For many years, software programming and related product development were driven by a paradigm that involved what big software companies defined as useful tools. Then, with the advent of open and shareware, smaller development teams and outfits began producing programs that catered a bit more to other interests. This broke up the software world into office productivity, specialized technical programs, database management, and gaming.
Then, along came the wide availability of the Internet, particularly with browsers, and the paradigm changed again. Today, digital products and apps are delivered to both desktop and mobile devices, providing the same benefits with very different user controls and interfaces. The reason why there is so much of a difference and why some apps work so well comes down to user experience and user interface (UX/UI).
UI: Where Design Meets Function
Take, for example, the Apple iPhone. It doesn’t have a keyboard, and there are few mechanical buttons. Instead, the user controls the on/off power with a button, volume with a button, and confirmation with a central button. Everything else is by physical contact with the screen and fingertip. Any programs that run on the iPhone have to cater to the same parameters.
Why? Steve Jobs was the originator of much of the iPhone design, and he focused on a key aspect of UI: intuitive features. How to operate the phone should be obvious to the user without having to provide a guide, a PDF file, a video, or any other kind of training. This was a breakaway view from phones at the time, which still had mini keyboards and toggles (think Blackberry). Instead, Apple’s motivation was constant improvement with simpler design, reduced UI complexity, and improved performance. No surprise, the iPhone continues to lead as the most desirable mobile device.
User Experience Is More Than Feedback
Along the same lines as the introduction, software testers and designers regularly use test groups and user acceptance evaluations to refine or finish new digital products. However, these loopback sessions are essentially feedback. They don’t get into the heart of user experience, otherwise known as UX. The goal of UX is how Steve Jobs reacted to how people find satisfaction with a digital device and the software it displays, whether as an app or the Internet.
User experience focuses on what works well for a user and why they keep coming back to the program or app again and again. Sometimes, it can be as simple as gamifying an app and giving people a contest-win motivation. However, for functional tools that are work-related or processing usable information for other activities, user experience then focuses on how to make it easier for someone to operate the app. This can also include user accessibility since so much about user experience is rooted in being able to successfully use a program as expected or, more importantly, as wanted.
Consider a popular photo and graphics software like Photoshop. It’s incredibly powerful. However, the learning curve of the program is very high. It has numerous menus and submenus to create effects and changes in a given program. One also has to learn and become competent with layering variations of an image to make effects work as desired. Translating this kind of program to a mobile app is very hard and has a high risk of a poor user experience if it is too complicated.
On the other hand, a program like Procreate produces a similar app solution and works extremely well on mobile devices. It, too, handles images with layering variation and has powerful graphic modification tools in it, but the access and operation become intuitive within the user shell tool option features. No surprise, people on tablets and phones opt for Procreate more than Photoshop as a result. This is due to user experience versus just user interface design. The thinking behind what makes people happy or satisfied with an app experience becomes the goal to identify and manipulate.
The Content of a UX/UI Course
A UI/UX design course breaks down the above into usable learning content with specific skillset achievements and templates. However, unlike coding, which is heavily focused on syntax, input, and output, UX/UI focuses on how the person works well with the app versus not so well. So, attention is given to what people are saying through research tools, surveys, feedback loops, user suggestions, and concept testing.
The program also refreshes students on architecture limitations; remember, you can’t deliver an experience that isn’t possible with the technology used. It’s still constrained by the tool itself.
Students also learn the value of design-build by putting concepts to paper via wireframing techniques and design revisioning. From napkin drawings to full-blown design layouts and processes, flowcharts have become the bread and butter of UI, driven by UX influences.
Career Expectations
UI/UX roles have become increasingly applicable as more and more content gets moved to the Internet. How people work with apps and sites, as well as how they consume information, is increasingly impacted by how they are able to navigate through those resources. As a result, web design and software layouts are now far more about adaptability-obstacle removal than just providing a gateway for usage function alone.
Companies have also been putting heavy emphasis on accessibility, which again falls well into the realm of UX/UI. Imagine, for a moment, if a user has Parkinson’s Disease. Physically, it becomes incredibly hard to keep one’s hand still. So, a web or software design heavily reliant on a mouse for control or a cursor can be torture for such a user, among other symptoms.
Instead, a responsive UX approach would anticipate this issue and design the site or app with far more control via a keyboard or similar, or at least larger controls so a cursor could be clicked without having to be excessively accurate in positioning.
Especially in the arena of website design for the public, accessibility has become a big driver in UX/UI design for site preparation. That kind of career impact for UX/UI roles is expected to continue over the next decade as the push to digital continues full throttle.
Finding Meaning in Digital Building
So, for those interested in doing more with tech than just functional solutions, the UX/UI field can be incredibly rewarding. Training in UX/UI principles provides a hands-on connection with clients and users, research opportunities, specializing software and web delivery for different groups of audiences, and finding new ways to make the digital world work better than it does right now. Click here to get started with a new career path with LearningFuze!
