Why Do You Need A User Experience Designer?

When it comes to building your software product, the role of a user experience designer is to help end-users make their way quickly and intuitively across the application you’ve built. By eliminating friction and unnecessary steps, user experience (UX) design makes a digital product easy to use, enjoyable, and desirable, so that users can get things done more efficiently and faster.

In this article, you’ll learn precisely what a user experience designer does, what UX design is, and why you should consider hiring a team of UX design experts for your next big project!

UX design is about creating an intuitive system that makes it easier for people to navigate your application. By eliminating unnecessary steps and reducing friction points, the user experience designer can create products that are both fast and efficient without sacrificing usability or desirability.

In other words, UX design lets you create user-friendly, engaging digital products such as websites and mobile apps. It integrates a variety of elements and disciplines, from branding and copywriting to usability and technical functionality.

“No product is an island. A product is more than the product. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences. Think through all of the stages of a product or service — from initial intentions through final reflections, from the first usage to help, service, and maintenance. Make them all work together seamlessly.” — Don Norman, inventor of the term “User Experience”

A great user experience is the result of an integrated effort between multiple disciplines, having an interaction design foundation, and individuals with diverse sets of skills. These all work together to deliver engaging interactions for end users, according to UX experts Don Norman and Jacob Nielsen. User experience also includes visual and graphic design, psychological factors, and physical interaction with the product.

Although we might now know what UX design is, we also need to understand what it isn’t:

UX design focuses on how users interact with the interface, what information they need to access, and how it should be visually presented for maximum engagement. User interface design revolves around visual presentation, more specifically how the product looks and feels, the colours and fonts used, etc.

Although one of the main roles of a user experience designer is to build meaningful and relevant user experiences through a digital product, it is much more than that. Of course, conducting user research and understanding your user personas, target audience, and user segments (i.e., user-centric approach) is crucial, but you need to also consider the entire context in which a product exists, from design elements to marketing strategy and business goals.

UX Design encompasses the entire user experience landscape, not just the wireframes. It’s about creating rich, interactive experiences that deliver on user goals and expectations, and it goes beyond visual design. These experiences are creative, engaging, and able to adapt through user research and usability testing to changing user needs as technology continues to evolve.

Yes, usability matters but UX design encompasses more than that. Just because you can use a product, it doesn’t mean you will! UX designers are also responsible for understanding and optimizing interfaces from a psychological standpoint. It is this kind of holistic approach that speaks to why UX design has become an important field of study and practice in business nowadays!

When done right, UX design actually changes the way customers think and feel about the brand, encouraging them to spread the word to friends and family. Positive experiences drive repeat business and lead to even more referrals — creating an invaluable asset for any business.

In fact, 66% of customers are likely to pay extra for a great user experience!

On the other hand, a negative user experience can leave customers with a bitter taste, and some of them may not return for another round. Ultimately, poor UX easily causes users to turn to your competitors.

Think of it this way: similar to how customer service leaves its mark in physical stores and companies, UX design impacts their opinion of an app or website.

In short:

Another common myth about UX design is that anyone can do it. While it is true that anyone can learn the basics of UX design, it takes a lot of hard work and practice to become a good user experience designer. In order to be successful in the field, you need to have a strong understanding of human behaviour and be able to think creatively about how users will interact with a product.

While creativity is certainly important in any design field, especially as a visual designer, it is not the only skill that makes you a good UX designer. As a user experience designer, you must be able to think analytically and be inventive when solving problems, but you don’t necessarily need to be an artist.

It’s true that UX design hourly rates can go from under $100 an hour to even thousands of dollars per hour, these prices being determined by the complexity of the project. However, depending on your needs and goals, the UX design cost changes. Luckily, you can work with a team of professional user experience designers on your specific goals in a cost-effective manner that enables you to stick to your budget.

Choosing the best UX design team for your project is an essential part of ensuring the successful completion of your project.

Look for a UX design team that has:

Pro tip: Ask questions such as what experience they have within specific UX designs and how many years of experience they possess. Don’t be shy — this will help you to quickly evaluate their UX design skills and expertise.

By taking these steps when finding the best UX design team, you can feel confident knowing you did your homework and made the best decision for your project’s success.

What is UX design, how does it help, and why should you consider hiring professional UX designers? As discussed throughout this article:

The best part is that we can help you with all of the above. Get in touch with our UX design experts today to get your project off the ground!