How to Design a Top User Experience for Mobile Addicts
If you’d want to define Generation Z, you’d say that they are independent, resourceful and self-sufficient. There’s also something that can characterize them: they are believed to be real mobile addicts. We could say thanks to Boomers for raising them to be so great. But was it all just them? Or was it all the fast-growing and advancing technologies around us?
It all doesn’t matter now. What matters is that these smart people are used to fast, high quality and low-cost products. And let’s not forget about the excellent customer service they demand. So, how do you design a top user experience for these mobile obsessed generation?
First of all, let’s make it clear: Gen Z, people born between 1995 and 2014. They are young adults, passionate about change, ready to take over the world. And that’s not all, they also make up 25.9% of US population. You want some of their characteristics?
Well, they use their phones at least 15 hours a week. It’s not for nothing I call them mobile addicts. Their check their phones for reading news, shopping, playing games, connecting with friends and families, and even when checking the weather.
Even though this might make them the most antisocial generation ever, they don’t hide their digital addiction, but rather see it as essential and important.
Something else that is fascinating about Gen Z is that they are not just consumers: they seek to create and shape cultures. If Gen X was a bit shy when it came to connecting with brands online or craving individuality, these creatures do that willingly.
But wait, I haven’t listed these points for no reason: that’s how we’re going to identify how to design user experiences that will blow their minds.
Casual is the new professional
If a while ago professional language was what all businesses had to incorporate into their culture and their websites/apps, now that concept of “professional” has changed. Of course it also depends on the business you are in, but still, I’ll repeat myself here: casual is the new professional.
The thing is, if you act all tough and young, trying to add some slang to your texts, Gen Z will only make fun of you: that’s not what they want. They rather want real and authentic voices with a bit of humor if necessary and some personality.
Another thing to consider is the consistency of your language. You can’t have friendly blog posts and strict sign-up screens. List all of your touchpoints and make sure they’re all in harmony. That’s where UX writers come to help.
Also, you got to test different text options for important elements before making a final decision for the most effective option. Just know that moving your “buy now” button to a different place can make a big change: even increase your sales.
Full Screen all the way
A huge factor in designing great user experiences for Gen Z is taking into consideration full-screen experiences. The new trend was very much affected by the releases of Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone X. And so frameless design became the way to go: that’s what consumers expect today.
With this also comes their expectations regarding HD images and videos. You can’t design a full-screen experience for your users and have pictures pixelated on the mobile screen. High quality: that’s a must.
Colors that brighten the day
Another important factor in creating user experiences is the colors. And nowadays you’d better go with vibrant ones: those are one of the most powerful tools in your toolkit. As you know, it’s the colors you choose to work with that will draw attention, set the kind of mood you want to set, and therefore, influence your users’ emotions.
Thought colors are there only to delivery certain emotions? Not really! They can also play a role as functional elements: you can use them to visually separate blocks, separate different types of notifications and more.
Virtual assistants and chatbots
If designing interactions with virtual assistants was a trend in 2017, today it’s something you can’t go further without. In fact, 42% of US population can use voice-controlled assistants on their phones. Besides the fact that this is a great way to have fun, feels human and natural and is super convenient, it also helps establish control: with voice commands like “turn off the lights.”
And then there come the chatbots: narrow-focused interfaces that have a different mission. What they’re pretty good at is taking the burden off some daunting tasks: delivering location-based news, changing plane seats, etc. And to no surprise at all, they can be implemented in platforms like Facebook Messenger.
Now, if you want to move further up the hills of changing UX designs, for this specific point you got to develop your brand’s voice with the help of a UX writer: written and spoken. And don’t go over the board and try to create another Siri: stay narrow-focused to what your brand represents and have answers to questions that matter to you. Of course, adding a little humor with smart jokes won’t hurt.
Linear journeys with no complications
Linear journey, which we also call user flow, is a natural element of minimalist design. It has the purpose and mission of guiding users through tasks. What they’re good at is not creating distractions and not complicating the whole journey. Even though the user flow is supposed to be as simple as possible, creating one might not be so simple: at some point, a user or two will get lost and find their own way in the journey that the designers have not thought of. Alright, you want some tips on creating this liner journey?
First of all, it’s important to reverse the task: go the opposite way. This will help stay concentrated on the objective and not get confused in the process.
Then comes the clear hierarchy: placing elements from left to right (just because most of the Western world perceives content that way) accordingly. Start with pictures, titles, and leave the action you want the user to take for last, for example, “Read more” or “Buy now” buttons. But don’t you leave it to the very end, not to have your users lose interest or get confused.
Another thing that you may find really smart is providing fewer choices for users to pick from. Remember the saying “less is more”? Well, here it’s true. And don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that your users are not smart enough to choose their answers from a crowd of questions. It’s also the fact that fewer decisions bring more satisfaction.
And there’s also the fact that you can’t always stay simple. Maybe you have a lot to ask your user. Maybe you have complicated tasks as well. What you need to do here is complicate gradually and all will be well.
Oh, and don’t forget about that “moment of delight”, telling the user that all went well and confirming it. Whether you do it with text, animation or sound, make sure to not miss this point. After all, satisfactory signals help release dopamine in our brains and make us crave for more.
Didn’t forget about diversity, right?
When you create UX for mobile, and well, not only mobile, it’s important that you take into consideration the fact that you’re creating it for very different people and recognize diversity as a norm: different skin color, gender, religious beliefs, etc.
Also, when you create a UX for a multilingual website, know that if everything looks fine and smooth in English, it might not be in other languages. So get your UX writer to consult with a native speaker.
Then there come people with different backgrounds who perceive things differently. How do you create one thing and make sure it’s understood by everyone? To make sure your design is inclusive you got to get together a broad range of users, learn about their perspectives, what brings them joy and what frustrates them. That’ll be a big plus at the end.
As designers, you can get inspiration from every little thing possible: birds singing, people fighting, kids falling. And you also take inspiration from the ones that got it right. Dribbble is always a great source for that. And as business people, when design is not your core concentration, this all may sound too complicated. The good news is that you can always rely on website builders for that: they all have their UI/UX designers, who already thought of everything I said. So your role here is to acknowledge the needs of your users and make sure to satisfy them.
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