Design Is […]
Identifying and indexing the principles of UX Design
What is UX design? Like most designers, when beginning my career, I had limited understanding. As the years, projects, and clients have passed, my understanding of UX has grown tremendously. This article is an attempt to document my key learnings.
This is a living document, in which I make frequent updates to. If you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments below.
Design is…
- solving problems
- working creatively within constraints
- questioning assumptions
- questioning commonalities
- understanding heuristics
- understanding bias
- understanding human behavior
- diving into the details
- keeping the vision in mind
- iterating on ideas quickly
- converging on an option
- allowing the best ideas to surface
- being humble
- proactively seeking user feedback
- assembling a research plan
- executing a research plan
- finding inspiration from a wide variety of sources
- simplifying
- based on user data and metrics
- thinking through all aspects of the problem
- being patient
- dependent on stakeholder’s seeing value
- commonly misunderstood
- esoteric to those unaware of its power
- filled with surprises
- based on the assumption that you might be wrong
- inclusive
- strategic
- a competitive advantage in the business world
- expected in our connected world
- becoming expected by enterprise software users
- best when it satisfies selfish and vain human needs
- best when it delights users
- a team sport
Design Isn’t […]
Conversely, let’s look at what is commonly misunderstood about UX design. This is a list of uninformed and erroneous ideas, expectations, cultural norms that are explicitly NOT user experience design.
Design is not…
- making it “look pretty”
- making it “pop”
- pleasing stakeholders
- making something “work”
- based on opinions
- getting attached to ideas
- the quickest option
- based on the loudest voice in the room
- easily understood by business stakeholders
- the easiest technical implementation
- going with the first idea
- a zero-sum game
- only high-level involvement
- a step to take after strategic decisions have been made
- managed by ‘the creatives’
Summary
As you can see, UX goes far wider than simply pixels on a screen or the experience of opening an app on your phone. The intangibles (such as navigating politics and management) truly underpin the discipline of UX design.
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