What is UX Design? Here’s all you need to know

What is UX Design? First of all, it is worth noting that UX is not synonymous with UI: the first abbreviation means “User eXperience”, the second one is “User Interface”. The two concepts are very strongly connected, but they should never be used interchangeably. Why? Because they concern completely different spheres, among others, the software functioning. 

So, what is UX Design?

UX Design is short for “user experience creation”. – However, it is done in such a way that it is consistent with the art and business objectives of the creator/owner of the software. The basic motivation at this stage should be to increase the user’s satisfaction with the use of the software. If it does not work intuitively, it will be difficult to read and understand for the user, and it will be characterized by graphically unfriendly elements -so the user won’t be satisfied with it. This, in turn, may translate into lower sales of the solution, and in e-commerce platforms into lower indicators relevant for the achievement of business goals. 

Definitely, the most important thing about what UX Design is is known to UX Designers, specialists who take care of the layer affecting the customer’s satisfaction with the product. What are the most important duties of UX Designers?

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What is UX Design in the context of UX Designer’s duties?

• The UX Designer should investigate a client’s target group to identify their needs and implement solutions that address these preferences.
• The UX Designer takes care to improve the functionality and usability of the product
• He or she analyses the competition and shows the strengths and weaknesses of the product
• He or she performs research of the current state / vision of the product and evaluates it against the current standards in UX Design
• The UX Designer is responsible for creating wireframes, prototypes and tests.
• The cooperation of this specialist with the UI Designer and the development team is extremely important. 

What is UX Design? It is also about powerful research tools

UX Designers must have very broad skills – in part they should understand the basics of marketing in order to create sales-attractive interfaces. They should also have an “artistic sense”, as well as skills matching those of those who represent…. project managers. Much is also said about the fact that UX Designers should also have at least a basic knowledge of the methodology of social research, which results from the research tools at the disposal of the person in this position. 

Well, why? Because research tools include questionnaire surveys, individual interviews, focused group interviews, cultural surveys and diary research. These are the methods used by sociologists in their research, and very often it turns out that a UX Designer has the competences of a UX Researcher, who is a separate person. But the “creator” should at least have the basic preparation of the specialist behind the main part of the research. 

Without the possibility to investigate certain behaviors of potential customers, web/mobile testers, it would be impossible to evaluate planned changes and introduce certain trends in the field of UX Design. Much more frequent methods of evaluating the user-friendliness of an application or website are eye-tracking and “heat maps” or tracking user sessions with the use of automated tools.

Read also: Mobile App Designing: A Step by Step Guide

Analysis of data and its use in a real environment

UX Design can, therefore, be considered a process in which UX Designers and UX Researchers create a concept in line with the latest standards, supported by reliable research (using the most appropriate method for the current scenario) and implement the results of their own observations in practice. This process can be broken down into several parts:

• Getting acquainted with the client’s vision / getting familiar with the current state of the project
• An assessment of whether the specific elements of the project conform to the adopted standards
• Getting acquainted with the client’s objectives, suggestions related to particular elements of the project
• Conceptual design and prototyping
• Research to find the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed solution
• If the results correspond to the expectations, they must be implemented in the appropriate project. If not, return to the prototyping phase and propose another solution
• Implement changes to the project and track user behavior on an ongoing basis (e.g. using A B test)

However, this is not the end of the UX Design process. You have to keep up with the latest trends and use emerging tools to improve the operation of your program or sales system – so that you can achieve even more.

Concise Software knows what UX Design is

Our specialists are at your disposal. If you have an idea for an interesting mobile or web project – contact us. We will show you how to implement it and we will also help you to achieve all your business goals. We look forward to hearing from you!

You may like to read:

A Step by Step Guide to the UX Design Process
What is UX Research and what does a UX Researcher do?
What Does a UX Designer Actually Do?