User Experience (UX)

By Roque Sales, CX & UX Manager at Zappts

Responsible for the interaction between an individual and a product, service or brand, User Experience is the concept that has become indispensable in applications and digital businesses.

Responsible for the interaction between an individual and a product, service or brand, User Experience is the concept that has become indispensable in applications and digital businesses.

The term was born in the 90s and was coined by Donald Norman while working at Apple. The idea permeates the entire customer journey with the product or service from the first contact between them until consumption, considering its acceptance and rejection.

“In the 70s, users’ experience with the product was very weak. They bought the computer, but it was too big to put in the car. When they opened the box at home, it was scary, nobody could assemble it,” Norman says in a video.

After this explanation, it’s easy to understand that in User Experience, as the English name suggests, the focus is on the user. Therefore, in this article, we will teach you how to define the characteristics of this user, explain the importance of UX and the differences between UX and User Interface (UI) and the application of accessibility with UX.

How to define the user

To build a solid path, but at the same time adaptable to changes in user behavior, it is essential to know how he reacts to a given action, as well as, of course, knowing his needs.

The starting point is always research, and it’s not just to know age, gender, where they live or their level of education. It is necessary to go beyond and know what leads a person to enjoy that product or service.

When smartphones became the main device used to access the internet, the way of developing web pages and applications changed drastically, both in the form of content and in the technology for everything to work.

These changes are identified through tests and research, which must be constantly updated. It doesn’t hurt to remember that user behavior changes all the time, therefore, tools and technologies need to keep up with these transformations and research plays a very important role in this process.

Why is UX important?

Have you ever stopped to think about why care for user experience (UX) is important? As we already mentioned, the user drives the entire development of the product or service, in order to directly impact its acceptance and engagement.

UX is connected to the feeling the user has with the product, from the moment they relate to it for the first time in a physical store window or in e-commerce.

Think of something you bought. When you first heard about it, you found it interesting and decided to research more about it.

You certainly wanted to know if it was worth it. At a certain moment, you decided to buy it, but before that, your closeness to it increased and you started to imagine what your daily life would be like with that product.

When you bought it, you already knew how you would transport it, where and when it would be used and, mainly, you thought about the difference it would make in your life, whether professional or personal.

All of this is part of the user or customer experience. From this principle, we realize that, by thinking about all these details, it becomes much easier to imagine how to build a quality product.

When UX design is applied, you have a view, even if minimal, of the feelings awakened in your customer and can create opportunities from them. All this generates greater engagement between customers and your product or brand.

Difference between UX and UI

If you are starting in the software development area, you must have come across another term that many confuse with UX, which is UI (User Interface). Don’t worry, this confusion is very common, because there is a very strong relationship between the two. And that’s what we’re going to explain.

While UX takes care of the user experience, UI develops the product or service interface based on the research conducted by UX design, in order to provide the best experience for the user.

This means that UI is linked to the physical aspects of the product, everything the user will come in contact with, that is, the practical part of the project.

Even though the work is immense, never forget that the focus is always on the user, UI builds the interface between them and the product, using all available and necessary resources to meet their expectations.

As you can see, User Interface is what will give the face and the way to act with the product and thus achieve the best result. Therefore, it is possible to say that UI is the bridge between UX and the user.

UX and accessibility

Is accessibility a factor that should be constantly observed in User Experience? Those who think that accessibility is linked only to architectural aspects of a product or service should know that it goes much further and UX has everything to do with it.

Accessibility is a set of processes and conditions that aim to reduce any type of barrier between the user and the environment that limits their participation.

In practice, if the user cannot enjoy the product in some way, the experience was not pleasant and complete. These barriers can be found in some ways such as: product architecture, as well as the way of communicating with it, which includes access to information from images, audio or text.

Another important point regarding accessibility is the method that the product can be used. Within UX, it is necessary to think about the ways in which a user with some physical, motor, sensory or intellectual disability will be able to use it.

UX must always consider how that user also experiences the world around them, which sometimes makes it necessary to think of an instrument to assist in the use of this product. All of this can be raised during UX development, with a focus on comfort and autonomy.

Now that you know what UX is and how it can transform the relationship between your customer and your product, how about delving deeper into the subject? Click here and check out our free infographic on how to apply User Experience to create more accessible applications and interfaces.

And if you need help with UX Design, UI Design or Accessibility in your technology and innovation projects, click here and get in touch with a Zappts specialist.