The experiences offered by digital products and physical products can vary greatly when it comes to user experience. This became evident to me when I was recently dining out with colleagues and found myself ordering desserts from a menu without pictures.
The menu is the first interaction a customer has with the restaurant’s offerings, and it sets the tone for the entire dining experience. However, when compared to digital products, the physical menu may offer a less satisfactory user experience.
While we often think of interfaces in the context of digital products, but it’s important to note that physical products, such as food, can also incorporate interfaces for user interaction — with menus serving as a prime example.
The Importance of Visual (UI)
In today’s digital age, we are accustomed to seeing visual representations of products before making a purchase. This is especially true in the context of food, where pictures often assist us in deciding what to order. It is difficult to imagine an online food order service interface without pictures.
However, traditional physical menus in restaurants often do not include pictures, which can make it difficult for customers to make informed decisions about what to order. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, printing menus with pictures can be expensive, particularly for smaller businesses. Secondly, some restaurants may choose not to include pictures in order to create a more sophisticated or upscale atmosphere.
While some restaurants may believe that not including pictures allows chefs to showcase their dishes in a unique and creative way every time, it’s crucial to keep in mind that the primary aim is to satisfy the customer.
By including visual representations of menu items — such as pictures — restaurants can provide customers with a better understanding of what they can expect and help to manage their expectations.
Digital kitchen
When designing digital products, a team of specialists works together to create interfaces that are effective and easy to use for users. This is achieved by following a process called user-centered design, which emphasizes understanding the needs and behaviors of users through research, testing, and iteration. The principles of user-centered design have played a significant role in shaping digital product design. This approach emphasizes the importance of comprehending user needs and behaviors to develop interfaces that are effective and easy to use.
To achieve this goal, user-centered design involves a comprehensive process that entails extensive research, testing, and iteration. During the research phase, designers gather data about user behavior and preferences, as well as the business requirements for the product. This information helps them to develop personas, user journeys, and scenarios that illustrate how users might interact with the product.
Testing is a critical part of the design process that helps to identify potential issues and refine the product. Designers use various testing methods, such as usability testing, A/B testing, and prototype testing, to assess how users interact with the product and identify areas for improvement.
The iteration phase involves taking the insights gained from testing and incorporating them into the design. This process may require several rounds of testing and refinement to ensure that the product meets the needs of its users.
So the question is, why wouldn’t we want to offer the same level of attention to physical products, especially when the UX aspect is crucially important?
Busy customers
While well-written menu descriptions can certainly enhance a dining experience, it is important for restaurants to recognize that nowadays many customers are more likely to scan menus than to read them.
People do not come to the restaurant to read, but if they do, they usually bring their own source of text. In other words, they are not planning to spend much time reading the menu.
Shouldn’t we save users’ time? Shouldn’t we put efforts into navigating them more efficiently? Shouldn’t we strive to make their experience as pleasant as possible? How many times have you ordered something and been disappointed with the visual representation or the way it was served?
To draw a further comparison, I would also like to mention UX writers who are in high demand in the process of creating digital products. Their responsibility is to create concise, clear, and engaging content that guides users through the product journey. In other words, their goal is to create an intuitive and seamless user experience through the power of the written word.
UX reflection in social media
In today’s digital age, social media plays a significant role in shaping consumers’ perceptions and choices. The images and reviews shared on these platforms can have a considerable impact on a restaurant’s (or any other service/product) reputation and success.
If a customer is unhappy with the visual representation of their dish, they may be less likely to share a picture of it on social media. This can lead to missed opportunities for the restaurant to have their dishes showcased and shared, potentially impacting their reputation.
Therefore, it’s crucial for restaurants to prioritize the visual representation of their dishes and ensure they meet the expectations of their customers. It’s becoming more important for physical products to also consider the user experience.
Digital Delights
Why do we continue to accept suboptimal experiences with physical products, when we have come to expect high-quality digital experiences? By applying digital product design approaches to physical products, user experience can be greatly improved and create a more seamless and enjoyable experience for users of all kinds of products.
Overall, it’s important for businesses to recognize the value of user-centered design and apply it to all products, whether they are digital or physical. By doing so, they can create more effective and satisfying experiences for their customers.
In addition, by taking a more digital product design approach to physical products, businesses can benefit from the same advantages that digital products offer, such as increased efficiency and reduced errors.
User experience is crucial for any product, whether it’s a physical product like a menu or a digital product.
It would be exciting to see a shift in the way physical products are designed, with a greater emphasis on creating a seamless and enjoyable user experience. By applying digital product design principles to physical products, businesses can create a more cohesive and effective product ecosystem. Ultimately, this approach can lead to greater customer satisfaction, loyalty, and revenue. So, I’m really looking forward to big changes in the world when we treat all the products' development in the same thoughtful way.
Takeaways
Digital product design involves a range of techniques and methodologies, including user stories, user flows, user personas, and user experience testing. These approaches are aimed at creating an optimized user experience that enhances the product’s usability and effectiveness.
In contrast, physical product design often tends to prioritize aesthetic appeal over usability and functionality. However, with the rise of consumer expectations around user experience, it is important for all types of products to be developed with a user-centric approach.
In most cases, the cost of error in the world of physical products is higher in the world of electronic product. With digital products, it’s easier and cheaper to make changes to the interface, such as adjusting button colors or rearranging elements.
While, physical products require more resources to produce and are often more expensive to replace. However, this shouldn’t be an excuse for restaurants to neglect the user experience of their physical products, as it can have a significant impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
