What the heck is UX Design?
And what does a UX Designer actually do?
These are difficult questions to answer,
because if you ask 5 different people,
you're going to get 5 different answers.
In this talk, I'm not only going to explain
what UX Design is, but also why I believe
you should find out more about it, regardless
of your job.
UX, obviously, stands for
User Experience. And when we say "user experience",
we're referring to the what, when, where,
why, and how someone uses a product, as well
as who that person is. So: what, when,
where, why, how, and who: these cover the
user experience of a product, which is
pretty much everything that affects a
user's interaction with that product.
So as you can imagine, a UX Designer,
which is someone who designs these
interactions, is constantly asking a ton
of questions. If you're someone who
naturally questions things, UX Design
could be a great career for you, because
it's the answers to these questions
that shape a product's design.
Of course it's not all about the
user's needs. UX Designers need to take
into account a business's needs as well.
It's no use having a product that people
love, if it doesn't help a business
achieve its goals. That's not a product,
that's a side project. A UX Designer aims
for that sweet spot where user needs and
business needs overlap. So how do they
do this, other than by asking a lot of
questions? Well, a UX Designer follows
what's called a user-centred design
process. We use a set of tools and
techniques to take the user's needs
into account at every stage of the
product's lifecycle. I'm going to repeat that,
because it's a bit of a mouthful when
you hear it for the first time:
a user-centred design process takes the
user's needs into account at every stage
of the product lifecycle.
I say product, because these techniques apply
to web apps, mobile apps, desktop apps, or
even physical objects.
OK. So that's all well and good, but
why should you care? I'm going to give
you four reasons why I believe this stuff
matters so much, and this list doesn't
include the one, which is the fact that
paying attention to UX results in you
building a product that's awesome, instead
of one that people hate using. Hopefully
that's a given. The reasons why I think you
should learn more about UX are:
1) You're probably doing some of this
already. One thing I've learned is that when
you understand how it is that you do what
you do, you become infinitely better at it.
Like the fable about the centipede who,
when asked how it was that he walked,
couldn't give an answer. But when he
picked himself up, and examined and
flexed each of his hundred legs, he
danced the most beautiful dance in the world.
Here's Number 2: user-centred design is a
process, which means it's practically
scientific! It's like taking the scientific
method, using analysis and measurement, and
applying it to humans and their behaviour.
And that's fascinating to me - this notion
that designers are artistic geniuses with a
penchant for cutting off their own ear ...
it's nonsense! This is a science! Well, a
quasi-science. Which leads me to the third
reason that UX matters: it's not that hard.
Especially for people who are already
technically inclined. I don't want to go
putting myself out of a job here, but you
know what? This stuff is not rocket surgery,
to borrow from Steve Krug. Anyone can learn
the basics of user testing and card sorting
and writing scenarios and creating wireframes.
It's actually very straightforward.
Which is a good segue to the fourth reason
you should care about UX, and that's that ...
it's fun! This stuff is fascinating! A career
as a UX Designer is interesting, it's challenging,
it's rewarding, it pays well, and there's a very
low barrier to entry.
A lot of people feel uncomfortable calling
themselves a "designer", because they're no
good at choosing a typeface or a colour
palette. Get over it! UX Design is the
design behind the visuals. Visual design is
just one small part of it. It's an important
part, but some of the best UX Designers I know
actually aren't that great at visual design,
but they're really good at those other areas
that are so important.
And that's pretty much it. So while you
might hear terms like information architect, user
interface designer, interaction designer or
usability specialist, these can all be considered
UX professionals. Now they might specialise
in marketing or technology, or maybe they come
from a user research, social media, or even
customer support background. Either way,
they're all asking a ton of questions, and
following a quasi-scientific process to do
the design behind the visuals.
And they're having a blast doing it!
So that's what I'd like to leave you with:
that if this stuff interests you, you may
very well be well placed to have a promising
career as a UX designer.
Thanks for listening. My name's Matt, and
I've just launched a site called UXMastery.com,
where I blog about UX. If you're interested,
come and check it out!