UX Design Process

User Experience Design is a vast, multidimensional and multidisciplinary field that molds the products and services we use in our day-to-day lives and determines the success or failure of a brand. It involves visual design, interaction design, usability, information architecture, and human-computer interaction. Without a proper UX Design process, companies run the risk of creating products and experiences with a sub-par user experience.

 

What is UX Design?

UX design is the process of creating products (digital or physical) that are practical, user-friendly, and easy to interact with. UX design aims to improve customer satisfaction and enhance customer loyalty through these measures. It considers all the facets of a user’s interaction with a product or service and how it shapes their experience, how it makes them feel, and how easy it is for the user to use. Thus, the goal is to create an all-around pleasant experience.

 

Brief about UX Design Process

The UX design process can be considered a cornerstone of UX Design. The term ‘UX design process’ was first introduced in the 1990s by the famous designer Donald Norman. A well-defined and well-planned UX design process enables a company to craft top-notch user experiences. An effective user interface presents the product or services confidently to the customers and adds to brand reputation. 88% of users have said that they would not revisit a website if they had had a bad experience.

 

Steps of the UX Design Process

The UX Design processes, if followed methodically, allows designers’ to optimize the brands’ user interfaces to the fullest. The best approach to doing this is to integrate the content, structure, and user experience in a way that follows and accomplishes these steps diligently. The entire process can be divided into five different phases, with each department of the company being in charge of their respective step.

 

Product Definition

The first phase of the UX Design process is product definition. This is a crucial step of the process because it is here at the very beginning that the real scope of the product is examined and determined. The department responsible for this will collect the necessary customer wants and needs according to their business environment to achieve User Personas and Use Case Stories.

 

Research

The research team studies how the existing system of the given client proposal works. The major functions involved in this phase are:

• Researching about the competition.
• Conducting a thorough research of their existing domain.
• Exploring the strategies used by competitors.
• Have an understanding of the latest trends and guidelines.

 

Analysis

The research collected in the previous step is studied and analyzed. Using this information, ‘hypothetical personas’ are created along with ‘experience maps’.

 

Design

In this step, the design team finally gets to execute the ideas collected in the previous three steps and work on the final graphics, which involves:

• Sketching: The designers may make hand-made sketches to visualise the concept.
• Designing Wireframes: Wireframe refers to the outline of the page in terms of a visual representation of how the page will be arranged.
• Designing prototypes: Prototypes provide a simulation of the actual feel of the product and the user’s interaction experience.
• Designing specifications: Design specifications depict the product’s overall functionality and style requirements.

 

Testing

Testing is the final phase of the UX design process, which determines the overall value of the end product. In this phase, the design features not up to the mark are sent back to the respective teams for improvement. Only 55% of companies conduct proper UX testing.

 

Where to look for a UX Design Course?

To prepare for a career in a high-growth field like UX design process, one must look for a UX design course that pushes your designing and creative thinking capabilities and teaches you the practical application of various design concepts. MIT ID Innovation does just that by exploring the different strategies and relevant case studies to master the UX design process.