How Unique Should Your Product’s UX Be?

When Reinventing the Wheel Does More Damage than Good

There is no doubt that a unique, efficient, fresh UX will set your product apart. With that said, I’ve been thinking a lot about the uniqueness of a product, especially when compared to the UX of competitors and products that exist in the same markets/devices/whatever.

The idea that triggered my writing all of this down is Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime Video, all living on my PS3. These three distinct products are technically not competitors as they serve different markets. However, the fact that many users use these products intermittently to fulfill the unique goals each product has, sets the groundwork for the problem: all three products have their own unique way of pausing/scrubbing/navigating while playing media.

Amazon is the worst of the three, offering no easy way to scrub through content and the start button doesn’t pause. Has anyone tried to fast forward or rewind on the PS3? It is absolutely painful, offering no preview of the content being scrubbed through.

So What? Products don’t need to worry about other services/apps/programs being used alongside their own, but my argument is that they should. It is an important consideration to understand users, their thinking, their background, and most important of all, consider the format. In the example I outlined above, these three services effectively render cable useless, suggesting that many users may reach a point where all three are in use. The common goal all three platforms offer is the presentation of media, yet all three have their own proprietary way of navigating through the timeline of a media object being played.

I am certain there are many examples of a product that has a UX that is unique and fresh and creates/reinvents traditional patterns. However, understanding the environment a product will be used in and not deviating too much from accepted and easy UX patterns pay off in the long-run. No product is used in a vacuum.