Do you know which the UX/UI design process steps are?
In this post, we are going to talk about UX and UI design, their differences and similarities, so then we can analyze which are the UX/UI design process steps.
What is UX?
UX is short for user experience, in other words, it is the whole process of thinking and designing how you can provide the user with the best experience possible.
UX design consists in creating products that will provide a relevant and useful experience to the user. Design, branding, usability, accessibility, and functionality are some aspects that are involved in this process.
More simply, UX is how the user feels about the product. Is the website accessible? Did you create a functional mobile app? Is the interaction between humans and technology fluent?
What is UI?
UI is short for the user interface. The user interface consists of the graphical layout of an application, in a simpler way, the texts they read, the images they see, the buttons they can touch, and everything they can see and interact with.
UI design is the discipline that takes care of every visual element that users will use to execute the webpage. With this process, designers build interfaces in software or computerized devices to create an accessible way to interact with the user.
Similarities between UX and UI design
We just saw what UX and UI are, but it is common to confuse them or even think they are the same. This is not so crazy because, although the differences we discussed before, they have some strong similarities that make these design branches coexist daily.
The main similarity between UX and UI design is that both share the same final goal: customer satisfaction. Both disciplines work in their way but always thinking about how to create a user-friendly final product. UX and UI work together and complement each other in ensuring the customer have a pleasing and effective interaction with the product.
Stages of the UX/UI design process
Understanding the customer: Always the first step in a UX/UI design process is to get a deeper understanding of the customer. We need to know what they are looking for, their needs, preoccupations, why they contacted us, and their expectations and goals for the final product.
It is very important to ask everything we may need to know about our client: selling strategies, goals, internal objectives, their clients, strengths, and weaknesses, etc. On Pixelated Perfect, the TDP Podcast, Samantha Truong and Dianne Eberhardt talked about the importance of not being afraid to ask questions to your customer.
Understanding the competition: Once you understand the customer and its needs, it is time to analyze the competition. Your client probably has some helpful information about their competitors, so do not hesitate to ask them for it.
This competitor's research will be very useful to start thinking about what product you will need to create and learn from other experiences which things might work and which others you must avoid.
The very first sketch: with your customer and the competition information, the next step is to prepare the first sketch of the product you will be creating. When you have it ready, present it to your client and explain the process you made and the reasons behind the idea. Listen carefully to their feedback and work together on possible improvements. This can save you a lot of time, you don't want to come up with a final product that your client does not like.
Design your product: once you have created as many sketches as necessary, and show all of them to your client, is time to design your product. This prototype you are creating should be continuously tasted by your team, your customers, and as many people as possible. The best way to determine if a product is UX/UI friendly is by letting people use it and providing feedback.
Launch the product: once you have created and tested enough prototypes, is time to launch the final design. Implement your creation and be in contact with the client to see their first impressions.
Keep track of it: launching is not the final step. After your product is finished and you launch it, it is essential to keep track of it and make periodical evaluations so you can fix any problem and improve it as necessary.
Bottom line
UX and UI have some strong similarities and do their design processes. In this article, we talked about the UX/UI design process steps focusing on how they can improve the designer's work and customer satisfaction.
