which you see in the image below, displays a period lasting one day. You can choose this period according to the time unit that makes sense for your project—sometimes a week or month may be more appropriate. You can mark the steps involved in caring for your caregivers throughout a typical day, creating separate pathways for the actions, thoughts, and feelings you used to create your empathy map. In addition, you must identify any points of contact with existing health care services provided by the health care organization or any other entity involved. Focus on showing movement user through different touchpoints throughout the day and how the user experiences each interaction in that journey. Subsequently, you should be able to communicate with your team and the client to jointly decide which interactions on the map should be changed, removed, or added.
Day after day we are overwhelmed with a massive flow of information, as in offline mode, and online. Thanks to new technologies and fast connection With the Internet, people create more content than they are physically able to consume. When interacting with numerous websites and apps, users don't read everything they see word by word—they scan the page first to see what might be useful to them. The goal of making the interface readable is one of the main factors in achieving usability.
What is interface readability?
Readability is the way content and navigation elements are presented in a layout that can be easily scanned and therefore readable. When interacting with a website, especially for the first time, users quickly skim the content to analyze what they need. Any piece of content can become a hook in this process: words, sentences, images, or .
By the way, this behavior is nothing new: for many decades, people have often done the same thing with a new magazine or newspaper, skimming it before reading the articles carefully. Moreover, reading from a screen is much more tedious than from paper, so users are more selective.
Why is it important? About ten years ago, Jacob Nielsen responded to a question about how people read on the Internet: “They don’t. People rarely read web pages word by word; instead they browse the page, selecting individual words and suggestions." The experience hasn't changed much since then: we're not willing to invest our time and effort into learning a website unless we're sure it suits our needs. So, if we cannot catch the eye from the first moments of interaction, the risk is high that the user will leave. Whatever the type of website, readability is one of the significant factors of convenient interaction.
How can you check if a web page is readable? Try to look at it from the point of view of a new user and answer two questions:
- Is what you see in the first moments of interaction relevant to the expected audience on that page?
- Can you understand what information is on the page within the first seconds?
If you're not sure both answers are positive, it might be time to think about ways to improve your website. It's worth investing time because it's good readable pages become much more effective in the following aspects:
- users complete their tasks and achieve their goals faster;
- users make fewer mistakes when searching for the content they need;
- Users quickly understand the structure and navigation of the website;
- the failure rate is reduced;
- the website looks and feels more authentic.
Popular reading patterns
Vital important factors What a UI designer should consider is the reading patterns that show how users interact with a web page in the first seconds. When you understand HOW people scan a page or screen, you can prioritize content and direct attention to the most visible areas.
Various experiments collecting eye-tracking data have shown that there are several typical patterns in which visitors typically browse a website.
The Z-Pattern is fairly typical for web pages with a uniform presentation of information and a weak visual hierarchy.
Another layout has a zigzag pattern, typical of pages with visually separated blocks of content. Again, the reader's eyes go from left to right, starting at the top left corner, then scanning the entire page to the top right corner.
Another model is the F-pattern, introduced in Nielsen Norman Group research, which shows that users often use the following interaction flow:
- Users read first horizontal stripe, usually through top part content areas. This initial element forms the top bar F.
- Users then move around the page a bit, and view it in a second horizontal movement, which usually covers a shorter area than the previous one. This additional element forms the bottom bar F.
- Finally, users scan the left side of the content in a vertical motion. Sometimes it's a fairly slow and systematic scan that looks like a solid line on the eye tracking map. In other cases, users move faster by creating a heat map. This last element forms column F.
Ways to make the interface readable
1. Visual hierarchy
Wrote:
Expert in design, development, web analytics
What is the benefit of your website or app? Is it easy to collect information with its help? Or buy in one click and get the goods delivered tomorrow? Or is the main thing to quickly find answers to the necessary questions?
Think about the people who developed this site or application. What was their goal?
They tried to make a web resource that would have everything that people would love it for. An easy-to-use site that would quickly provide the information you are looking for and help you make informed decisions.
UX, or user experience, covers the perception and emotions that a software product or service evokes. UX is characterized by ease of use, accessibility, and convenience. UX is often talked about in context electronic devices, smartphones, computers, software or websites. But such a concept is not new; it is something that is rapidly changing due to technological advances, new types of interactions and consumer trends.
Users are looking for lightning-fast ways to solve problems, so UX is extremely important. Make sure the site is clear and easy for users to understand.
If customers don’t find the resource useful and easy to use, they will quickly unsubscribe. Most users decide within a minute whether to close a site.
In this article, we learn more about the emerging UX industry, what designers businesses are hiring, and why smart design benefits every business.
What is UX design?
UX design, or interaction experience design, is what determines how satisfied the user will be with a software product or service; this process involves improving functionality, usability and convenience. UX design - creation software products with a thoughtful and relevant user experience. The field of UX design covers a ton of subfields that are worth considering.
1. Interactive design
Interaction design, or IxD, is a subsection of UX design that defines the interaction between the user and the product; the goal of these interactions is a good user experience.
2. Visual design
IN visual design illustrations, photographs, typography and color schemes are used to enhance the user experience end user. In visual design, it is important to follow the principles of artistic direction. These include balance, space, contrast... Color, shape, size and other elements also influence the design.
3. User research
This is the last of the building blocks of UX design that companies use to clarify their customers' expectations. A successful web project serves a specific purpose and solves specific problems, so an important step is to find out what the consumer needs. Without this, the design is based on guesswork and assumptions.
4. Information architecture
Designers use information architecture to structure and label content in specific ways to make it easier for users to find necessary information. Information architecture is used in web development, smartphone development, application development, and is also seen in many physical objects. Ease of use and accessibility are two main aspects of information architecture.
To illustrate, consider a map of the New York subway. By the way, this good example information architecture that helps people get from point “A” to point “B”. And, as the Institute for Information Architecture says, “If you do things for others, you are doing information architecture.”
Component Processes of UX Design
There are three stages of UX design:
1. search for target audience
2. understanding the company’s goals - how such goals affect the user
3. thinking outside the box
Typically, UX design uses a user-centered approach to create the desired end product in three steps.
It’s simpler – you should take into account the needs of those for whom the design is being developed. A lot of solutions are used to eliminate all sorts of difficulties and roughness; prototypes are created and tested on users.
Based on the results of the work, the best of the developed options is selected. If you look at things from the user's point of view and design based on their preferences, the result will please everyone.
UX Design Principles
The UX design industry is changing rapidly, but the fundamental principles are still the same. Designers need to understand what they need in terms of visual balance. Brevity and clarity - important nuances; The principle applies here: the less, the better. Strive to ensure that the design is intuitive and, more importantly, consider the interests and needs of users.
The scope of UX tends to revolve around new technologies, but at the heart of it all are principles as old as time that help designers solve all sorts of problems through a consistent and focused methodology.
Consider the context: The user must know where he is at the current moment. There shouldn't be a feeling information overload, or that he was lost. Your task is to prompt and point in the right direction.
Be humane: Nobody likes the feeling of interacting with a machine. You are more likely to be able to line up trusting relationship, if you show your company from the human side.
Availability: Nobody wants to waste their time. Successful UX design improves navigation.
Ease: Consistency and simplicity of design is always good. You build relationships with users through user-friendly UX.
Simplicity: No miscalculations or unnecessary descriptions. Get straight to the point.
UX result
When a UX project is completed, the designer and team show the client and their team a list of what has been done. It is necessary to show the work process, a list of implemented ideas.
This is an important part of the overall process. This makes it easier for UX designers to find what they are looking for, demonstrate their vision, and explain certain recommendations for improvement.
1. User research
User needs, trends, and motivations are all discovered through various user studies. This can be quantitative and qualitative data obtained during tests, for example, with the participation of focus groups; detailed description registration process, onboarding and inquiries in customer service. The goal is to get detailed analysis what is on the site and what else can be improved - all ideas are tested on real users.
Researchers create consumer profiles based on actual data about people, which helps determine exactly who will interact with a website or app.
Through user research, designers find and define their user.
2. Assessing competitors
Assessment of strengths and weaknesses competitors - a way to expand your own UX strategy. The best way to proceed is through analytical reports that highlight competing developments. Essentially, this is a detailed analysis interactive design competitors, list weak points, miscalculations and omissions, in general, what can become a competitive advantage.
3. Interactive design
The description of user interactions can be in the form of a prototype - this makes it easier to understand how users will perform key tasks, find information, and, in general, use the product. The process of searching for information and how convenient the development is is described. The prototype should be as simplified as possible and close to the final version.
4. Information architecture
IA is the process of taking information and turning it into a digestible form, which is especially important for large sites. It is important to understand in what context people will use the design. The end result could be a site map with tooltips, or a user flow sample that shows how visitors move around the site.
What is User Interface Design?
When Apple introduced the Click Wheel navigation component for the iPod, the thing was intuitive and highly functional—not to mention visually stunning. This is a good example of a successful user interface, or UI. UI is a way of interacting with computers, machines, websites, applications, wearable devices, etc. UI design is what makes all these things as simplified and efficient as possible.
UI vs. UX
UX, user experience, refers to the user's movement through a website or application. UX designers work on the form and functionality of a product or technology. UI, or user interface, focuses on how the outer shell of a product looks and functions. The scope of work of UI designers is the tangible and visible components of this process.
Common UI Elements
UX and UI have a lot in common, but it is important to note the key differences between these two subjects. Again, UI is focused on the appearance of the product, while UX is more concerned with how people interact with a site or application. Here are the most common UI elements you need to know about to better understand the differences:
Information components: UI designers use information components to expand the so-called. reader experience - to convey more information. Examples information components: Status indicators, notifications, and message boxes. All this is used as confirmation: the user has completed a certain task. Or to notify that a certain action is required on his part.
Breadcrumb navigation
This is a design tool that visually improves the usability of a website.
This is how people see their location on a web page, in its hierarchical structure. Any fancy design elements are not required; you just need to show which section of the site the user is in. Typically, such links are placed at the top of the web page of online stores, or on other resources.
Input controls: Users are given multiple options to answer the question they are asked. These can be checkboxes, drop-down lists and switches. The information should be short and concise to make it easier to find out the needs.
Experience Research
Without research, it is impossible to know about people's needs and preferences. UX research is about finding what users need; The data obtained forms the basis of UX design. Companies and designers use research to make certain conclusions, about what works and what is better to change. There are several options for UX research.
Usability testing
The purpose of such research is to find out how successful the product is; Users participate in testing. This gives companies real information about how people use a product or system, or how that product or system works. There are two main ways to test.
Usability testing on random users- it's fast and cheap way for companies and researchers to get information from people who may not know about their product. Random people use the product and share their opinions.
Remote usability testing allows companies to conduct research while users are in their natural environment (for example, their home or office).
Usability Testing Tools
Such tools allow you to find out the opinions of users, analyze feedback, and make certain changes based on the data. If you're looking for a tool to help you figure out how easy your site or app is to use, you have two options:
Adobe Fireworks CS6 allows web designers to create graphics for web pages without having to delve into the intricacies program code or design. Adobe Fireworks has a number of advantages. The tool has impressive pixel accuracy and has image compression options (JPEG, GIF, etc.) that allows users to create functional websites and vector construction.
WITH using Adobe XD you can create website designs and mobile applications, as well as prototypes, wireframes and vector graphics. Interactive prototypes can be shared across multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, iOS and Android - ideal for team collaboration.
Axure RP Pro – another one good tool for UX design and, moreover, free. Axure provides several options, including: prototyping and documentation. You can even create user journey patterns and site maps. Axure is ideal for creating web and desktop applications, giving users the ability to quickly export to PDF or HTML.
This is a complex software with many specific functions, incl. non-destructive editing (this means that Sketch will not change the pixel density of the image you are working with). Code export, pixel precision, prototyping, vector editing - these are the main advantages of Sketch.
6. Software for storyboarding
You may wonder why a storyboard is needed in UX design. But it's a good way to visually predict how a user will interact with your product in a broader context. There are several tools for storyboarding, with different functions and difficulty levels.
Storyboarder is a free development with basic functionality that is suitable for all designers, regardless of their skill level. This software quickly creates sketches or figures to describe a plan or idea. Another tool is Toon Boom Storyboard Pro. It combines drawing, animation, camera control and numerous other options for an annual or monthly fee. Wide functionality for sophisticated storytelling and detailed preparatory work. All this is suitable for designers who are looking for an opportunity to visually tell their story using an interface.
How to become a UX designer?
If you love design, research and working with people - listening to others talk about their experiences, then perhaps a career in UX design is worth considering. In this case, you will have to focus on the conceptual aspects of the design; create a high-quality interaction experience for other users.
There are several important steps to becoming a UX designer. Many universities around the world offer their courses, but to enroll in them, 4 years of education in the field of design is usually a prerequisite. There are more flexible programs, such as Quinnipiac University Graduate Program in User Experience Design. There are also certification programs for professionals. Much depends on the duration of training and level of preparation.
If you're ready to realize your dream of becoming a UX designer, you'll need a resume and a strong portfolio. Resources like Dribbble or Behance will come in handy. You can demonstrate your work on your own website, created using builders such as SquareSpace.
Keep the following details in mind:
Visual appeal
Presentation is everything. The work should speak for itself...show, don't tell! Color choice, typography are all important.
Add an "about" page
Why should anyone hire you? What new thing can you bring to any organization? Show recruiters your unique vision or what inspires you.
An employee of your dream company should not have any difficulties navigating the portfolio website. Add sections such as contacts, resume, portfolio, about me, etc. to the menu. to make navigation easier.
Explain how you create your UX
Your future employer wants to understand your way of thinking. Add information that tells the recruiter about your UX research, brainstorming, design process, or prototyping.
Create an additional portfolio
Use other tools to get your work visible on the web where designers and those who want to hire them spend their time,
Bottom line
You may be a graphic designer, blogger, developer, or anything else, but UX design is something that can help you and your company grow. A happy user is the key to success, but without thoughtful UX design this will be impossible to achieve.
Technology is increasingly penetrating daily life, and successful UX design removes any barriers between the user and his device (or applications). UX design is more important now than ever – join this movement and benefit your business.
UX design - what is it? The UI industry is growing at a rapid pace these days, but UX design is still a whole new world for most executives and managers. This area aims to increase user satisfaction with the product, improve usability, accessibility and interaction. Combines traditional human-computer interaction design and considers all aspects of user interaction with a product or service.
UX designers play a leading role in improving the basic needs of the end user and try to create a product that makes the audience happy. This in turn results in healthy investment returns and helps support a growing business or organization.
What does a UX Designer do?
UX designers study and evaluate how users feel about a system, looking at things like ease of use, perceived value of the system, usefulness, and efficiency in completing tasks.
UX designers also consider subsystems and processes within a system. For example, they can study the checkout process of an e-commerce website to see how easy and accessible it is to complete the process of purchasing products from the site. They can delve deeper into the subsystem's components, such as seeing how efficient and enjoyable the experience is for users filling out input fields on a web form.
UX design - what is it? Technology concept
An important concept in UX design is the process by which users create experiences. When a consumer first encounters a product, an immediate impression is formed that changes over time. In this process, perception, action, motivation and cognition come together to form the user experience. This process produces emotional reactions that largely determine whether the experience will be positive or negative.
UX designers strive to create process influences intentionally. To do this, a UX designer considers three categories of questions: what, why, and how.
Why- implies the motivation of users to accept the product and desire to own it.
What— deals with what people can do with the product and its functionality.
How- refers to the design of functionality in an accessible and aesthetically pleasing way.
UX design starts with the “why,” then defines the “what,” and finally the “how,” to create products that give users meaningful experiences.
Historical retrospective
Compared to many other disciplines, especially web systems, UX design is relatively new. The term “user experience” was coined by Dr. Donald Norman, a cognitive science researcher who also first described the importance of user-centered design—the concept that design decisions should be based on consumer needs. The history of UX design began with the publication of this concept.
Whether working for a startup or a large corporation, a UX designer is directly involved in making a product useful and enjoyable to use for the company's target market. The product creation process contains several important steps:
consumer research;
product design;
testing;
implementation.
Let's look at each of them in more detail.
Consumer research: where to start for a new designer?
Analyzing the consumer audience and identifying needs involves communicating with real users in the target market. If the subject of research exists only hypothetically and has not yet been created, the subject of discussion becomes similar products of competing companies, their advantages and disadvantages. If the product already exists, consumers are asked questions about how people feel when navigating the site with the current design, whether it is easy to find the required information, how structured the pages are. The quality of written and graphic content and the overall visual impression of the site are assessed separately. The following methods can be used for this part of the process:
prototyping.
project management;
effective interaction with the team.
questionnaires;
focus group discussions;
online surveys;
task analysis.
It is important to note that if a product is a product of design thought and has no connection in its design and implementation with user experience and feedback, it is not the result of UX design.
Design
Developing a design hypothesis involves imagining how a new product or service can adapt to how the customer already behaves (as revealed by user research). Product design focuses on functionality and usability rather than how it looks. At this stage the following are used:
information architecture;
Testing
Testing involves verifying that changes made during the design phase work properly and are fit for purpose. This is a great way to get rid of user problems or difficulties that were not visible during the design phase, before starting work during the implementation phase. There are various:
a/b testing;
usability;
remote testing of users.
Implementation
Implementation involves working closely with web developers to achieve the final goal. Web development specialists work to turn design ideas into a real website. It is important that developers work as a team throughout the entire process to make this The final stage more efficient and optimal.
What is user experience?
Websites and applications are becoming more complex as technology advances. What was once a one-way, static environment has now become a richly interactive experience.
But no matter how much the production process has changed, the success of a website still depends on one thing: how users perceive it. “Does this site give me value? Is it easy to use? Is it pleasant to be here? are the questions that users ask themselves when they interact with a company's products, and it is based on this experience that, as a rule, they make a purchasing decision.
User interface (abbreviated UX) in design is how a person feels when interacting with a system. The system can be a website, web application or desktop software. In a modern context, this is often referred to as human-computer interaction.
The concept of User experience covers all aspects of the end consumer's interaction with the company, its services and products. It is important to distinguish overall design design from the user interface, although User experience is an extremely important part of the design.
It is also necessary to distinguish between UX and usability: according to the definition, the quality attribute of a user interface that covers ease of learning, efficiency of use, pleasantness, visual acceptability, and aesthetics of design.
Professional competencies
The UX designer is responsible for all the process steps described above and their implementation. There are a number of professional competencies that receive great attention when training a designer:
leadership;
Data professional characteristics very important for successful work.
What is the difference between UX and UI design?
User interface (UI) designers focus on the layout and actual design of every element the user interacts with, whereas designers User Experience(UX) focus on the user's interactions with that element, as well as the overall experience of the product. UI and UX designers often work together, as well as in teams with web developers, to create a product that is visually appealing and enjoyable to use.
What does a UX designer actually do?
UX designers perform different functions depending on the project and stage of development. On early stages project specialists conduct preliminary research user experience, and then plan interactions through wireframing and prototyping their designs, which are further tested using various heuristic techniques.
During development, user interface testing and development continues to improve the product and consumer experience.
Once a project has started, a UX designer can analyze user metrics to track the results of their work, go back and continue to iterate to improve weak areas of the design solution.
Objectives and methods
UX designers perform various tasks at different points in the process. Below is the main list:
Evaluation of the current system. If the system already exists, a UX professional will evaluate it holistically Current state. Problems are identified and corrections are suggested based on analysis of research data.
A/B TESTING. The practitioner may design a study to compare the effectiveness and quality of experience of different user interfaces. This is done by making a hypothesis (for example, " green button more attractive than red"). Then several versions of the design are proposed and the “best experience” is determined through testing (for example, “the green button is better because users clicked it more often.”).
Polls. The UX designer surveys current and potential users of the system to gain insight into what the most effective design decisions were. Since the experience of a single user is subjective, The best way to obtain direct information is to study and interact with group opinion.
Wireframes and prototypes. Based on their findings, UX professionals can develop wireframes of different layouts and higher-fidelity prototypes.
User flows. Designing how users should navigate a system is another popular tool.
Design Patterns
Patterns provide consistency and a way to find the most effective “tool” for the job. For example, when designing UI templates, selecting the right elements (e.g. module tabs, slideshows) for specific tasks based on their effectiveness results in the best solution. UX developers not only offer design patterns that are used on other websites, but also develop their own patterns for the current project.
Programs
There are several popular and easily accessible UX design programs for work and study. The tools are not just for UX designers. Programmers and webmasters also use them.
UX design courses use prototyping tools - on initial stage they can be done with pen and paper. This inexpensive and accessible hands-on training tool for designers allows you to quickly create a prototype and move on to design.
Some software tools for creating wireframes and prototypes:
When teaching the basics of UX design, A/B testing, also known as split or multivariate testing, is used. This tool compares different versions pages. Testing can be performed using any of several programs.
Basically, A/B testing software splits website traffic into two equal segments. One group sees version A and the other group sees version B. Statistics such as conversion rate and bounce rate are tracked for each version. Split testing determines which version is better, and this decision is based on statistical data. One of the most popular applications for A/B testing is Google's Website Optimizer.
Content Management
When teaching UX design from scratch, there are many content inventory methods used. Using an on-premises server application (which requires you to access a web server) is best for production sites. By being closer to the source than third-party software, these applications are more accurate and efficient. For this purpose, a simple Excel tool to create and manage content inventory, such as the GetUXIndex() template).
Websites built with content management systems like WordPress and Drupal typically have built-in tools that show a map of the existing website.
Surveys and feedback
User surveys are another popular UX design task. The most efficient and cost effective way to do this is by using a survey app and feedback or testing a remote user.
General survey tools like PollDaddy are flexible solutions that can also be used for other tasks. There are feedback tools for usability such as Usability and remote services user testing, such as usability hub, which administers the testing system.
Examples
UX design example - what is it? User experience design is the process of creating products that provide meaningful and experiential experiences. This implies careful design and ease of use of the product, aesthetic pleasure from use and extensive functionality.
Thus, products that provide a great user experience (for example, the iPhone is best example UX design) are intended not only for consuming or using a product, but for the entire process of purchasing, owning, and even troubleshooting.
Web application or offline service. This - good material for those who are starting to master this area and want to figure out “how everything works here.”
Introduction to UX Design
Starting to study a new discipline can be exciting and even scary. However, when it comes to user experience design and how to become a usability designer, it is especially difficult for beginners to know where to start learning about this field.What is the reason?
Usability is an area that is considered extremely important in digital product development, but for many it remains mysterious due to its relative newness and constant development. For a beginner, even acquiring the skills to successfully design interfaces can seem like an overwhelming task.
You probably already know that this activity is currently gaining momentum. More and more companies, both startups and large corporations, are hiring interface designers. The current decade is called the “decade of design” in the press. The fact is that the number of digital products and services is growing steadily, and along with this, the need to improve usability is growing.
UX design is not only fun, but also just a good thing.
Revealing the secrets of UX design
This material contains not only theoretical provisions, but also practical advice, which will help you become a usability expert. We'll start with the basics and first of all answer basic questions like "What is UX design?" Later, we'll delve deeper into the process of professional interface design and touch on topics such as User Research, Design, and Testing. To give you a clearer idea of how to become a usability expert, we have prepared a few for you. practical tasks that you can do yourself.What is usability design?
The official definition of user experience is:
“The perceptions a person has when using and/or intending to use a product, system, or receiving a service.”(ISO 9241-210:2010, subclause 2.15).
When it comes to UX design, the definition includes techniques and ways in which a designer can improve usability. The “design” itself aims to improve the usefulness, usability, and effectiveness of a product or service in the user experience.
Visual design is how a product looks, while usability is how it feels. But that is not all. Usability includes all aspects of user interaction with a company, from customer service to product quality. Keep in mind that many UX designers use the terms “product” and “service” interchangeably.
Wikipedia defines UX design as:
“The process of increasing user satisfaction with a product by improving its usability, ease of use, and accessibility.”
Every time you interact with a product, software, or any object, you experience it as a user. This means that the key task of UX design is to make the experience as successful as possible. A usability specialist should, among other things, be the “glue” on which the entire team is held together, passing projects on to developers who will then bring them to life.
The ultimate goal of UX design is not just user satisfaction. The design process aims to help the product achieve its business goals and ensure that those goals align with the user's goals. Which leads to the next question:
Why do we design interfaces?
Interface design gives a company two main advantages:- It has a positive effect on the user's perception of the product.
- A successful user experience increases product adoption.
- Understand the goals potential clients and the context of product use.
- Based on customer goals and context of use, develop a product, service or application within business and technology constraints.
The first thing a usability designer thinks about is how to combine user goals with business goals. For example, if the user's goal is to purchase a product, then the company should make this purchase useful, convenient and enjoyable.
- Useful: You need to satisfy the client’s need, that is, solve his problem.
- Convenient: High level Usability should be obvious so that customers understand the scope of your product or service.
- Have a nice one: It doesn’t hurt if purchasing your product brings joy to the customer.
- If the client’s goal is achieved (that is, he easily and quickly found what he was looking for), then he will have a pleasant impression of your product.
- If the client has left good impression, then he is more likely to make a purchase or recommend the product to his friends.
- When a customer returns to your site, buys your product, or tells friends about it, sales and conversion rates increase.
A Brief History of UX
Behind last years The term “UX Design” has become close in meaning to technology and software, but this was not always the case. Initially, “user experience” was simply understood as the experience a person has when using a system.
The term "UX Design" was coined in 1995 by Donald Norman, who at the time served as Vice President of the Advanced Technologies Group at Apple. He said:
“I invented this term because I thought that “human interface” and “usability” were too narrow terms. I wanted to involve all aspects of the user experience of interacting with the system, in particular the industrial design of the product, its graphics, interface and physical contact."
In addition, Norman wrote the book “The Design of Common Things,” in which for the first time convenience and functionality were placed above aesthetics. His work is still very popular in design circles. Interest in UX design has grown, and the term itself has become an umbrella term for a number of different fields, such as User Research, Information Architecture, Usability Development, Service Design, etc.
What is usability?
Usability is the ease of use and mastery of an object created by man.This concept is directly related to the reasons why we design interfaces - because usability has a positive impact on the user experience. The easier a product is to learn and use, the better the user experience. But the product must not only be easy to use - it must solve the client’s problem. And in most cases, a usability designer's job is to figure out what users need.
How an interface designer sees the world
By learning the basic principles of UX design, you can get inside the interface designer's head and see the world through their eyes.Artist and usability designer Allison House explains her approach to her work:
“When I design UX, I repeat the mantra: “Think bigger, prioritize, look deeper. Study the situation, determine what is important, and begin to solve problems in order of priority.”
UX design is a people-first activity, which means a key skill of a UX designer is the ability to understand the needs and behavior of users of a site, application or product. He must strive to ensure that these needs and desires are consistent with the business goals of the company for which he works. As we mentioned earlier, a usability specialist always tries to make sure that every action taken is useful, convenient and enjoyable for the user.
Qualities required for a usability engineer
Empathy– the ability to understand why people act in one way or another. In order to engage in usability design, you need to be able to put yourself in other people's shoes. This is probably the most important quality to have in this field, and you need to learn how to understand other people's actions. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone has this ability naturally.Curiosity– the desire to know why people act in one way or another.
Clarity of Expression– the ability to explain complex concepts in an accessible manner to those unfamiliar or unfamiliar with the field.
Prototyping designer at Manulife's RED lab, Ali Rushdan Tariq, explains:
“Good usability engineers think about people first. They worry if they find out that their customers are experiencing inconvenience when using the product, and they strive to fix it. Moreover, good usability engineers remember that in their journey to improve people’s lives, they must also pursue clearly defined business goals.”
UX Design Process
User audience research
User audience research is the designer's starting point in every project. It helps us get to know users, their motivations, goals and needs. The study also shows how easy it is to navigate our system, what difficulties users encounter and, most importantly, how they feel when interacting with our product.User audience research is a fundamental element of UX design. Whether you work for a large corporation where special team is conducting this research for you, or you are the only usability engineer at a startup, there is no way you can skip this part of the design process. As a UX designer, by definition you need to know everything about your product. However, your intuition can't always tell you exactly what users will like, which is why conducting research with real users is so important to successful design.
Nate Bolt, founder of user experience research lab Ethnio, shares advice:
“Don’t be afraid to be creative not only in the design process itself, but also in researching your user audience. The way you conduct interviews, work with your team, and present your findings are all opportunities to think creatively. We are used to considering design as part creative process, but the research must be no less creative.”
The key here is empathy. You will work with user groups with different levels preparation and with different experience behind them. Your job is to understand why they act the way they do and not try to change or influence their behavior. You have to make sure your product is useful to them. As an aspiring UX designer, it is very important for you to show empathy at every opportunity that arises.
The study has other benefits as well. The conclusiveness of the results of extensive user research can help gain support from colleagues or superiors when demonstrating designed solutions.
In this section, we'll look at the skills needed to conduct user audience research and discuss the importance of this step in the usability design process.
Peter Merholz, usability scientist and product manager at PeterMe.com, gave this advice to better understand users:
“Don’t confuse the process with the result—knowing the elements of UX design like personas, flows, and UI layouts is important, but it’s not enough to create a successful user experience. What's more important is the mindset - you have to look at the world through the users' eyes and do everything you can to make your work meaningful to them."
Why user audience research is so important
“Research is meaningless if it is not conducted properly. Moving from research to design is the most important part of a usability designer's job." - Harry Brignull, UX Design Specialist at 90percentofeverything.com.
When in our work we rely only on personal experience or assumptions, we often miss what the experience might be like for other people, particularly our users. This means that we may miss opportunities to improve our service or product and make it useful to users. In addition, it may seem to us that navigation in our system is quite simple and convenient, but we have worked in it for a long time and know it well.
Simply put, our users don't know our product as well as we know it.
To become a usability scientist, you must always look at the product from the user's perspective; and you can only learn this by working with real users during an in-depth study of the audience.
It allows us to find out how customers feel when interacting with our product and check whether our product actually helps them achieve their goal.
During the study, the interface designer will collect information using various sources and means to create a positive user experience. We'll look at some of these methods next.
Here's what Lean UX author Jeff Gothelf said about user research:
"Over the past five years, nature software passed into a state of permanent consistent improvement. Thanks to this, designers have a wonderful opportunity to constantly connect with the audience. Ongoing communication—small research conducted frequently and regularly—helps to hear the customer's voice in the decision-making process. Essentially, it ensures that this research, as well as development, design, or requirements gathering, has its place in the iterative process of product design and development.”
Why we start with user research
We start the UX design process with user research, because otherwise our work will be based only on our own experience and assumptions. And this will prevent us from achieving objectivity, because our opinion may differ from the opinion of our clients. User audience research provides us with the data we need to create a product. Without this data we cannot start work.By starting with research, we save ourselves a ton of work, time, money and resources. As a result, we will only have to make a few amendments to our project. But if we conducted the research after we had finished all the work, we would have to make huge changes to the interface to match the needs of the users surveyed. The same goes for redesign. Those working on a redesign of an existing product have the advantage of seeing how users perceive the existing system.
“Properly conducted user research is the key to creating a positive user experience. Designing without doing research is like building a house without a strong foundation. Soon your design will start to come apart at the seams and eventually fall apart.”
What does user audience research include?
There is a difference between listening to users and observing their behavior. Both of these methods provide valuable information during research. The mistake newbies make is that they focus too much on listening to users, when observing can reveal more information in a shorter period of time.Interview
A user interview is a meaningful dialogue between an interviewer and a user from a potential interest group. It is carried out to find out the needs of the user and his requirements for the product. The interview can be conducted directly during the client’s interaction with the product; The interviewer can ask questions to find out what the user is thinking about while navigating. Ask your customers about the problems they encounter when using the product. You could even ask them to describe what their ideal product would look like.
Online surveys
An online survey is a method of collecting information that is a set of questions sent to your target audience over the Internet - usually in the form of a questionnaire. The duration and format of the online survey may vary depending on the project, but in any case, the data obtained is entered into the database and subsequently studied by a usability specialist or a team of usability specialists. Before you start writing your profile, conduct several interviews to fully understand the subject area. This will help you ask better questions.
Creating Personas
Personas are not your desired customers. These are the clients you have or may have. In web design, a persona is defined as a description of a fictional person within a specific user audience. We develop user personas based on qualitative and quantitative data from user audience research, as well as on the basis of obtained web analytics.
Using personas is effective if they:
- Truly reflect the motivations, goals and needs of real people
- Give a clear picture of user expectations
- Shows how users interact with the site
- Represent the vast majority of site users
“Portraits and profiles of user types (as well as their goals and behaviors) remind us all that we are not users and serve as a compass when designing and developing.”
User testing
We'll cover this topic in more detail later, but keep in mind that when redesigning an existing product (as opposed to designing a new product), this type of testing can be a valuable source of information to help identify product shortcomings from the users' perspective.Berlin-based usability and strategist HanyRizk emphasizes the importance of user research in the UX design process:
“Designing without conducting user research is completely contrary to the concept of UX design. This research helps UX designers and other stakeholders understand users and their needs, and determine their product requirements. Simply put, it replaces assumptions in the design process with concrete data.”
UX Design Processes: Design
Usability in design
As I once said Steve Jobs:“Design is not how a product looks and feels. Design is how it works."
This truth, so aptly articulated by Steve Jobs, is often forgotten when it comes to product design. Anyone will recognize the products Apple by its graceful and unique appearance. The design of iPhones and MacBooks is so successful that tech companies the whole world is trying to copy it.
However, Apple products have received international recognition not because of their aesthetic properties. And while the design of these devices is easily recognizable and functional, it is the user experience and usability of these products that sets Apple apart from its competitors and continues to make the brand popular to this day. Currently large and small companies around the world are emulating Apple's success by focusing their efforts on the usability of their products.
Of course, the aesthetic properties of the product enhance its attractiveness. However, when doing UX design, you will quickly come to the conclusion that if a product does not work as expected, then it appearance of little concern to the user. At the same time, do not forget that the final success of the product depends not only on your design, but also on its implementation by the developers, as well as on project management. This is another key skill required for a usability engineer – the ability to work in a team. We'll talk more about this in last section.
Designing a positive user experience involves carefully planning the product-customer journey and helping them navigate intuitive searches. In either case, customers will interact with the product based on their previous experiences with other products. Your task as an interface designer is to adjust the product/service to the client’s already habitual behavior.
The design of your product is about functionality and usability, not colors and pictures (these are later selected by a visual designer). When, based on the results of your user audience research, you have determined the expectations, goals and desires of your customers, it is the functionality and usability of the product or website that you should think about first.
Don't forget that any client action should be useful, convenient and enjoyable. If you don't solve the user's problem, they won't look at the colors or the pictures.
Dan Saffer, interaction design expert and author, shared another tip. He said:
“Never forget the why: why you are designing this product, why people will use it, why you made a particular decision during the design process. Write these reasons down on paper. Tell them to anyone who will listen. Incorporate them into your layouts and presentations. This “why” should give direction to the entire process because it is what determines the meaning, story and theme of the product.”
In the second part we'll talk about other UX design processes: modeling, prototyping, usability testing and what place a UX designer occupies in the team of any project.
To be continued...