The technology and design industries are ever-changing. So, it is essential to be aware of current trends in UX Design. How can you stay up-to-date on today's best UX Design practices?

What is UX Design?

UX Design, also known as User Experience Design, is the process of establishing a user-friendly customer experience. Customers want a product or service that they can use quickly and easily. And, they also want to connect with the products they use emotionally.  

Product Form and Function (how it works and how it looks) are important. But more essentially, UX Designers need to help users relate to their product and feel a sense of loyalty. Furthermore, UX Designers focus on branding, appearance, and more to build credibility for the product.

Why is UX Design Important?

Thousands of new products are hitting the shelves (and Internet) every day, which means competition is steep!

According to PWC, "73% point to experience as an important factor in their purchasing decisions, behind price and product quality." That means that, more so than ever before, proper UX Design is vital to the success of every new product hoping to gain and keep user attention. 

Now that consumers have witnessed and enjoyed impressive UX Design, there is a greater expectation for each product to have a groundbreaking user experience. Regularly researching what top brands are doing to heighten their UX Design and brainstorming innovative methods are important to staying fresh and relevant.

5 Tips for Successful UX Design!

How to keep your content fresh? I've done the research, so you don't have to! Here are my top essential tips for successful and consistent UX Product Design. 

1. Consistently Anticipate User Needs

The key to amazing and fresh UX Design is to anticipate your users' needs or consumers continuously. Putting yourself in the shoes of someone who has never seen the product before will help you brainstorm what the user needs to have an amazing experience with the product.

• What does the user need to know to get started when using the product?

• What types of issues may the user encounter while using the product?

• Can you think of any questions the user may need to be answered before they begin?

• Are there any confusing aspects of the product that need to be addressed?

• What types of visuals would be helpful to assist the user in understanding the product?

• What text can be converted to visuals to prevent the user from reading too much about the product?

These questions, and more, should be considered in the conceptualization of the UX Design regarding the product. After all, how can you hope to address all your user's needs if you haven't taken the time to think through every scenario? 

In addition to these inquiries, it is important for you to think about what the user's journey will look like while using your company's product. From beginning to end, what will their interactions with the product be? What does that look like?

Check out my article about "How to Make a Simple User Journey" to begin the process of mapping out your user's journey when using the product. In this article, I provide helpful step-by-step instructions on creating an efficient and simple user journey.

2. Keep the Visuals Clean and Attractive

Any animations or visuals about the product or brand should be visually appealing and coherent in nature. From start to finish, it is best if fonts and colors remain the same size and shape throughout the entire UX Design. 

See the video on how Design Thinking can help. Furthermore, any animations and artwork should be consistent in style throughout the entire user experience. For example, you would not want to begin your user experience with a vintage vibe and end with a more modern atmosphere. 

Style changes can seem chaotic and confusing for users. So, it is advised you avoid this unless the change is somehow relevant to the product. It is also suggested that any fonts used in your UX Design are simple and accessible to a wide variety of audiences.

While it is tempting to pick fonts that are fun, squiggly, and different, these types of fonts can distract users from what they are there for– to learn about the product they are utilizing and to enjoy their user experience. 

Ensuring your visuals are clean, attractive, and consistent will make your brand and product seem more credible. In addition, following this advice will help you build a comprehensive atmosphere for your user's enjoyment. 

3. Show Them; Don't Just Tell Them

Raise your hand if you ever had an English teacher tell you to "show don't tell." When your high school teacher preached about showing and not telling, they were probably not talking about UX Design. Instead, they were most likely teaching you how to write fiction that helps the reader visualize the scene rather than just telling them what to visualize.

Well, as it turns out, the concept of "show, don't tell" also applies to the world of UX Design. It is important that, where possible, your design shows your audience how to use the product and navigate their way through their user journey.

Think about reducing the amount of text they have to read and replacing it with helpful images, animations, and other visual aspects that serve as a guide. Allow your users to discover as they make their way through their journey and user experience. Lead them to the answers without blatantly telling them what to do. This will build user enjoyment and product buy-in!

4. Collaboration and Coordination is Key

Whether you are a project manager, a designer, or a developer, all stakeholders need to be skilled and willing to collaborate in each step of the project. Coordination between creative departments is a sure way to build an impactful user experience that will drive sales!

As a UX Designer, it is in your best interests to stay open-minded and with a growth mindset. Although you may be an expert in your field, that does not mean that you know it all. Stay humble and willing to learn from your teammates and coworkers from cross-functional teams. Great teams work in the flow and help each other achieve more. Watch the video on how you can benefit from a GREAT team.

Project managers will also benefit from encouraging their teams to collaborate amongst each other and to also coordinate with cross-functional teams. In fact, building time into the workweek to meet and discuss important aspects of the UX design can be a powerful move to better the user experience. 

5. Keep it fresh and innovative

There is one final piece of advice that I believe is more important than the others. Staying creative and never losing your sense of innovation will forge your path to success in the industry of UX Design.

Avoid reusing the same worn-out ideas for the sake of convenience, and try not to get too set in your ways. As it is in most fields, it is important for UX Designers to continuously evolve and learn the trends that lead to successful user experiences.  Need more ideas to keep you going? Watch this video on idea generation ideas.

Consumers are consistently looking for the next big thing, and you can't provide them that if you are continuously leaning on overused concepts and methods. Take a risk and try something fresh! Focus on iterative design to build on what works and change what doesn’t. Your team, company and customers will appreciate you for it!

Let me know what you think the most important aspect of good UX Design is in the comments below. Also, what would you like to hear more about?

Please visit my YouTube Channel and blog posts for more on UX Design, Storytelling, and Project Management.