3 Essential UX Mantras to Get You Started
The field of UX design can be very daunting when you first start to get into it. So many “rules” and best practices out there, it’s hard to keep track especially in the beginning when you’re starting out. Fret not though, here are 3 simple mantras to remember that’ll help you get off to a good start as a budding UX designer:
1. User is king
What would the user do?
An age-old adage in business, people have been saying this for a long time: customer is king. In the case of UX, the same applies and your customers are your users. They decide in the end whether or not to use your product and that decides whether or not your product will succeed. So, focus on and try to understand your users when designing. Think of every design decision you make from their perspective and whether or not it will help solve their problems.
2. Do not assume
Assuming makes an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’
You can and should put yourself in your users’ shoes, but never assume anything about your users. These 2 things aren’t the same. When you’re assuming, you’re using your own subjective view to asses things. Until you get real data to support these assumptions, they remain highly subjective and unreliable. When you encounter something you don’t know about your users, ask them. Do your research. Don’t assume. Sure it’s gonna take more effort, but you’ll be glad you did it in the first place.
3. UX is always evolving
UX is a journey, not a destination
I hate to break this to you, but there’s no nirvana or a state of peaceful finality in the world of UX. It is a constant process of re-questioning, retesting, readjusting, and reworking. Users are constantly changing, businesses are always evolving, technology keeps on advancing, trends come and go. What is true one minute might be obsolete the next — this is normal and is part of the fun of working in the industry. This also guarantees that we’re not gonna be out of a job, so embrace it 😉.
I hope this helps! These are things I’ve learnt from my experience so far as a UX designer. Have a different experience? Something to add? Please comment below, I’d love to hear it.
