Understanding Ux Design

WHAT IS UX DESIGN?

The term "User Experience" (UX) was first used in the 1990s by Dr. Donald Norman, an electrical engineer and cognitive scientist at Apple. He believed that products should be designed to suit the needs, goals and desires of users, thus creating a satisfying user experience.

What then is user experience?

User experience is a term used to describe the overall experience a user has when interacting with a product or service. User experience could be good or bad, depending on whether the user finds that the product meets his needs or ends up intimidated or frustrated while interacting with the product.

What is User Experience Design (UXD)?

User experience design refers to all the processes involved in creating satisfying experiences for users as they interact with a product. It is all about designing specifically for the needs of a user.

UXD is about designing the whole experience of a product or service from conceptualization to purchase. UX designers focus on creating user-friendly products that meet the needs of the end user.

GOOD UX VS BAD UX.

UX is considered good when the user feels satisfied and happy with the product. However, bad UX occurs when a user feels intimidated, frustrated, angry and somehow feels that the product does not satisfy a need or goal.

THE DESIGN PROCESS

The UX design process can be divided into; Research, Design, Testing and Implementation.

UX RESEARCH

This involves identifying a problem or a user need. UX research dives deep into finding the pain points users experience while interacting with a product, it focuses on learning who the user is, how the product meets the needs of the user and what problems might arise while the customer uses the product. During the research processes, the UX Designer creates user personas to help him understand who he is designing for.

USER PERSONAS

A user persona is a fictitious character who mirrors the characteristics of the group being designed for. For example, instead of designing for a vague group of people who like to buy food online, a more direct approach would be to design for Martha, who works from home and likes to have warm food delivered to her while working.

Automatically, the designer now has to consider the needs of a real person while designing, rather than an elusive group.

WIREFRAMING AND PROTOTYPING

A wireframe is a skeleton of a digital product. It functions like a blueprint, demonstrating the layout of the design and how it will function.

A prototype is a scaled-down version of the digital product. It is a simulation of the original product that helps to understand the concept, user flow, and how the original product is going to work.

CAREER PATHS IN UX

The various careers in UX include;

UX researcher

UX writer

UX strategy

Information Architect

Interaction designer

UX developer

SKILL REQUIREMENT FOR UX DESIGNERS

Communication

Empathy

Organization

CREATING A UX DESIGN PORTFOLI0

A UX design portfolio is an online exhibition of a designer's work. It is a visual collection of a designer's work, showcasing what he has accomplished thus far.

DESIGN CASE STUDY

A Design Case Study is a detailed account written in the designer's voice. It tells the story of a particular project, using text and images.

BUILDING A GOOD PORTFOLIO

What should your portfolio contain?

A strong introductory headline

A thorough 'About' section

Images and artifacts

Contact information

HOW TO BECOME A UX DESIGNER

Self-study

Online mentorship

Boot camp

YouTube