User experience (UX) design is gaining in popularity in web design. So, have you wondered what is UX design? In today’s post, I’ll provide a brief introduction to UX design and explain what constitute good UX design.
What is User Experience (UX) design?
User Experience (UX) refers to the overall experience a user has when interacting with a website. UX design is designing specifically for the needs of the user and the business objectives of the stakeholder. As a UX designer, the first steps in my design process is always a thorough understanding of the needs of the target audience and the goals of the stakeholder, follow by wireframing. A wireframe is a drawing of a design (either freehand or digital). Finally, it is important to note that UX is not limited to the digital space. Anything that can be experienced can be designed, from packaging of a product to furniture or even a sushi making kit.
Factors that influence UX
UX is influenced by the factors in Peter Morville’s user experience honeycomb diagram as shown below:
- Useful: Content must be original and fulfills a need
- Usable: Site must be easy to use
- Desirable: Site must be aesthetically pleasing and appealing on the emotional level
- Findable: Content must be easily navigable and locatable
- Accessible: Content must be accessible to people with disabilities
- Credible: Users must trust and believe what you are saying
What constitutes good UX design?
A good UX designed product needs to be useful, usable, desirable, findable, accessible, and credible according to the user experience honeycomb. For example, when designing save and delete buttons, you should place the delete button on the left and the save button on the right because the right side is commonly reserved for confirmation. In addition, the save button should be emphasized by applying larger font and highlighting in a different color. This intuitive design would help prevent a user accidentally deleting something they meant to keep.
In conclusion, UX designers design websites with the needs of the user and the business objectives of the stakeholder in mind. Moreover, a well-designed website takes into consideration various factors in UX design as outlined in Peter Morville’s user experience honeycomb diagram.
