What Is User Experience Design?
When we encounter a physical object, its form helps to express what its function is, and how we are meant to interact with it. The handle on a coffee mug invites grasping, for example. But what happens to these affordances when products appear in digital spaces — when there is no intrinsic physicality about them, only pixels?
That’s where the User Experience Designer comes in. It’s my role to take completely abstract digital experiences and map them to familiar visual and interaction metaphors in order to facilitate ease of use. For a great example of this idea of metaphor-mapping, look to the paper, folder, and trashcan icons used to represent the digital files on your computer.
User Experience Designers make complex systems feel simple. They create experiences that are at the very least easy and intuitive, but ideally they create experiences that are desirable, delightful, and engaging.
A Nexus Between Users, Business, and Technology
My role as a User Experience Designer is to help you create a compelling and engaging product while balancing the goals of your business and the needs of your users. I believe in a user-centered design (UCD) methodology which frames product development from the user’s point of view. This requires me to understand the behaviors, needs, goals, and frustrations of your target audience.
The Role of Research in Design
Various methods of quantitative and qualitative research can be incredibly powerful for gaining insight into the needs and behaviors of your customers. These methods include, but are not limited to:
- Ethnographic research
- Usability testing
- Site metrics
- Bucket testing, also referred to as A/B testing
- Segmentation analysis
- Competitive analysis
Process and Deliverables
There’s really no one-size-fits-all process for product development. Each project is tailored to meet the needs of the client. And while there will be artifacts that result from this process, I try to focus on strategic thinking rather than simply churning out deliverables. My goal is to ensure that the client has gained a richer understanding of their customers’ needs, and has concrete recommendations on how to better serve those needs. This process may result in:
- Personas
- Storyboards
- Wireframes
- Flow diagrams
- Functional prototypes
