Human-centered design is not a trend at all, but a real necessity in the modern world. And regardless of the field or industry, any products should always be consumer-oriented, i.e. person. Believe me, people will absolutely not care about the site if the company does not take care of the design, which will take into account their desires. In harsh market conditions, where everyone strives to attract at least a few seconds of attention of a potential buyer, design plays a significant role.
Today, most of us think in terms of the evolving era of digitalization. After all, if you think about it, our lives have been going online for a long time. And this is the reality, this is the usual state of affairs. Moreover, our lives can be completely digitized and automated much faster than we can imagine.
Already now, using a mobile application, it is possible to control a coffee machine with voice control and lighting, and smart electric cars ply on the roads. A significant part of our daily lives takes place on social networks, mobile applications and other platforms. Business is also not lagging behind and is moving online.
To make a website or mobile app stand out from the crowd with original, immersive, and amazingly beautiful user interfaces, you need to create something that is an extension of the human mind. Something very intuitive. That is, in the modern digital world there is a great need to create UX design, which is precisely human-oriented.
Define your user
So, the very first step to creating a human-centered user interface design is to conduct extensive research on the user's personality. Do you know who your target users are? What do they like? What do they prefer? What daily tasks do they face and what do they need to do? What are their goals, dreams and desires? Well, and the like.
Create a portrait of your user
Of course, one might think that information such as “wishes” or “dreams” is impossible to track, much less research. But, as you know, nothing is impossible.
There is such a thing as “field research,” which means work on collecting primary data, which is carried out outdoors, that is, in the “field.” So, in this case, social networks, surveys of real users, as well as focus group interviews can be considered as such a “field”.
Google Analytics and other similar resources can provide enough information about users, which in turn will help in creating good design. However, to create a great website or mobile UX design, you need to do more research.
Have you already determined who your users are? Find out their demographics, location, job title, marital status, interests, events they attend and what their preferences are? But in addition to this information, it is possible to obtain data of a more narrow focus, and for this you need to study the profiles of your users on social networks or interview real people from an existing focus group.
In this way, you can collect information and get an idea of the main goals, the wildest desires and the values that are most significant. All this data will help you better understand and determine what kind of person you are creating a design for. Moreover, it will also encourage new ideas for incorporating animation, video, and images into the user interface, which will certainly bring your UX design to life and will only highlight the user's personality.
Research the problem and propose a solution
If you have collected all the necessary information about your target audience and thus already determined who your user is (that is, you have compiled his portrait), then it is quite easy to see the image of such a person simply by closing your eyes and resorting to your own imagination. What’s remarkable is that you even know about his needs and desires.
Now you can move on to the next step - conduct a detailed study of user problems. Based on the fact that you already know your potential customers, it should be easier for you to identify and understand their problems. So how can you determine what tasks/problems they face on a daily basis? In general, there are no small or big problems in the study as such. There are only the main problems and their symptoms. Regardless of the “size” and “significance” of the problem, if it exists and your target audience faces it every day, you just need to develop a solution that will definitely help. And this is one of the most important things that makes any product successful, and the brand becomes adored by the target audience.
Find a solution to the problem
When conducting a study of the problems of your users, it is necessary to correctly identify the main problem and its symptoms.
The main task of UX designers is to identify the main user problem, since by solving it, the symptoms themselves are gradually eliminated
The following are the most popular and effective methods for identifying user problems:
surveys via email;
interviews with real users;
field studies (imply that researchers observe target users in their natural (everyday) environment, where they are exactly supposed to encounter a problem, which, in turn, is supposed to be solved by the proposed product);
focus group is a group of 3-12 target users with whom discussions are held on various topics, the problems they face are clarified, and so on);
usability benchmarking (a carefully designed usability study that is carried out on several people using precise performance indicators);
moderated remote usability testing (usability testing conducted through screen sharing, session recording software, or other remote control capabilities);
camera studies (users are provided with a tool on which they record the aspects of their lives that are most likely to involve the product being tested, and in doing so, users describe what they typically need to solve their problems);
customer feedback (open or closed data collected from website/mobile application users through a button or feedback form, as well as via email or link);
Clickstream data analysis (usually means the study of screen recordings or web pages using reports obtained on user movements around the site, as a result of which you can find out which products are most often clicked on and which ones are purchased; this method involves installing special tools on the site for research and records).
Today, most of us think in terms of the evolving era of digitalization. After all, if you think about it, our lives have been going online for a long time. And this is the reality, this is the usual state of affairs. Moreover, our lives can be completely digitized and automated much faster than we can imagine.
Already now, using a mobile application, it is possible to control a coffee machine with voice control and lighting, and smart electric cars ply on the roads. A significant part of our daily lives takes place on social networks, mobile applications and other platforms. Business is also not lagging behind and is moving online.
To make a website or mobile app stand out from the crowd with original, immersive, and amazingly beautiful user interfaces, you need to create something that is an extension of the human mind. Something very intuitive. That is, in the modern digital world there is a great need to create UX design, which is precisely human-oriented.
Define your user
So, the very first step to creating a human-centered user interface design is to conduct extensive research on the user's personality. Do you know who your target users are? What do they like? What do they prefer? What daily tasks do they face and what do they need to do? What are their goals, dreams and desires? Well, and the like.
Create a portrait of your user
Of course, one might think that information such as “wishes” or “dreams” is impossible to track, much less research. But, as you know, nothing is impossible.
There is such a thing as “field research,” which means work on collecting primary data, which is carried out outdoors, that is, in the “field.” So, in this case, social networks, surveys of real users, as well as focus group interviews can be considered as such a “field”.
Google Analytics and other similar resources can provide enough information about users, which in turn will help in creating good design. However, to create a great website or mobile UX design, you need to do more research.
Have you already determined who your users are? Find out their demographics, location, job title, marital status, interests, events they attend and what their preferences are? But in addition to this information, it is possible to obtain data of a more narrow focus, and for this you need to study the profiles of your users on social networks or interview real people from an existing focus group.
In this way, you can collect information and get an idea of the main goals, the wildest desires and the values that are most significant. All this data will help you better understand and determine what kind of person you are creating a design for. Moreover, it will also encourage new ideas for incorporating animation, video, and images into the user interface, which will certainly bring your UX design to life and will only highlight the user's personality.
Research the problem and propose a solution
If you have collected all the necessary information about your target audience and thus already determined who your user is (that is, you have compiled his portrait), then it is quite easy to see the image of such a person simply by closing your eyes and resorting to your own imagination. What’s remarkable is that you even know about his needs and desires.
Now you can move on to the next step - conduct a detailed study of user problems. Based on the fact that you already know your potential customers, it should be easier for you to identify and understand their problems. So how can you determine what tasks/problems they face on a daily basis? In general, there are no small or big problems in the study as such. There are only the main problems and their symptoms. Regardless of the “size” and “significance” of the problem, if it exists and your target audience faces it every day, you just need to develop a solution that will definitely help. And this is one of the most important things that makes any product successful, and the brand becomes adored by the target audience.
Find a solution to the problem
When conducting a study of the problems of your users, it is necessary to correctly identify the main problem and its symptoms.
The main task of UX designers is to identify the main user problem, since by solving it, the symptoms themselves are gradually eliminated
The following are the most popular and effective methods for identifying user problems:
surveys via email;
interviews with real users;
field studies (imply that researchers observe target users in their natural (everyday) environment, where they are exactly supposed to encounter a problem, which, in turn, is supposed to be solved by the proposed product);
focus group is a group of 3-12 target users with whom discussions are held on various topics, the problems they face are clarified, and so on);
usability benchmarking (a carefully designed usability study that is carried out on several people using precise performance indicators);
moderated remote usability testing (usability testing conducted through screen sharing, session recording software, or other remote control capabilities);
camera studies (users are provided with a tool on which they record the aspects of their lives that are most likely to involve the product being tested, and in doing so, users describe what they typically need to solve their problems);
customer feedback (open or closed data collected from website/mobile application users through a button or feedback form, as well as via email or link);
Clickstream data analysis (usually means the study of screen recordings or web pages using reports obtained on user movements around the site, as a result of which you can find out which products are most often clicked on and which ones are purchased; this method involves installing special tools on the site for research and records).
On a note:
Some UI/UX design companies practice the following. They conduct an accurate study of the identity of the end user (consumer), followed by a detailed examination and determination of the problem. Then a structured and well-planned document is prepared containing all the results of the research and final information about the target audience. Using special applications, such as the free online form designer JotForm, you can easily create this kind of document in PDF format.
Free online form builder JotForm
Free online form builder JotForm
Also, often such companies provide all this data as a bonus for their clients who order design services. This is a great way to increase customer satisfaction and retention, as the information is extremely useful for creating future products that target the same audience.
Predict all possible user behavior scenarios
Now you need to try to predict possible scenarios of user behavior regarding interaction with the product (website or mobile application). In what context will they use it? Where and when? What problems might they encounter and in what cases? It is advisable to predict both the best and worst case user experience scenarios so that if something happens, you will be ready to eliminate and smooth out any errors associated with the product.
Calculate all possible options
By modeling worst-case scenarios, you can foresee the company’s necessary behavior in critical situations, as well as prepare answers to non-standard questions.
If you know that the user may unexpectedly encounter some problem while viewing the site, then you need to prepare a solution to this problem in advance or at a certain stage include a smoothing element of the UI design. For example, you could display a quick user guide on how to solve the problem, or insert an image or GIF that apologizes for the problem and invites you to try again later.
Scenario creation is one of the most useful practices when creating UX design.
Scenarios allow you to be one step ahead of negative user experiences and, if possible, avoid them or at least somehow mitigate them. It will also help you see important details and understand what the user feels and experiences while interacting with the site or application.
Create a prototype and test it
The very last step is to create a prototype based on what we have learned about the target users, their problems and behavioral scenarios. Now you need to try to take into account all possible options in your working prototype so that it looks like the final product.
Develop and test a prototype of your product
Develop and test a prototype of your product
Taking into account all the data collected earlier, developing a prototype will not require much effort. This work will help test various hypotheses or scenarios, as well as conduct user tests to create an even more successful UX design.
And finally...
Basically, that's all there is to know about creating human-centered design. But there is still something more. And this is something - testing, testing and testing again.
A truly human-centered approach involves continuous user testing, thousands of iterations and improvements.
Of course, the work of UX designers is not easy and takes a lot of time. But still, it's worth it. Indeed, even today, despite the era of digitalization and technological breakthroughs, it is so difficult to see design that is truly human-centered. That is why now is a great opportunity to become the first in your niche by offering a website or mobile application with a hyper-intuitive UX design that will help build the necessary connections with your target audience.
Some UI/UX design companies practice the following. They conduct an accurate study of the identity of the end user (consumer), followed by a detailed examination and determination of the problem. Then a structured and well-planned document is prepared containing all the results of the research and final information about the target audience. Using special applications, such as the free online form designer JotForm, you can easily create this kind of document in PDF format.
Free online form builder JotForm
Free online form builder JotForm
Also, often such companies provide all this data as a bonus for their clients who order design services. This is a great way to increase customer satisfaction and retention, as the information is extremely useful for creating future products that target the same audience.
Predict all possible user behavior scenarios
Now you need to try to predict possible scenarios of user behavior regarding interaction with the product (website or mobile application). In what context will they use it? Where and when? What problems might they encounter and in what cases? It is advisable to predict both the best and worst case user experience scenarios so that if something happens, you will be ready to eliminate and smooth out any errors associated with the product.
Calculate all possible options
By modeling worst-case scenarios, you can foresee the company’s necessary behavior in critical situations, as well as prepare answers to non-standard questions.
If you know that the user may unexpectedly encounter some problem while viewing the site, then you need to prepare a solution to this problem in advance or at a certain stage include a smoothing element of the UI design. For example, you could display a quick user guide on how to solve the problem, or insert an image or GIF that apologizes for the problem and invites you to try again later.
Scenario creation is one of the most useful practices when creating UX design.
Scenarios allow you to be one step ahead of negative user experiences and, if possible, avoid them or at least somehow mitigate them. It will also help you see important details and understand what the user feels and experiences while interacting with the site or application.
Create a prototype and test it
The very last step is to create a prototype based on what we have learned about the target users, their problems and behavioral scenarios. Now you need to try to take into account all possible options in your working prototype so that it looks like the final product.
Develop and test a prototype of your product
Develop and test a prototype of your product
Taking into account all the data collected earlier, developing a prototype will not require much effort. This work will help test various hypotheses or scenarios, as well as conduct user tests to create an even more successful UX design.
And finally...
Basically, that's all there is to know about creating human-centered design. But there is still something more. And this is something - testing, testing and testing again.
A truly human-centered approach involves continuous user testing, thousands of iterations and improvements.
Of course, the work of UX designers is not easy and takes a lot of time. But still, it's worth it. Indeed, even today, despite the era of digitalization and technological breakthroughs, it is so difficult to see design that is truly human-centered. That is why now is a great opportunity to become the first in your niche by offering a website or mobile application with a hyper-intuitive UX design that will help build the necessary connections with your target audience.
