Be it Netflix’s autoplay feature or Spotifyu’s Year Wrapped, they are all about user experience. User experience can make or break a brand’s relationship with customers. Therefore it is important for design students to understand the process of designing meaningful and appropriate experiences for users.
We, at UID fashion designing institute, share useful insights on user experience that design students will find helpful:
- UX is not UI: Students who wish to pursue a career in product design, user experience and interaction design must understand the difference between User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI). UI is just a part of UX. UI deals with the interaction between users and computer systems, software and applications, whereas UX deals more with a user’s overall experience with a brand, product or service.
- Know your audience: One of the most important factors design students should learn is how to identify what end-users love and need. Research is a very important part of understanding the target users and their requirements. At no point should students assume that the users use products the same way they do.
- Hone your presentation skills: While studying in a design institute, students must work on their presentation skills. UX isn’t only about doing great design, it’s also about pursuing clients to go ahead with the designs. UX designers present their ideas with to not just product managers but other stakeholders who may or may not possess good visualization skills.
- Great designs are about stories: Design should always be telling a story Be it an iPod or Twitter’s logo, each tells a story. Students must realize that storytelling evokes emotions and emotions make people act.
- The UX process is adaptable: There are no towers that design students must have a clear and concise UX development process. However, they must remember that there’s no single process that is applicable for all situations. To create the best possible user experience, a good designer should be ready to adapt their process based on project specifics.
- Prototype before the actual product: A very important thing that students will learn at design institutes is prototyping. Prototyping is creating a model of a product that can be tested. When building prototypes, students should keep in mind the following key components:
- People – users and the observers
- Objects – static and interactive
- Interactions – digital or physical
- Design is an iterative process: UX design isn’t a linear process. There are multiple steps that include ideation, prototyping, testing. And, at times, there’s a lot of back-and-forth. Design students should realize that when it comes to identifying problems, users, and the project details, it may be necessary to revisit some of the research undertaken or try out new design ideas.
- Keep it simple: There’s a famous saying, “UX is like a joke. If you have to explain it, it isn’t that good.” Creating simple user experiences doesn’t mean they should be devoid of color schemes or other design elements. It means the design should allow users to easily understand and interact with the product.
About UID college of design
As one of the top design institutes in India, Unitedworld Institute of Design offers a wide range of design courses such as B.Design (Hons.) Defence Design, B.Design (Hons.) Interaction Design and B.Design (Hons.) Product Design etc. We have state-of-the-art labs that support academic and practical learning.
