An authentic user experience goes far beyond giving customers what they say they want. So we go deeper and research the underlying wants and needs of the end-user. To provide a high-quality user experience, we have to be seamless in our disciplines, which we discuss in detail.
Tl;dr: UX or User Experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user interactions with the company, its services, and its products.
An authentic user experience goes far beyond giving customers what they say they want. So we go deeper and research the underlying wants and needs of the end-user. To provide a high-quality user experience, we have to be seamless in our disciplines, which we discuss in detail.
There are also two primary requirements to provide a superior user experience. The first is to meet the customer’s exact needs without fuss or bother. Next, focus on simplicity and elegance to produce products that are a joy to use.
What is the difference between UI and UX?
While UX/UI is a generic term, there is a distinct difference between the two when talking about a product. The term User Interface (UI) refers to the elements that make up the interface of the product. The "tangible" portion of a design, what we see. In short, UI refers to the colors, typography, iconography, layout, and components themselves. User Experience (UX) is the intangible, the experience, the feelings of a user. It is the how or why of design as a user might think, "Why am I doing this?" or "Why is this so hard?" UX refers to the user's goal, how they get something accomplished in the product, or even why they should be bothered completing something.
Imagine the checkout process at your local grocery store. The user interface is the series of lanes. They are marked with numbers and placed conveniently at the front of the store. The user experience is the process of removing the items from your cart onto the belt and a clerk scanning and bagging your groceries while you pay. You’ve seen variations of the user interface and user experience at different stores. All else being equal, you probably prefer to shop at stores with a nicer interface and an easier and more joyous experience. It’s the same when it comes to software and its users.
Disciplines of UX
UX is an umbrella term covering a wide range of concepts; at BrainGu, we break UX out into six different disciplines.
Designers focused on the user experience and how to guide users through the product to accomplish tasks.
Designers focused on the aesthetics of the product. Love color, typography, spacing, etc.
Designers adept at using motion to add another layer of aesthetics to designs.
Content writers/strategists shape the verbiage and written experience of the product.
Usability researchers run studies and understand the user at a deeper level, take feedback, and translate that feedback back into directions for designers. UX Researchers dive deeper than what the user said their needs and wants are to unlock underlying requirements.
Hybrid designer/front-end developers translate designs into code for handoff and prototype development for usability studies.
Goals for UX
The Importance of Usefulness in UX and UI
Tl;dr - To determine if a UX/UI is ‘Useful,’ we combine two qualitative measures, ‘Usability’ and ‘Utility.’ Usability measures how easy and pleasant a feature is to use, while ‘Utility’ measures its functionality.
Personas and Scenarios in UX
A key to BrainGu's product designs is that we design products around people rather than teach people how to use our products. To do so, we understand our customers - their behaviors, attitudes, needs, and goals. We get to know the end-users/operators to create a design that will satisfy their needs.