understanding ux design

8/12/2019 Understanding UX Design

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raffaella s. isidori

Essay 2:

Understanding

User Experience Design

Digital Studio 2

GRDS-763-OL

SCAD, Summer 2012

Professor: Rebecca HemstadAugust 2012


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Table of Contents:

What is User Experience?

What is User Experience

Design?

Good User Experience

in web designUser-Centered Design

Steps to Design for the User

Notes & References

Suggested readings


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What is User Experience (UX)?

Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think

its this veneer that the designers are handed this box and told, Make it look

good! Thats not what we think design is. Its not just what it looks like and feels

like. Design is how it works.- Steve Jobs[1]

Wikipedia defines User Experience as the way a person feels about using a product,

system or service. User experience highlights the experiential, affective, meaningful

and valuable aspects of human-computer interaction and product ownership, but it

also includes a persons perceptions of the practical aspects such as utility, ease of

use and efficiency of the system. User experience is subjective in nature, because itis about an individuals feelings and thoughts about the system. User experience is

dynamic, because it changes over time as the circumstances change.

Good User Experience is like good film editing: invisible. When something is ergo-

nomic, comfortable, smooth, flowing, understandable, clear, intuitive, efficacious,

easy, we hardly notice it, we simply use it and move on.

When we curse over the abstruse remote control; when we cant find how to turn

off the incredibly annoying music that went off when we landed on a new web page;when we sit in a rented car desperately trying to figure out where the basic controls

are, when we pick up a new cellphone and are unable to figure out how to send out a

text message, well, we are painfully enduring a Bad User Experience.

Amongst poor user experiences, I also include non-device experiences, such as having

dinner in a restaurant where the food is delicious and the service horrible; or shop-

ping in a store where the temperature is too low or too high; as well as when (though

thets possibly intentional) the layout of the products in our supermarket is changed,

and we need to re-learn where our favorite products are located.

Basically, my concept of User Experience includes all possible aspects that come into

play when a human interacts with a product, a system, or a service (and I use the

term service in its widest sense).

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What is User Experience Design?

To design something really well you have to get it. You have to really grok what

its all about. It takes a passionate commitment to thoroughly understand some-

thing chew it up, not just quickly swallow it. Most people dont take the time

to do that The broader ones understanding of the human experience, the better

designs we will have.- Steve Jobs [2]

Again, quoting Wikipedia User Experience Design (UXD or UED) is a broad term

used to explain all aspects of a persons experience with the system including the

interface, graphics, industrial design, physical interaction, and the manual.It is also referring to the application of user-centered design practices to generate

cohesive, predictive and desirable designs based on holistic consideration of users

experience. In most cases, User Experience Design fully encompasses traditional

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) design and extends it by addressing all aspects

of a product or service as perceived by users.

In other words, when designers work well, they can make people happier and - as

Steve Jobs has demonstrated on more than one occasion - they can change peoples

lives radically. When designers are self-centered and fail to consider their audience,they produce Norman-monsters. [3]

Design is not Art, design is not about (self)expression: design is communication. A

well designed object stands on itself: its pervaded with meaning, its function is clear,

its use is intuitive, its form is pleasant and synergic to the other aspects.

Design is language: your interlocutor needs to understand, otherwise it is useless at

best, annoying at its peak.

With that concept in mind, designers must be capable of a sort of design empathy,

going behind what they might find clever or correct in their own personal universe,

so that they can embrace the needs of others and produce excellent experiences.


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Good User Experience in web design

Everything has a personality: everything sends an emotional signal. Even where

this was not the intention of the designer, the people who view the website infer

personalities and experience emotions. Bad websites have horrible personalities andinstill horrid emotional states in their users, usually unwittingly.

We need to design things products, websites, services to convey whatever per-

sonality and emotions are desired. Sometimes these might be negative. Mostly they

should be positive. You know about personas? Well, in design we should always

create a persona for the product and ensure that everything in that product is con-

sistent with that persona. Don Norman[4]

It is obvious, at this point, that good User Experience is fundamental for a good web-site. What should a web designer take into consideration in designing such site? The

conceptual requirements, really, do not differ from any well-put-together communi-

cation project:

1 - what (or, the object) - what are you trying to build? All aspects will need to be

addressed and structured coherently with the aim of the website: plan ahead, pro-

totype and testto be sure you start off right. Pay attention to detailsright from the

start without losing sight of the large picture. There are standards and best practic-

es: see them as challenges for your creativity, not as limitations. Code right:a cleanand well written markup is the foundation of a content that can be declined in all the

opportune and desired ways.

2 - who (or, the target)- psychographics & demographics might help you under-

stand better who you are talking to, especially if your target is not even close to you.

If necessary, develop personas to better identify who you are designing for. Once

identified, your target will lead you to the proper values of: people & device acces-

sibility, usability, and form - where form is the look, the feel and the structure neces-

sary to be most appealing to that specific audience.

3 - why (or, the purpose) - why are you doing this? What is the purpose of this site?

A clear understanding of the reason why this effort is being undertaken might help

you with the emotional aspect of design: telling a cohesive story, using the most ap-

propriate language will give your site that extra value that can turn a positive user

experience into a great user experience.

And as with all types of design (and services) the details are the key, and the atten-

tion for details comes from empathy and carefor the object of our design and for its

fruitors.


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User-Centered Design

User Experience Design should encompass all aspects of the interaction that people

will have with our product in all possible foreseeable conditions. And designers should

design for people, not for themselves.

For this reason, good User Experience Design should include the proper balance of

these principles:

User-centered design- empathic designers will produce objects/systems that

will present a higher level of satisfaction by users, just as self-centered designers,

thinking of themselves as typical users will likely do just the opposite. Through

the use of prototypes, personas, research, observation, trial, error and the lack of

arrogance, designers can work with themselves and with other professionals toensure their user the best experience possible.

Good interface design- graphic design is a powerful tool to indicate actions to

be taken and paths to be followed: good UX relies on excellent visual design.

Architecture(informational and/or ergonomic) - logically and consequentially

organized information is easier to predict and doesnt require interpretation which

can lead to misunderstandings and mistakes.

Usability (in its widest sense, both by people - all kinds of people - by systems,

and by circumstances (in web deign, for example, considering responsiveness and

multimedia). Habits and learned reactions- a designer cannot overlook (or underestimate)

what people have learned and are used to. Being innovative cannot mean being

disruptive of peoples established habits.

Standards and best practices,which closely relate to the previous point.

Conceptual models- we instinctively try to make sense of what surrounds us, and

when things seems senseless or arbitrary we are likely to make mistakes. If we pro-

vide our device (or system, or product, or website) with all the necessary informa-

tion that can indicate its functions, our user will understand (and use) better.

Feedbackis critical so that the user know it has done the right (or the wrong)

thing. Our design, therefore, must provide feedback (color change, status change,

sound, etc.) to inform the user.

Constraints and affordance are one clever ways to avoid mistakes by the user. If

something works only one way (think of memory cards in cameras, for example)

you eliminate the possibility for the user to err. Likewise, if the shape or the visual

information given clearly indicates the proper usage, the user will likely act cor-

rectly.

Aesthetics:we like beauty, we like harmony and balance. A well designed object is

likely nice to look at.


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Steps to Design for the User

1 - plan ahead

A good project starts with a clear idea. A clear idea comes from a metabolized brief.

Planning ahead is vital to understand the object of our design, its purpose and our

audience. Planning, prototyping and testing might seem like a waste of time in the

beginning but are often the key to a speedy and smooth production.

2 - information architecture

Structuring properly the website, in terms of information architecture is fundamental

to create a site that is easy to navigate and accessible. Furthermore, once the skel-

eton of the content we will need to organize is clearly mapped, our task of designing

the site in terms of usability, interactivity and form will be much easier.

3 - interface design (usability)

Websites are interactive by nature: a poor interface will necessarily make a poor user

experience. Cleverness should never be at the cost of clarity, form should never

endanger function.

The following is an example of a clever navigation that - albeit not even that clever

- simply makes navigation annoying and unpleasant (sorry, if youre reading on iOS,

the site is in flash) - http://www.shmarketing.co.uk/

Basically, you hover over the (orange) wiggling elements on the left and when you get

the right one (see below) you discover where it can lead you to.


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Web Pages That Suck [5]provides some other interesting examples of discussible navi-

gation, or, as they call it mystery meat navigation.

4 - accessibility

There are three aspects within the concept of accessibility, the third one - software

requirements - might not be strictly related to websites, though we could declines it

as the need for our website to be visible on all (or most) browsers.

The two other (principle) aspects are: people and device.

Aside from the ethical (and, in some circumstances, legal) need to make your site ac-

cessible by all people, including those with hearing, visual, interactive and cognitive

disabilities, all sites should be designed with the principles of being accessible by ev-

eryone in mind. Should a site be not accessible by someone (and I believe there could

be circumstances in which one might choose not to make it easy for someone to

interact with a certain site - think for example sites aimed at an adult audience, which

might be made difficult for children to enter), it should be done purposefully and not

be a mistake or an oversight.

5- good, clean markup

Thinking ahead and planning well are the key to a well coded site.

Proper markup allows for all the necessary adjustments needed for people and media

accessibility. Well written code can be read for the visually impaired and easily trans-

lates from the browsers screen to a smartphones. Well written code is like excellent

ingredients for a recipe: often the primary key to its success.


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6 - standards and best practices

A few years ago, when I was designing sites that developers then coded for me, often

in flash, I used to frown and discuss with friends and colleagues about standards, not

so much about code and accessibility but more so about usability (which, back then,

was basically about navigation and UI).

I frowned because it seemed obvious to me that navigation had to be found, be

understandable, be intuitive, as well as it was obvious that the information in the site

needed to be accessible: as a graphic designer I had been taught the difference be-

tween legibility and readability and I applied these same principles onto my web

design.

But many sites, today as in the past, are designed by developers, so standards becamenecessary, as many developers are not trained as visual designers. Standards, though,

need not to be cages: working with constraints, understanding the limits and master-

ing them is a challenge that can produce excellency, if coupled with creativity.

7 - creativity

Designers are creative. Well, at least they should be.

Quoting again Steve Jobs In most peoples vocabularies, design means veneer. Its

interior decorating. Its the fabric of the curtains and the sofa. But to me, nothing

could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a

man-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the

product or service.

Creativity is not following trends headlessly. Creativity is not a penchant for decora-

tion. Creativity is not cleverness. Creativity is not defiance, is not a rebellious mote

against the status quo.

Creativity is the ability one has to find a creative solution to a problem. Creativity is

the capacity to formulate an effective metaphor to get the message across. Creativity

is the skill to work within limits and constraints to reach an optimal result. Creativity

is the key to a well designed anything and to a positive, if not great, user experience.


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Notes & References

[1] - 2003, New York Times: The Guts of a New Machine. (http://www.nytimes.

com/2003/11/30/magazine/30IPOD.html?ex=1386133200&en=750c9021e58923d5&ei

=5007&partner=USERLAND) - http://www.inspireux.com/category/steve-jobs/

[2] - 1996, Wired: Steve Jobs: The Next Insanely Great Thing (http://www.wired.

com/wired/archive/4.02/jobs_pr.html) - http://www.inspireux.com/category/steve-

jobs/

[3] - Donald A. Norman - The design of everyday things.

[4] - Design Research and Innovation: An Interview with Don Norman - http://johnnyholland.org/2011/01/design-research-and-innovation-an-interview-with-don-

norman/

[5] - http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/worst-website-navigation-of-2011.html

Suggested readings & sites

Niko Nyman - It takes great empathy to create a good experience

http://www.slideshare.net/spushnik/the-value-of-user-experience-from-web-20-expo-

berlin-2009-presentation?type=powerpoint#

Donald A. Norman - The design of everyday things

http://www.inspireux.com/

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