Making a good design isn't something you do by overnight.
There are different things that you need to keep in mind when you are creating a good design and some things doesn't comes naturally for the designer.
So for easing the struggles of the designers who doesn't have a UX UI mindset, I've created a short list of some of the most important things to keep in mind while creating a good design.
1. UX is not just another step in the process, it's a mindset
User experience is not only another step in the process, that most of the time is forgotten about, but it has to be a mindset of the UX designer.
As UX designer you should always keep a superior user experience in mind when you are designing.
How to spot a good UX designer
If the designer is ready after an all nighter with his design, then you can almost always say that it's not made with UX in his mind.
This is also a common way to recognize if the designer and/or the organization truly understand what UX really is.
2. The target audience is not the same as you
Companies, designers and innovators mostly think that the users of their products are thinking like them.
That's one of the biggest mistakes that you can make.
There's even a psychological term for this, false-consensus effect.
Basically, people just assume that others share the same beliefs and behave in same way as you in a given context.
How to avoid this mistake?
Best way to avoid this mistake is to analyze all the data you can gather about the current users and the potential new users.
For example, you can use visitors statistics and heatmaps.
Some useful tools:
- Google analytics (general analytics)
- Hotjar (heatmaps & behavior analytics)
- Microsoft Clarity (heatmaps & behaviour analytics)
3. UX and UI aren't the same thing
Mixing up the terms UX (user experience) and UI (user interface) is a very common mistake.
The main reason for this is because UI is actually a part of UX. You can't have a good user experience without a good user interface.
4. A good UI is like a good joke
If your telling a joke and almost nobody is laughing about it and you need to explain why the joke is funny, then it's a bad joke.
UI is the same, if you need to explain how to use it, it's not good.
5. Don't overwhelm the users with data
The average human attention span is approximately 8 seconds.
So when you are designing your product, ask yourself, can the user find his way here is this short time? If not, simplify it or start over.
6. KISS
No, you don't need to give it a good luck kiss.
The best UX design are the one that where made with KISS (Keeping it simple stupid) in the designer his mindset.
As some say "Simplicity is the king and consistency is the queen".
In the context of a good design, it means that it should be easy to understand and interact with the product.
The users shouldn't need to read instructions before they can use it and they don't need a sitemap to navigate through it.
It's part of the process to understand the user and guide them to where they need to go.
Conclusion
I hope that this short article is a good start to understand that a good design isn't something that need to be taken lightly and that it's not something you can do fast.
If you need some guidance in creating a good design OR someone to test it, we can help.
