About the author
Nika Kordić
UX/UI Designer
User experience (UX) design aims to create intuitive and easy-to-use products, enabling users to achieve their goals with minimal effort and cognitive load.
By designing straightforward and efficient interfaces and interactions, UX designers strive to create seamless experiences that feel natural and require little conscious thought. Research has shown that such interfaces improve user satisfaction, engagement, and overall product adoption.
With over four years of experience as a UX/UI designer, working on enterprise solutions, education platforms, finance, and various other fields, I know that mastering fundamental principles of UX design is critical to creating products that meet user needs and exceed their expectations.
User-centered design
Do you ever wonder what separates forgettable apps from those that capture users’ hearts? It’s user-centered design, the most important principle of UX design. User-centered design places the user at the front. It ensures products cater to their needs and desires, not just designers’ personal opinions, industry trends, or business goals.
Imagine designing a video streaming app that automatically defaults to high-definition 4K resolution, assuming a fast internet connection for all users. Although it sounds like a fantastic idea for the video-watching experience, many users with slower connections would experience frustrating buffering and long loading times, resulting in a poor user experience and potentially losing your users.
Conducting user research is crucial to understanding how people interact with your product in real-world scenarios. Ideally, you should involve users throughout the entire design process.
User control
Accidentally sending an email to the wrong person without the option to undo it or getting lost on a website can be frustrating. Many companies today overlook the importance of user control, even on the most popular websites.
Giving back control to users and providing them with the freedom to navigate through your products leads to a superior user experience.
A prime example of user control in the real world is the presence of EXIT signs in large mall garages. You can’t get lost because clear directions are provided at every turn. The same principle applies to the virtual world—we should offer users straightforward back buttons and breadcrumb trails to help them retrace their steps and stay aware of their position within a website’s hierarchy. Just as people make mistakes in the real world, designers need to provide users with options like UNDO and Cancel buttons to correct errors.
Accessibility
Today, many websites use small text that is difficult to read, even for those with perfect vision. Unfortunately, this is a common problem for people with visual impairments. Similarly, users with hearing or mobility limitations can face challenges using poorly designed apps and websites.
Accessiblity is an important principle of UX design, ensuring that your design is usable by a wide range of people, including those with disabilities.
When designing an application/website, you should pay attention to the following:
- Clear and Simple Language:Use straightforward language that everyone can understand.
A lot of applications use ‘Sign up’ and ‘Sign in’ CTA labels, which can be confusing for users. Use clear and simple language to avoid confusion. Source: Net Guru - Color: Choose colors with sufficient contrast between text and background to aid users with visual impairments. Avoid using color as the sole indicator for conveying information.
If not sure, you can always check the contrast with Figma plugins : A11y, Stark, Contrast and many more. Source: Interaction Design - Hierarchy: Organize content logically using headings, lists, and other elements to guide users and help them find information quickly.
The visual hierarchy is shown through font size and contrast. Title ‘Find yourself outside’ text due to its large, bold font, indicating the website’s main purpose. Source: NN Group - Consistency: Maintain a consistent design style throughout your product to minimize the learning curve and improve usability.
To ensure consistency in your design, create a style guide or a comprehensive design system. Source: M3 Material
Context
How often have you received a voice message in public but didn’t have your headphones with you? Fortunately, some companies have addressed this challenge by enabling you to listen to the message through the top speaker – the same one used for phone calls.
Understanding the context in which users interact with a product is a crucial principle of UX design. It’s not just about demographics and screen sizes.
UX designers must consider the cultural background, physical environment, typical usage times, and the devices and connection speeds users rely on.
Imagine designing a complex stock trading app optimized for desktop use, but most users access it on their phones during their commute. This lack of context would lead to a frustrating user experience. By taking context into account, UX designers can create products that are not only functional but also usable and enjoyable in the real world.
Usability
The final and perhaps most crucial UX principle we’ll discuss in this article is usability. A product with excellent usability is straightforward and intuitive for users.
There are 5 key aspects of usability:
By evaluating these areas, designers can create a seamless and user-friendly experience. Usability testing allows designers to uncover potential challenges and areas for improvement.
User Experience in Enterprise Solutions
As a company, we primarily focus on creating enterprise solutions, which are inherently more complex than applications designed for general consumers. Our users are typically employees of enterprises, and often, there is a distinction between the customers who purchase the solutions and the end users who interact with them. This separation can create challenges for designers.
Enterprise solutions are characterized by their complexity, featuring extensive information and numerous functionalities. Designers must navigate the challenge of finding the optimal information density for the screen to ensure usability without overwhelming users. The context of use for these applications is markedly different from that of general consumer apps, as they are used in a work environment. This necessitates a design that supports better focus and accommodates longer usage durations.
However, everything still revolves around the user. Their needs should be at the heart of every step in the UX design process. By incorporating user feedback and actively engaging users, you create a product that resonates with them and ensures a successful and lasting experience.
Whether it’s implementing user-centered design, providing user control, promoting accessibility, taking context into account, or improving usability, your product’s success relies on the combined effect of these UX fundamental principles.
- User-centered design: Prioritize user’s needs and preferences throughout the design process to create intuitive and efficient interfaces.
- User control: Empower users with the ability to navigate and correct their actions, providing clear navigation and undo options.
- Accessibility: Ensure your product is usable by everyone, including those with disabilities, through clear language, sufficient contrast, and screen reader compatibility.
- Context:Understand your users’ environment, devices, and usage patterns to create products that are functional and enjoyable in real-world scenarios.
- Usability: Aim for straightforward, intuitive products by focusing on learnability, efficiency, memorability, and error handling to provide a satisfying experience.
