User experience hackers

Design for experience is forgotten because the user’s emotions are restricted to satisfaction.

Maybe you remember the Tesla event three years ago, aside from the incident with its glass! I was completely captivated by its impressive demonstration. Surely, less than that event could have been enough for the audience, but the designers of the event thought of creating a memorable experience for the audience, actually surpassing their expectations. Or Google’s search engine, which always surpasses our expectations with its guidance. These are all examples of user satisfaction, solutions that bring users to the height of awe and joy in usage.

Today’s user experience design in organizations

Let’s take a look at the work of User Experience Designers. What exactly does a user experience designer do? Are they designing digital products with a focus on people and not just the designer’s own intuition? Is user interface design for usability? Yes, but that’s just the beginning of a user experience designer’s work, not the ideal outcome they’re after. The guiding principle of design is human-centered, meaning that decisions in design should first be made with a focus on the user and their needs. Is it enough to identify the most important user needs in order to turn their experience into what they expect? Or is it necessary to understand the elements that contribute to the quality of the experience, such as improved navigation, improved interaction, improved copy, or improved visual design?

User experience design is about creating the highest level of quality experience, not just achieving user adoption, which was a primary goal in the development of interactive systems and user interface design before the focus on user experience design. The main outcome of interaction design is considered to be the primary requirement.

Based on the examples we discussed earlier, the understanding of the target audience is crucial for designers and engineers. However, the ultimate goal of design is to provide innovative solutions that rely on established standards and popular patterns. Such solutions create memorable experiences for the user. These solutions are not teachable and only shared in the designer’s goal. Every product reveals its own solution, and the term “experience” is only used when the user has benefited from its unique service.

What is hacking experience?

Experience hacking is about innovation in creating unexpected experiences beyond expectations. Its focus is on creating a unique feeling that has not been experienced before, taking the users’ goals in using the product to a higher level and making it easier for users to perform their tasks.

Basically, the design solution starts with redefining the problem, but during the execution, it becomes surrounded by constraints and patterns, and the result will ultimately be a minimal improvement in usability. It is not all our power to think of predictable solutions; we think of an ideal world in experience hacking and use maximum development potential to build it.

Experience hacking requires team brainstorming sessions, not just individual designer efforts. The team needs a board for continuous brainstorming while maintaining focus on the problem (user expectations).

Experience hacking is not about emphasizing patterns, but it certainly starts with awareness of patterns. Experience hacking thinks of creating a memorable experience beyond usability.

Experience hacking is linked to innovation.

Experience hacking is about hacking user or customer emotions, and its effect is customer loyalty to the business.

Is hacking the experience in the service level more effective? Or in the interaction and visual (user interface) level?

I think hacking experience is indivisible and shaped by the sum of effects, but in the end it turns into a fresh phenomenon that is not of any of the constituent effects, so the idea could encompass all layers of the product.

Do all products need to focus on user experience hacking?

No, in fact some products are focused on usability, where they believe that investing in development and hacking the user experience can yield value in their business, and provide an opportunity for bold and innovative actions from stakeholders.

Who is a user experience hacker?

User experience hacker is not a follower or editor of existing patterns, it is not an improver but a transformer. The user experience hacker constantly thinks of new and innovative solutions with the goal of designing memorable and lasting experiences for users.

User Experience Hacking will begin beyond the user’s expectations.