May 21, 2023
Introduction to User Experience (UX) Design
Introduction to User Experience (UX) Design
UX design considers the elements that shape a user’s experience with a product or service, how these elements make the user feel, and how easy it is to accomplish their desired tasks.
This could mean anything from how a physical product feels in your hand to how straightforward the checkout process is when buying something online. The goal of UX design is to create easy, efficient, relevant, and all-around pleasant experiences for the user.
UX designers combine market research, product development, strategy, and design to create seamless user experiences for products, services, and processes.
They build a bridge to the customer, helping the company to better understand—and fulfill—their needs and expectations.
1.1 The difference between UX and UI design
When discussing UX, user interface (UI) design will inevitably crop up. However, it’s important to recognize that, despite often being used interchangeably, UX and UI are two different things.
UI refers to the actual interface of a product, the visual design of the screens a user navigates through when using a mobile app, or the buttons they click when browsing a website.
UI design covers all the visual and interactive elements of a product interface: from typography and color palettes to animations and navigational touch points (such as buttons and scrollbars).
“UX is focused on the user’s journey to solve a problem; UI is focused on how a product’s surfaces look and function.” — Ken Norton, Partner at Google Ventures, Ex-Product Manager at Google
UX and UI go hand-in-hand, and the design of the product interface has a huge impact on the overall user experience.
2. What does a UX designer do?
UX designers seek to make everyday products, services, and technology as user-friendly and accessible as possible. They employ design thinking to reconcile the user’s desires with technical feasibility and business viability.
2.1. The Design Thinking Process
The following diagram shows the Design Thinking Process, adapted from the d.school. The Design Thinking Process can be broken down into four different stages: inspiration, conceptualization, iteration, and exposition.
During the inspiration stage, the UX designer seeks to understand and observe. To do this, they conduct extensive research and competitor analysis to fully grasp the problem or challenge they are setting out to solve. This involves interviewing those who are, or will be, directly engaged with the product.
The user experience designer then uses this feedback to identify the user’s goals, emotions, pain points, and behaviors. All of this information helps to form user personas, composite descriptions of individual users.
The next step is to consider what these personas are trying to accomplish when using a particular product and the journey they will take. The designer considers information architecture and uses various techniques, such as card sorting, to map out user flows.
Read our full guide on the UX design process.
2.2. What are a UX designer’s tasks?
Once the user flows have been determined, the designer knows what steps the user needs to take to complete their desired tasks. They will visually brainstorm solutions for each of these steps, creating wireframes and prototypes of what the final product might look like.
With prototypes to hand, the UX designer will then conduct usability tests to see how users interact with the product. This shows whether or not the user can complete their desired tasks or if changes need to be made.
UX designers don’t just come up with solutions to user problems; they also need to present their ideas and designs to key stakeholders as part of their day-to-day work.
Company size determines the scope of what a UX designer does
This is just a broad overview of the UX design process. In reality, tasks will vary depending on both the size and the specific needs of the company.
Larger companies might employ a team of designers, each focusing on a specific aspect of the process, such as research or visual design.
In smaller companies and startups, it’s not unusual for the UX designer to wear many hats and take on the whole spectrum of tasks.
Key questions UX designers ask themselves
No matter what product or service they are designing or what stage of the process they are at, UX designers will ask themselves the following questions:
- Is the product
- Does the product or service
- Is it
- Is the product or service
2.3. What tools do UX designers use?
UX designers rely on several different tools as they go about their work.
At the research and inspiration stage, they will use survey and polling tools and video chat software to interview users and gather as much information as possible.
There are also specific programs for wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing, with Balsamiq, InVision, and UsabilityHub among the most popular in the industry.
AI tools are also becoming popular as ways to tackle simpler tasks more efficiently. For more info, read our full guide on the impact of AI on UX design.
In addition to design-specific programs, designers use communication and project management tools to keep track of their work at all times.
2.4. What kinds of projects do UX designers work on?
As the tech industry grows, the field of UX design is becoming increasingly varied. UX designers can find themselves working on a wide range of projects within various contexts. The following are just some applications for UX design.
Product design
Product design is the process of conceptualizing, creating, and refining physical or digital items to meet specific user needs and deliver a functional, aesthetically pleasing, and marketable solution. It informs a lot of what UX designers work on daily.
