When we talk to clients about designing for web, we’re often referring to UI and UX design. When we say this we can sometimes be met with blank expressions. So what is UI / UX design? Well, as you ask…
DESIGNING DIGITAL ENVIRONMENTS AND EXPERIENCES
USER INTERFACE DESIGN
User interface (UI) design is the process of designing interface layouts and interactions to make them as intuitive, efficient and productive as possible.
Make it look good and make sense.
USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN
User experience (UX) design is the process of enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty by improving the usability, ease of use, and enjoyment provided in the interaction between the user and the application.
Make it easy and pleasurable to use.
Don’t make me think or work harder than I have to.
We like to use our car analogy (patent pending).
The car analogy:
UI is the steering wheel, gear lever, pedals and dashboard of a well designed car.
UX is the feeling you get from driving a well designed car on an open road.
THE VALUE OF GOOD DESIGN
Continuing the car analogy, here are two cars.
Both serve the same function, both have driver interfaces, both offer driving experiences.
However, one may be considered to have a better interface and offer a better experience.
CLOSER TO HOME
Cars are one thing. We’re talking digital interfaces and experiences. How about a more relevant example.
The English National Opera (ENO) recently employed UI/UX Design to simplify their website, improve visitor experience and increase bookings.
The new site design employs; Simplified navigation, Content modelling, Sticky ‘book’ buttons and a ‘quick buy’ feature and is mobile ready. The new UI and UX maximises ease of use, is cleaner, clearer and encourages desired user interaction.
HOW UI/UX DESIGN CAN BENEFIT YOUR BUSINESS
As the consumption of information technology becomes more prolific and pervasive in everyday life, so end users are becoming more discerning about interfaces and experiences. It is no longer good enough just to work well under the bonnet, we demand that it also look good and be easy to use. Good UI/UX design can be the difference between a system that gets adopted or not.
Encourage Use
The easier and more enjoyable a system is to use, the more likely people are to use use it – staff benefit from easier work process; customers benefit from easy to use system, resulting in customer retention.
Increase Productivity
Good UX minimises user fatigue, increases output, reduces error and improves efficiency.
Saves Money
By encouraging use and increasing productivity, time and costs decrease.
If these benefits are of interest to your business, speak to us today to discuss how we can help.