What makes good UX design

Good UX design should solve the user’s issues.

From simple budgeting apps to complex banking interfaces, great digital products constantly provide seamless solutions that tackle users’ problems. More often than not, users do not even know what they are looking for and it is up to the team to uncover their needs. Take for example a mobile game where players assume that they play it mainly for entertainment, but in reality, they are drawn in by social elements such as chatting with friends on a voice call or being in the same guild. Thus, it is the UX designer’s job to uncover such insights through design thinking processes such as UX interviews and user testing.

Good UX design should be considerate.

A considerate design is one that is friendly and understanding, one that anticipates what the user needs next and provides help when something goes wrong. It speaks to users in a warm human-like tone, akin to real-world conversations, rather than the cold, lifeless computer-centric tone. It avoids giving users the headache of trying to decipher through technical jargons or colloquial expressions, presenting information in a clear and succinct manner to all.

Take a look at the two error text examples below, which one do you think is more helpful for you?

Good UX design should be accessible.

With the digitalisation of today’s world, digital products are widely used across different places, demographics, and industries. This includes people of different ages, physical abilities, and technological literacy. Good UX design should account for user diversity, individual user needs, and the different contexts in which the product is used for. It is about making information accessible to all, regardless of their circumstances or capabilities. For example, older, less tech-savvy users may require bigger texts or familiar icons to help them navigate through the app.

Some designs take it a step further by looking into the area of inclusive design, accounting for smaller groups of users with additional needs. For example, it could be implementing advanced speech functionality for disabled users, or even something as simple as including more options to account for different gender identities.

Examples of real-world inclusive design can be found in many Apple products, where accessibility features such as voiceover, closed captions, and display accommodations are often included to allow users with different disabilities to customize devices to their needs.

Good UX requires good visual design.

As user interface (UI) design is an area closely intertwined with UX design, visual consideration is another important consideration in providing users with the best user experience. Visual elements such as typography, fonts and colours all contribute to how users perceive the digital product. The colours users see, the animations they interact with or the types of buttons they use all contribute to the look and feel of the app.

Good UX design is evidence-based and data-driven

What separates UX design from other schools of design like graphic or visual design, is the fact that UX design relies on research methodology and data to optimise product performance. Examples of research methods include conducting surveys, usability testing, and qualitative interviews. These qualitative approaches seek to understand and empathise with users to create products that provide functional value.

Quantitative, data-driven approaches such as AB testing and app/web analytics tracking are also often used to pinpoint gaps and discover opportunities that are often missed.

Data-driven design has the ability to:

• Uncovers new trends early
• Ensure that products developed are relevant
• Keep the team on track through constant testing

Thus, this aspect is what makes UX design an integral part of many companies as it provides improvement to direct business outcomes.

Creating good UX designs

So how exactly does one go about creating good UX design? How does a UX practitioner know what users actually need?

UX design is an iterative process, where designers constantly ideate, create mockups, and test their products with users. The process first starts with conducting UX interviews, to better understand the target user’s situation, frustrations, and journey. Personas and their corresponding journey maps are then crafted to help teams to better empathise and understand their users. This process helps UX practitioners to pinpoint gaps and discover opportunities in the user journey and sets a foundation for them to start ideating different solutions.

Moving on to the design stage, teams work on creating basic sketches, mockups, and wireframes to convey their ideas. These tools are effective methods for UX practitioners to visualise their ideas and conduct a simple test with users to see if it actually works.

Once the initial prototyping is completed and the team has a clear direction, high-fidelity prototypes are then created for a better feel of the end product. Details such as colours, texts, and images are added at this point. More intensive testing sessions, surveys, and interviews are conducted before the design is finalised.

Unlike physical products, digital products are constantly being updated and worked upon to optimize performance. Metrics are tracked continuously to review the product’s performance. For example, AB testing can be used to track the performance of two variations of a webpage, to understand how a difference in certain design elements can influence the user’s behaviour.

Conclusion

The process mentioned above is a summarised take on the entire design thinking process. UX design itself is a field that is vast and ever-changing, one that spans many different areas, from digital products to physical spaces. If you want to know more about user experience and its industry, do check out our other resources available on our website, such as our articles, weekly webinars, and podcasts. CuriousCore offers both a 2-day UI UX Design Course and a 4-month UX Career Accelerator for those keen on transitioning into the industry. Click the buttons below to find out more.