Usability “versus” Desirability — a meaningless debate
Design is omnipresent — from the physical electronic device you are reading this article on, to the Medium app (or website). It’s all design. But there are two main aspects of this “design” that decides whether the experience is worth the effort — Usability and desirability. If you have been ever slightly familiar with these terms, it is almost for sure because of the fact that there has been a raging debate over which is superior to the other. Some people from the world of design might say that there are two groups — those who believe that usability is the king, and those who root for desirability.
The actual “pro”-s would tell you that there are indeed two groups of designers — those who participate in the usability-versus-desirability debate, and those who don’t, because they understand the real deal.
The first baby step in UX — “Utility”
You must be scratching your heads thinking where this new term dropped from. Utility is simply the very first step of the user experience design for any product. Let me put it this way — without any Utility there is no User Experience at all.
So how do you know that a product has utility in the first place? Well your users should answer the following questions in the affirmative:
- Do I need it?
- Do I want it?
- Does it get the job done?
- Is it better? (Than a previous version, or predecessor, if any)
It is noteworthy to remember that for a product to be usable, instead of posing as a solution in search for a problem, it should be a solution to an existing problem that plagues the target users. Once a potential user realises that the product is capable of solving her/his real problem(s), and that cost, size and other requirements are met, she/he will perceive value in that product. This is where the critical terms kick in — usability and desirability.
What Usability and Desirability mean to the Designer
By definition, “Usability” is a subset of umbrella term we are all so familiar with — User Experience. Will the user be able to accomplish her/his goal? Will the user efficiently carry out his tasks with effectiveness? Will the user be satisfied with the results of the usability-oriented task? These are the questions that need to be answered (in the affirmative, of course) if and when you as a UX-designer are in charge of the product concerned. The speed and ease with which new (and often, seasoned) users interact with interfaces, commit mistakes, and recover from them — and how pleasant the overall experience is; that is Usability.
A product or an experience is said to be very “Desirable” when the users find it irresistible. Premium quality is a part of the recipe too. The point of contrast with usability is that, while usability takes into account the bare minimum structure for an experience to be usable, the “wow-factor” is taken care by the desirability-scale. Simply put, the more attractive a design is, the more desirable is the experience — and higher the chances of the user actually carrying out the tasks that the products intends her/him to perform.
As an example of an exemplary product that meets usability and desirability to the greatest possible experience, let’s consider the first ever iPhone from Steve Jobs-led Apple. The designers at Apple spent years during research and perfecting the User Experience-from. And even though the first version was lacking in terms of the technologies involved, the usability was too good, and the desirability-metric was top-notch too. hence the success. And the consequent hype for each iPhone every year.
How does it all translate to the User?
The pain-point that leads to the debate of “usability versus desirability” is that designers look at the two aspects from their point-of-view, while the ultimate aim of User Experience design is to help designers perceive products and experiences from the users’ point-of-view.
Having read successfully till this juncture you should have realised that it is actually not a matter of either-or. Rather it is more appropriate to look at them as different stages of the design process, not in terms of the timeline, but the workflow and the principles involved. Usability and desirability are thus very crucial to the UX-design, and so the “versus” between the terms is pointless — more on that in a minute.
Design cannot be said to finished until someone is actively using it. Co-creator of Mozilla Firefox, Blake Ross, asserts that, “The next big thing is the one that makes the last big thing usable.” To make sure that a product gains a successful entry into the competitive market, a good usability-score is mandatory, because the history of Design has taught the world a very important lesson — users ignore the design, that ignores the users, the people. But to make sure that it gets adopted well, desirability-scores need to be great too. Exceptionally well-designed UX incorporates both flavours into a successful product — one that from a user’s point-of-view is perfectly efficient at getting the job done, as well as looks classy and aesthetically pleasing.
Maintaining consistency let’s take a look at the same example we discusses a while ago — the Apple iPhone. Phones in use till the launch of the iPhone were usable no-doubt. But they were hardly desirable. Users saw in the iPhone, a design revolution. Usability was taken care of by the Apple design team quite efficiently, but they focused equally (and perhaps even more) on the desirability-factor, making it irrepressible and extremely tempting. And since almost equal focus was given to both the stages, it turned out to be a win-win for both — the users who owned the devices, and of course, Apple.
“Versus” is just wrong
Frankly there is a difference between Usability and Desirability in the fact that although usability is an absolute must — a bare minimum for any product to exist in the first place, desirability takes care of the transition of a usable product into an irresistible one, and hence is not theoretically mandatory. The combination of them is what separates a great product experience from a good experience.
Usability and desirability work hand in hand to make sure that the experience is efficient and beautiful — thus creating a harmony of sorts. There is no area of conflict between these two principles and hence “Usability versus Desirability” is by far a pointless debate. Instead energies must be focused at understanding the symbiosis that exists between the two and exploiting this knowledge to create the most efficient and enticing experiences possible.
Achieving the delicate balance
Now that we have got the “versus” confusion out of the way, it is important to understand how to get the balance of functionality and allure just right.
Extremely popular, international video-streaming service Netflix, is perhaps one of the jewels that outshines almost all other products when it comes to the most effective, efficient and usable experience that has been married to a gorgeous and one of the classiest user interfaces out there in the digital world. With its brilliant recommendation engine and smooth flow, Netflix scores big on usability-points. The attention to design-detail and the beguiling look and feel of the service takes good care of the charm-element. In short, Netflix has hit the sweet-spot of the delicate usability-desirability equilibrium, and so can every other experience.
Multinational creative-software company Adobe suggests incorporating the following components into the design process to make sure that one achieves the delicate balance between efficiency and appeal.
To make a Usable product,
- Design a simple but effective on-boarding experience that will welcome users with open arms.
- Remove features that are not actually being used by the users, after going the analytics of the product; add necessary features that the users might want after proper user research.
- Carry out user testing and on-ground research through surveys and the likes, to get a clear line of distinction between experiences that were used efficiently and those that were not.
To make the same product Desirable,
- Verify that the product is actually a solution to a real-world problem, and that it’s not just a solution in search of problems.
- Corroborate with the target users, that the product is appealing enough to them. The product should be enticing enough to bring them back even after long stretches of time without its use.
- Inform the users about the intended use and context of the product and let them actively engage with it.
This is exactly how designers should look at these two crucial phases of design and try to attain the apparently elusive balance — the proper equilibrium between form and function, beauty and efficiency — desirability and usability.
It was never a question of usability “versus” desirability. Rather it all boils down to the symbiosis of usability and desirability, the perfect balance and the desired amalgamation of both — to create the best version of user experience, for any possible product — marking the distinction between great design and bad design.
In the end, the total user experience experience is what actually matters — not just whether it is very usable or very beautiful — the entire package counts.
The product needs to be comprehensible and usable, and at the same time, using it needs to be enjoyable and desirable. That is the sole purpose of user-centric design, and fulfilling it will automatically create far more usable and desirable experiences than what exist.
On the topic of pitting one thing against another, have you come across the UI/UX terminology? Have you been told that they are almost the same? That you can use “UI/UX designer” as your profession?
If you want to get to the root of this all, check out this post —
Cheers!
