It’s no secret that the success of an application hinges on its user interface and user experience (UI/UX). If a business doesn’t take these two important aspects into consideration, it could be at risk of losing customers and ultimately money. Human-centric design (HCD) helps companies avoid this costly mistake by taking inspiration from humans in the workplace and at home to create more accessible apps and websites. This guide will walk you through all of the fundamentals of HCD so you can implement human-centric UI/UX design in your next project or startup idea.
The Psychology Behind the Science
Understanding how human psychology influences design can be useful for anyone who’s interested in making products and services that people want to use. It goes without saying that a significant part of design involves creativity, but many designers approach product creation from a logical perspective as well. Once you know how to interpret human behavior, you’ll understand what works (and what doesn’t) for your customers.
What is User Experience (UX)?
User experience is what a user feels after interacting with your product or service. To get an idea about what it is, you can ask yourself: Did I get what I wanted in your interface? Did it work well for me? Was it comfortable to use and easy to understand? Did my goals align with how I interacted with your product or service? If you answered yes to all these questions, then you most likely had a good user experience.
Why Do We Need UX?
UX (User Experience) is all about understanding and meeting a user’s needs and goals. The needs could be to build an effective, useful website; and once you understand what your users are looking for on your site, you can begin to put together a goal. In order to accomplish that goal, web designers must have some basic knowledge of what UX is, why it’s important and how it’s applied in real world situations.
What Are User Interface Principles?
The importance of good user interface design can’t be overstated. When a user interface is intuitive, we feel in control. Conversely, when an interface is difficult to use or understand, it makes users feel less confident about their experience with your product or service—and that sense of uncertainty usually leads to abandoning a purchase.
How Does Your Brain Understand Interfaces?
In order to understand how to create an effective and usable interface, you first need to know how a person’s brain reacts to one. In real life, our brains have evolved over time to process human facial expressions and gestures quickly—they allow us to communicate efficiently with other people in our environment. This is known as gaze detection. Understanding gaze detection is important because it allows you to design interfaces that rely on visual cues rather than text.
Basic Principles of UX Design
The psychology behind a great user experience is based on creating an emotional connection between your website or product and its users. If you can do that, they’ll come back to you time and again. There are many factors that contribute to good UX design, but you’ll need to keep a few key principles in mind at all times: simplicity, usability, discoverability, personalization and scalability.
Conclusion
The product you design will live or die by how well it is received by its users. While some of these considerations are more important than others, it is wise to approach every product development project from a human-centric perspective. The result? A better app, built for customers rather than corporations. At Pepper Square, we have learned that companies stand to benefit substantially when they invest in quality user experience and design at every stage of development. Contact us today to see how we can support your next mobile app development, UI/UX design project!
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