Product Design is not just UI-UX
The hardest problem has the simplest solution… Sometimes!
After many failures, errors and unsuccessful attempts, I have learned a lot from fellow designers, mentors, friends and all of you who helped me grow. Share this article, if you find it helpful.
When it comes to building great products, design is the most important feature. User Interface(UI) design and User Experience(UX) design are two of the most often confused and conflated terms in product design. And understandably so, they’re usually placed together in a single term, UI/UX design, and viewed from the surface they seem to be describing the same thing. It’s often hard to find solid descriptions of the two that don’t descend too far into jargon.
Don’t panic too much if you’re confused here.
Simply, UI is how a product looks like whereas UX is how it works.
Designing a new product?
When thinking about products or features, designers should understand the business objectives and be able to answer the following most important questions first:
- What problem are we solving?
- Who has this problem?
- What do we want to achieve?
Is the experience smooth and intuitive or clunky and confusing? Does navigating the app feel logical or does it feel arbitrary? Does interacting with the app gives people the sense that they’re efficiently accomplishing the tasks they set out to achieve or does it feel like a struggle?
A user’s experience of the app is determined by how they interact with it.
This UX vs. Time graph below shows how User Experience takes over User Interaction with time:
Studies have shown that User experience takes over User Interface in relative time. Focusing on the experience will allow users to use your product more than having a good interface with a bad experience.
Well! Here’s how I spend my day
In my day-to-day design practice, my primary area of focus is mobile experience design for native apps, visual design, and brand building. I was lucky to start working in an Agile environment. The first months were hard to catch-up with the developers. And, even though it took some time, we found the rhythm, and I started to use a more human-centered approach in the process.
A ‘typical’ workday for me can consist of collaborating with other developers and product managers, doing competitive landscape research of apps and features, brainstorming with cross-functional peers, wireframing or prototyping (as needed) and light user testing.
Yes! that’s not just UI-UX; It’s Product Design.
Before you dive into the user’s world, take some time to grasp each aspect of the company. The business model, company vision, long-term goals and strategies to achieve them.
You need to figure out how to work across multiple products at the same time, all living and breathing at different speeds under one roof. The challenge of creating something new within certain constraints (like users’ expectations, standard conventions, brand patterns, or native frameworks) is exciting.
This takes that lifecycle one step further with not only evolve, iterate, and improve an individual product but to also make sure all products stay consistent, that no products diverge or get too left behind from our design system and company vision.
Takeaway
Don’t be afraid to break the mold, someone has to do it first. Although you want to make your design familiar to your user, keep in mind how comfortable it is as well.
Think about the different sizes and demographics your interface is catering to. Ask yourself, “Is my experience adaptable for and aware of the different abilities of my users?”
And above all, styles changes. Don’t become too attached. Spend 20 minutes everyday on Muzli or Medium to keep yourself updated with latest design language.
Tell me about your experiences, struggles and what are your solutions in the comment section below.
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