I am seeing this designation “UX designer”. What exactly is UX, and what does a UX designer design?
Just curious.
UX is shorthand for “user experience”. I’d have thought any designer should keep that in mind when designing: not just how things look or work, but how easy and comfortable they are to use.
So, a UX designer uses which tools to achieve his goal of a comfy page? Not completely sure I understand this concept.
It’s not simply a case of using particular tools, but of employing thought and planning in your design.
For example, if you want people to sign up or log in, make the process as clear and straightforward as possible. Don’t make people click multiple links to get to where they’re going; ensure the navigation is clear and intuitive. Make sure your page is usable if the visitor has their default font size set larger than yours. Make sure your links are accessible for those navigating by keyboard rather than mouse. Ensure there is sufficient colour contrast, especially for those with colour-blindness. (I use this desktop tool, but there are online tools, too, such as https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/.)
Some of this might be regarded as a cross-over into accessibility, but I tend to feel the two areas are closely related anyway.
2 Likes
It is to the computing world, similar to what ergonomics is to products in the physical world.
Things like “user friendliness”, how easy or intuitive is it to complete any action in your site or app?
How quickly something loads, how easy it is to navigate or find the thing you are looking for.
I’m sure at some point you have been browsing the web or using an app, maybe making a purchase on-line or suchlike, and at some point become quite frustrated when things don’t work or are difficult and long drawn out to complete the task you intended. That is “bad UX”.
So the job of the UX designer is to design things in a way that all users have an easier, stress-free time while using your site/app.
2 Likes
Ashamedly I tend to be in the “I may not know good UX, but I know bad UX when I encounter it” group.
The more intimacy and experience I have with something, the more difficult it is for me to see it from the perspective of a first time user. It is easy for me to assume that because it is close to “perfect” for me, it will be for everyone else.
One way that can help is to ask a large group to interact and observe. Ask them to perform certain actions.
For example, for better or worse, Discourse has several “power user” features.
If I ask you to go to the Latest page, find a topic in the list that you have read that has a lot of replies in it, and open to that topic at its first post, can you do it?
1 Like
One reason I used bad UX as an example to explain what UX is. It’s human nature that when everything is fine and good, we take it for granted, frictionless UX goes unnoticed.
But when you have bad UX, you know about it. I’m sure we have all been there.
2 Likes
These are all very good replies! Makes me think of my own, especially when most access is from mobile devices now, and things don’t always look so good from that angle. Thanks for all these answers.
3 Likes
V/r,
^ _ ^
5 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 91 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.