UX and UI and why they matter to your business
User Experience is now a well-known commodity in the digital world. This was not always the case. Companies like Apple, X, Slack, Uber, and countless others have proven that a great user experience is a strategic market advantage. UX is the reason startups can challenge market-leading brands. Jakob Nielsen, a well-known UX guru, stated that improving the customer experience raises a company’s KPIs up to 83% in conversion lift. PwC found 32% of people would stop interacting with the brand after one bad experience.” The ROI of UX is unquestionable and its impact on your bottom line is undeniable.
Those familiar with User Experience (UX), know it encompasses all aspects of the interaction with a product, including usability, accessibility, performance, design, and overall customer satisfaction. Good UX enhances that satisfaction by improving the ease of use and pleasure provided in the interaction between the user and the product. Great UX triggers positive emotional responses and we humans love positive emotions. The map and directions application, Waze, was able to grab market share from Google and Apple by targeting user emotions with personalization and gamification. “Wazers” are enabled to help each other (and the app itself) by contributing real-time traffic updates. Users gain points and rank for their contributions, can interact with other “Wazers” on their map, and can personalize how they appear to others based on rewards gained and mood.
Those less familiar with UX might conflate or confuse it with “visual design”, or “user interface”. UI encompasses the visual elements that bring the user experience to life. UI encompasses colors, fonts, icons, imagery, layout and page flow, and visual and auditory inputs and feedback. It’s the eye candy, the curb appeal, the chrome that catches the light just right. You cannot have a great user experience without a great user interface.
Take, for example, the customer login experience, a crucial interaction point that stands between the user and the user’s goals. In the examples below, the user experience varies, but they all share the same UI design.
Example 1: Basic Login
In this example, the form is professional-looking and follows a familiar pattern. There are some good features in this example. It has a forgotten password flow and separates "Sign In" from "Sign Up", minimizing the number of form fields. However, the user experience is less than optimal. It’s overcomplicated in that it asks the user to reenter the password, an unnecessary step. It also provides only a single way to log in.
Example 2: Better Login
A similar-looking form, but with a better user experience. The user now has a “Remember Me” checkbox for a faster experience. The user is also presented with several social login options instead of just email, eliminating the need to remember their account information.
Example 3: Best Login
The form in the previous example was more usable than the first, however, it could still be improved, Usability studies have shown that the use of “Forgot Password” feature has gone up over time, indicating a key usability flaw in login forms. As consumers, we have all, at some point, been frustrated by password recovery. Hence the change in the login experience in this sample. The user enters their phone number and is texted a One Time Passcode. No password recovery, no more frustrated users!
The distinction between UX and UI is subtle, and at the end of the day, it doesn't matter all that much. The critical point is focusing on user-centered design.
Good UX is the foundation of how your customers interact with your product or service. It’s the blueprint, the well-architected master plan for delivering a meaningful and pain-free experience. User-centered design means uncovering users’ needs, developing the right content strategy, defining taxonomy and metadata, and designing the right interface. It is the whole of the user experience, every twist, every turn, every delightful surprise.
Getting your UX right is more than designing pretty screens. Invest in discovery, and align on product strategy, customer journeys, personas, testing, and feedback. Design something great as part of the process. Most importantly, educate your stakeholders along the way. The ROI is proven and compelling.
Be adaptive and iterative, open to both innovation and failure. This is how great companies design great products. Yours can be one of them.
7Factor offers user-centered product design and the engineering talent to bring it to life. Our process follows the principles of Lean UX, allowing your product team to move quickly and efficiently. Let us know how we can help your organization!