Why Investing in UX Design is Crucial for Your Business
What is UX Design and Why Does It Matter?
User Experience (UX) design is the process of enhancing user satisfaction by improving the usability, accessibility, and efficiency of user interaction with your website. A well-designed UX ensures that visitors can easily navigate your site, find the information they need, and complete desired actions, such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form. In other words, business web design that prioritizes UX can significantly impact your bottom line.
The Key Benefits of Investing in UX Design
Improved Customer Satisfaction
A website that’s easy to navigate and visually appealing keeps visitors engaged and encourages them to return. By investing in professional web design with a focus on UX, you create a positive impression of your brand and build customer loyalty.
Higher Conversion Rates
The ultimate goal of your website is to convert visitors into customers. Web design benefits are directly tied to how well your site guides users toward taking action. A well-crafted UX design ensures that your call-to-action (CTA) buttons are strategically placed, forms are easy to fill out, and the overall journey from visitor to customer is smooth and intuitive.
Increased Engagement
Engaging content is only effective if users can easily access it. Create Ape web design services focus on creating an engaging user experience by making content accessible, improving site speed, and ensuring mobile responsiveness. The more engaged your visitors are, the longer they’ll stay on your site, which can lead to increased sales and customer retention.
Better SEO Performance
Search engines like Google prioritize websites that offer a great user experience. Investing in UX design can improve your site’s SEO performance by reducing bounce rates, increasing page load speeds, and ensuring mobile compatibility. This means higher rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs) and more organic traffic to your site.
Reduced Costs in the Long Run
A website with poor UX can lead to frustrated users, high bounce rates, and ultimately, lost revenue. Fixing these issues after the fact can be costly. By investing in professional web design from the start, you avoid these pitfalls and save money in the long run.
Stronger Brand Identity
Consistency is key to building a strong brand. Create Ape web design services ensure that your website’s UX design aligns with your brand’s voice, colors, and overall identity. This consistency across all platforms reinforces brand recognition and trust among your customers.
Enhanced Accessibility
Inclusive design is becoming increasingly important in today’s market. UX design focuses on creating websites that are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. This not only expands your potential customer base but also demonstrates your company’s commitment to inclusivity and social responsibility.
Common UX Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
It’s easy to overlook certain aspects of UX design, especially if you’re not an expert. Here are some common mistakes businesses make—and how Create Ape can help you avoid them:
- Overcomplicating Navigation: Visitors should be able to find what they’re looking for within a few clicks. Overly complex menus and links can frustrate users. Our team ensures your site’s navigation is intuitive and user-friendly.
- Ignoring Mobile Users: With more people browsing on mobile devices, a non-responsive site can lead to a significant loss of traffic. Create Ape specializes in responsive design, making sure your site looks great and functions well on all devices.
- Slow Load Times: A slow website can drive users away before they even see your content. We optimize your site for speed, ensuring quick load times that keep users engaged.
- Poor Readability: Fancy fonts and small text might look cool, but they can be hard to read. We prioritize readability with clean, legible fonts and a design that enhances content delivery.
Why Choose Create Ape for Your UX Design Needs?
At Create Ape, we understand that every detail of your website contributes to the overall user experience. Our team of expert designers works closely with you to create a business web design that not only looks great but also functions flawlessly. We specialize in creating websites that are not only visually stunning but also user-friendly, ensuring that your visitors have a positive experience from the moment they land on your page.
In the digital age, your website is often the first interaction potential customers have with your business. This makes it critical to ensure that your website not only looks good but also provides a seamless and intuitive user experience. Investing in UX design isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about creating a professional web design that drives business growth. In this article, we’ll explore the many reasons why UX design is crucial for your business and how Create Ape’s web design services can help you achieve your goals.
In this insightful interview, Alessandro dives into the journey behind Create Ape, sharing how the agency has grown and evolved over the years. He also touched on some key topics like the challenges of running a remote UX agency, the creative philosophy that drives our jungle-themed approach, and how staying ahead in an ever-changing digital landscape is crucial to our success.
At Create Ape, we believe that great design goes beyond aesthetics—it’s about solving real problems and creating seamless, impactful experiences for our clients. This interview sheds light on the dedication and passion that Alessandro and the entire team bring to every project.
To read the full interview, click here.
We’re incredibly proud of our team and grateful for the recognition we’ve received. A big thank you to our clients, partners, and everyone who has supported us along the way!
The Create Ape Team
We’re excited to announce that our CEO and founder, Alessandro Fard, was recently interviewed by Website Planet! 🎉
The Scam Details
One LinkedIn user shared the following message they received from the WhatsApp:
"Okay. The company we will be working for is Create Ape, which is an international application marketing media company.
Our job responsibilities is to help app developers increase downloads and visibility for their apps, which in turn enables them to rank better in the Play Store and App Store.
This is salary for this position is basic salary + daily commission. The basic salary is settled in stages, and is paid 3 times a month, and you can get 6100 GBP
- 5 days - 800 GBP
- 15 days - 1500 GBP
- 30 days - 3800 GBP In addition to this salary, you will also receive an additional commission for daily tasks, which can be received every day."
What We're Doing About It
We have been actively working with Alibaba hosting to have this fraudulent site taken down. It's a complex process, but we are committed to protecting our clients and the public from these deceptive practices.
A Call to Action
We urge everyone to be cautious and vigilant. If you come across any suspicious activity or communication claiming to be from Create Ape, please verify its legitimacy by contacting us directly at info@createape.com. Additionally, reporting the fraudulent site to Alibaba hosting can expedite the process of getting it removed.
Our Commitment to Online Security
Online security is something we take very seriously at Create Ape. We've never encountered such a situation before, and it's both concerning and hurtful to see our name misused in this way. We sympathize with anyone who has been affected by this scam, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to ensure the enforcement of the rule of law.
Stay Informed and Stay Safe
To our community, thank you for your continued support and vigilance. Together, we can combat these scams and protect the integrity of our online interactions.
Protecting Our Community from Scams
At Create Ape, we take pride in our commitment to quality and integrity. Recently, it has come to our attention that nefarious actors have created a fraudulent website, https://createape.cfd, impersonating our company. This scam site has been targeting individuals with promises of employment and substantial salaries, which is completely false and misleading.
The ROI of UX is often dismissed as executives trying to get the biggest bang for their buck. But it’s the driving force behind businesses creating more intuitive experiences year after year.
In the highly competitive landscape of digital products, everyone knows they need to make a heck of an impression to stand out. UX design is pivotal in the success of a product, as a whopping 88% of users won’t return to a product after one bad interaction.
Beyond creating a good-looking interface that solves real-world problems, UX design is probably the most important investment a digital product creator makes! Understanding the Return on Investment (ROI) is imperative for both designers and stakeholders to justify design decisions, properly allocate resources, and secure the confidence of top executives.
What is ROI in UX Design?
The ROI of UX design refers to the measurable value that a well-crafted user experience can bring to a business. In the most basic terms, it’s how much money the business will make from their UX efforts compared to the amount they invested in the design project.
The overall return from UX isn't always set in stone and varies from project to project. For instance, if a small business hires a UX freelancer to redesign their website according to best practices, their return will probably be lower than a household-name app hiring an agency to fix their experience.
But an investment in UX isn’t just about the money. Instead, it manifests in improved user satisfaction, increased customer loyalty, and higher conversion rates (which, yes, leads to more revenue).
Think of a UX investment as an insurance policy for your product. You never know how your target audience will respond to your product when it launches, but the testing and data-validated solutions give you that little extra reassurance to know you’re covered.
To fully grasp the ROI of UX, we must first look beyond the surface and consider how user-centered design thinking impacts key performance indicators (KPIs).
Estimating ROI in UX Design
As we said earlier, the ROI of UX design is rarely a concrete number. From new accounts created to a drop in abandonment rates, several different factors influence the final total. A projected ROI is usually an estimate compared to how the current product (or a competitor) is performing.
How you measure your projected return from UX design directly correlates with how you measure your KPIs. Just like ROI, your KPIs may look different depending on the type of project. Here are some common KPIs to analyze when estimating the ROI of UX design:
User Engagement Metrics:
Conversion Rates: Measure the percentage of users who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter, before and after UX improvements.
Bounce Rates: Analyze the percentage of visitors who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page. A decrease in bounce rates indicates improved engagement.
Customer Satisfaction:
Surveys and Feedback: Collect user feedback through surveys or direct communication. Positive feedback often correlates with increased customer satisfaction, leading to brand loyalty.
Task Success Rates:
Usability Testing: Evaluate how easily users can complete tasks on the platform. Higher task success rates indicate an improved user experience.
User Retention:
Churn Rates: Assess how many users stop using the product over time. A decrease in churn rates signifies improved user retention, which is crucial for sustained business growth.
Operational Efficiency:
Support Tickets: A reduction in support tickets can be indicative of improved usability and fewer user issues, leading to cost savings.
To establish your KPIs, choose the metrics that matter most to your business in the context of your UX design project. Then you can set a number or percentage of increased/decreased activity that indicates a successful project. That number will be the KPI the design team tracks after they launch the project.
To calculate the actual ROI of UX design, all you have to do is subtract the initial cost of the investment from its final value, then divide this new number by the cost of the investment, and finally, multiply it by 100.
So, yes…unfortunately you do need to do some math to estimate your projected and final ROI. But those numbers will act as a guiding light throughout the project, setting expectations for the design team, enhancing clarity, and securing buy-in from the appropriate stakeholders.
Why Stakeholders Need to Understand ROI in UX Design
Designers are normally more concerned with making innovative solutions that fit seamlessly into the end users’ lives. But if you ask stakeholders what the most important part of a digital product is, they’d say it’s their bottom line.
While creative types might not be too concerned about the bottom line, designers need to protect their jobs and keep improving on the digital products they create.
Securing the confidence of your stakeholders is paramount when kicking off a project — and one of the best ways to do that is to lean on your projected ROI. Demonstrating the ROI of UX design is essential for garnering support from decision-makers, ensuring that you can obtain the budget and resources needed to execute the product to your vision.
On top of your ROI estimate, these key benefits illustrate the impact of UX in digital products and paint a picture for investors:
Competitive Edge:
In today's competitive market, user experience can be a key differentiator. A well-designed product not only attracts new users but also keeps them loyal in the long run.
Cost Savings:
Investing in UX design upfront can lead to significant cost savings down the line. A user-friendly design reduces the need for extensive customer support, lowering operational costs.
Revenue Growth:
Improving user satisfaction and engagement directly impacts revenue. Higher conversion rates, increased customer loyalty, and positive word-of-mouth can drive substantial business growth.
Brand Reputation:
A positive user experience contributes to a positive brand image. Satisfied users are more likely to become brand advocates, influencing others to choose your product over competitors.
Adaptability to Change:
UX design isn't a one-time effort; it's an ongoing process that adapts to user needs and technological advancements. A design-focused approach allows businesses to stay agile in a rapidly changing landscape while still managing day-to-day workflows.
Communicating The ROI Of UX Design To Stakeholders
Now that we understand how important the ROI of UX design is in the grand scheme of things, all you have to do now is present the projected number to stakeholders, right? Well, yes and no.
The numbers are impactful and persuasive on their own. However, providing a rationale behind the ROI can help illustrate your action plan for the project. By showing key decision-makers your mindset for executing each task, they’ll feel more confident handing over the reins and letting the design team do what they do best.
Align with Business Goals:
Clearly demonstrate how UX improvements align with overarching business objectives. Whether it's increasing revenue, reducing costs, or expanding market share, tie UX metrics to strategic goals.
Use Tangible Metrics:
Translate design improvements into metrics that matter to stakeholders. Instead of focusing solely on design elements, emphasize how those elements contribute to increased conversion rates, customer retention, or other KPIs.
Create Before-and-After Scenarios:
Develop case studies or presentations that showcase the impact of UX design changes. Use visuals to illustrate the user journey before and after improvements, highlighting positive outcomes.
Quantify Financial Benefits:
Do your research and convert UX metrics into potential financial gains. For example, if a design change leads to a 10% increase in conversion rates, calculate the additional revenue generated and present it in a clear and concise manner.
User Stories and Testimonials:
Incorporate user stories and testimonials to add a human touch to the data. Real-life examples of how users benefited from improved UX can resonate more strongly with stakeholders.
ROI Matters, Now And Forever
The more digital products that are launched onto the market, the higher user expectations will be. So investing in UX design is more than a creative choice — it’s a strategic one.
Understanding and communicating the ROI of UX design is the bridge between creative teams and executives. Ultimately, we all have the best intentions for the product at heart. But by establishing KPIs and using them to project ROI, each department can get on the same page and support UX efforts long-term.
By aligning design improvements with tangible metrics and demonstrating the long-term impact on the business, designers can secure the support and investment needed to create exceptional user experiences, impactful brands, and company longevity.
Need a real-world example of ROI to gain stakeholder confidence? Read all about our SchoolMessenger redesign in TechBehemoths and start a low-risk, high-return project with us today!
You have hundreds of website builders to choose from, but what makes Webflow the best of the bunch?
Webflow is a cloud-based platform that combines CSS with visual design tools — allowing you to design, build, and launch simultaneously. In that basic definition, it probably sounds similar to a drag-and-drop website builder (like Wix or Squarespace).
But that explanation feels a tad reductive. Business owners and designers alike gravitate towards Webflow because it gives you full control over the look and feel of your website.
What exactly do we mean by that? Well, there are two major facets of your website: the visual design and the code that makes it appear and function as intended. Web developers can look at a few lines of code and visualize how the actual product will look, but if you showed those snippets to a web designer or a client, it would probably look like a bunch of gibberish.
Webflow combines all the HTML, CSS, and Javascript into a visual canvas, helping designers “code as they go” (and phase out the lengthy development stage) — delivering your website faster without sacrificing the functionalities you need.
It’s also hands down the most efficient hosting platform for speed and security. Thanks to the clean code and less reliance on plugins, we can optimize the performance out of the box and achieve higher Google PageSpeed scores!
Shortening project timelines and slashing budgets aren’t the only benefits of Webflow. We’ve only scratched the surface of its capabilities. Let’s dive into the 10 reasons we build our clients’ sites in Webflow and see what it could do for your business!
Top 10 Reasons Create Ape ♥️’s Webflow
1. Collaboration is King
For some companies, building a website is a one-man job. But at Create Ape, we know two heads are better than one. Between researchers, designers, project managers, and branding experts, you’ll have all hands on deck to ensure your website is the best it can be.
Webflow allows us to work together in the visual designer to build a cohesive product. While one team member constructs the page layout and applies your branding, a content writer can write messaging in the Editing Mode as they work.
Plus, if a client or project manager wants to make a change, Webflow lets you leave comments (just like Figma) for the design team to address before reviews.
2. High-Level Personalization
Webflow is chock full of themes and templates that make quick designs a breeze. However, Create Ape understands that your brand is unique. Luckily, the platform’s expansive styling features help us turn a blank canvas into a singular digital experience for your business.
Features like the asset folder store, organize, and implement your logos, videos, and photography. It also helps us keep typography, sizes, and colors consistent throughout each page by assigning classes to headings, buttons, and other interactive elements.
By weaving your branding directly into the code, Webflow captures the details that make up your visual identity — which speeds up the build and gives us more control over the presentation of each page.
3. Live Prototyping
Websites always look better with movement, animations, and working buttons that take you page-to-page. Unfortunately, we can’t see how everything gels in a mockup.
With Webflow’s prototype builder, we can implement interactions as we design to produce a live prototype. Instead of showing a static page, we present dynamic content to exhibit how the final product will behave, complete with scrolling behaviors, hovers, dropdowns, and more.
This live prototyping process has been a game-changer in building client confidence. It allows us to present the closest thing to a live website while still leaving room for edits. Plus, there’s no better feeling for a designer than seeing your work come to life right before your eyes!
4. Responsiveness Made Simple
More often than not, your audience is accessing your website from their phone. If it’s not optimized for mobile screens, 73% of your users will leave (and good luck getting those sales/leads back).
Webflow knows that responsiveness should never be an afterthought, so the platform presents the screens in different views to see how each page transitions across desktop, tablet, and mobile.
If a design looks perfect on a desktop but needs an adjustment on mobile, editing an element on a smaller screen won’t impact the layout on the larger screens. No irreversible mistakes here!
As a bonus, the views for tablets and mobile let you add custom interactions for those devices (swipes, taps, you name it). This helps us make your digital experience more fitting for whatever scenario your user encounters your website in.
5. Client-Friendly CMS
Your website should always be teeming with the latest happenings at your company. But updating the content is always easier said than done. Especially if you have to fiddle with a complicated content management system endlessly.
Webflow’s collections simplify posting blogs, case studies, FAQs, and other dynamic content. It’s as easy as creating a page template, setting up a folder, and importing your articles. Every new file in a collection will automatically inherit the template properties; all you have to do is plug in the content and post!
You can also customize fields to feature new content on other pages throughout the site, ensuring your audience never misses a beat from your business.
6. Eliminate Plugins
Plugins are great for expanding the functionalities of your site, especially if you want to implement a new feature or flow quickly. However, the bloated code and slap-dash integration can seriously impact the speed and efficiency of your user experience.
But the biggest drawback of plugins is that outdated software is responsible for 56% of WordPress website hacks! All it takes is one hacker finding a vulnerability in the plugin, then private information, SEO ranks, and brand reputation are all at risk.
While building out functionalities from scratch takes a little longer, Webflow lets you customize the design and necessary steps. Plus, you don’t have to rely on a third party for software updates — putting you in control of your website’s speed and security.
7. Automated Audits
Regular website maintenance is a tedious yet crucial part of every digital business. But what if we told you that your hosting platform could perform all the error tracking for you?
All Webflow sites have a built-in audit panel that flags usability and accessibility issues before you go live. This handy little tool is a web designer’s secret weapon, helping us identify broken links, contrast problems, and general housekeeping tasks as soon as they crop up.
We all know how important accessibility is to your search engine rankings. The audit panel takes compliance further by pointing out nondescript text and skipped heading levels — ensuring your website content is user-friendly and SEO-ready.
8. Search Engine Controls
As if the audit and responsiveness tools weren’t enough, Webflow has a robust suite of in-house SEO tools to help your website rank higher in Google’s algorithm.
Meta titles and descriptions are just one piece of the puzzle, and they’re easily defined under each page’s SEO settings — helping you target different keywords depending on the page’s content. But the technical capabilities are much more expansive.
With Webflow’s SEO manager, you can control page indexing rules, 301 redirects, and schema markups. You can also verify your site with Google to access your search data, allowing us to see how users find you and fine-tune your content.
9. Fast Landing Page Builds
You never know when your next landing page is around the corner. In the WordPress days, you had to plan in advance to launch pages and campaigns simultaneously.
You can still build a landing page from scratch in Webflow, but why bother when you can create dynamic and easy-to-edit pages in Team Templates?
Team Templates are site designs you can clone and edit as needed — meaning your code and interactions are pre-built. All you have to do is replace the copy and images, then the page is ready to release alongside your latest marketing campaign.
If someone from your team has limited design and development experience, you also have the option to establish a landing page collection with pre-built content blocks. Now, everyone in your organization can build beautiful landing pages with confidence!
10. Flexible Pricing
And now, for the most convincing part, pricing! You’d think having all these features and functionalities in one hosting platform would cost an arm and a leg, right?
Luckily, Webflow has several pricing options to suit all our client’s needs. The pricing plans cover anything from simple, static pages to large, content-driven websites, and they’re scalable to accommodate your growing traffic.
Plus, you can bill yearly or monthly (with a pretty sweet 22% discount if you bill yearly)!
Code As You Go!
Our Create Ape team loves Webflow because it closes the gap between design and development, helping us create user experiences that are true to our vision. But we can’t possibly overstate the incredible benefits for our clients!
From expedited project timelines and reduced costs to simplified content updates and website maintenance, Webflow is the mutually beneficial hosting solution that makes our partnerships thrive.
Are you ready to see your website come to life right before your eyes? Are you ready to switch and set your digital business up for success? Start your Webflow redesign project today!
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Around this time of year, we like to predict 2024 UI UX design trends and see how the latest technologies will impact our industry.
But after the interesting year that was 2023, we feel it’s only appropriate to reflect on everything that happened in the UX world and talk frankly about where that leaves designers for the upcoming year.
While we may discuss some anxiety-inducing topics, we’re by no means all doom and gloom. 2024 will present some intriguing challenges for digital designers, but familiarizing yourself with the current landscape will make you a critical component in keeping human-centered design alive and well.
Late-Stage UX: What Does It Mean For Designers?
Yep, we gotta start by talking about (or alluding to) politics! *Turns comments off*
In a recent UX collective article by Fabricio Teixeira and Caio Braga, “Enter Late-Stage UX”, the writers compare the current state of UX to late-stage capitalism.
“Much like late-stage capitalism, late-stage UX is characterized by its market saturation, heavy focus on financial growth, commoditization, automation, and increased financialization. Corporations exert significant influence over the economy and society, and designers can only push so far when advocating for user needs,” says Teixeria and Braga.
No matter what side of the political spectrum you fall on, we can all agree that corporations exert power in almost every corner of our lives. But what does that mean for the quality of our digital product moving forward?
Supply & Demand: A Vicious Cycle
We went to great lengths at the beginning of 2023 to examine AI's impact on our jobs (more about that here: Will AI Replace UX Designers?). But as we enter the new year, let’s step back to see if our prediction was correct.
New AI automation systems seemingly spring out of the ground overnight. They have the power to make some of our most mind-numbing, repetitive tasks obsolete — allowing us to focus more on creativity and innovation.
But as more systems for UI and UX like MidJourney, Relume, and UIzard pop up, businesses are finding new ways to streamline design processes and cut costs.
And now for the uncomfortable truth…
With inflation up 3.7% compared to 2022, the average American’s spending power is down — meaning less revenue for several digital-first businesses. According to TechCrunch, over 240,000 people were laid off in 2023, a whopping 50% jump from last year.
Before you panic and jump ship, UX design is far from dead. We’re not saying you should change careers or avoid getting into UX altogether. AI will always need humans to enter prompts and train the algorithm to spit out intuitive designs, and even then, the result is never 100% perfect.
However, the supply of designers in the current job market drastically outweighs the demand. Companies hiring for UX positions in 2024 will probably favor more seasoned designers with AI knowledge, which means junior design positions will be few and far between.
Declining Consumer Trust: The World Needs UX Now More Than Ever
Remember when we said AI will always need humans to create effective solutions? Simply put, UX design isn’t UX without people. Period.
Whether it’s the users you interview and collect data from or the designers who construct logical flows around their specific behaviors, UX without human input is just web design. The field of UX will always call for solutions tailored to specific audiences, creating more intuitive experiences than a typical website can offer.
Piggybacking off everything we said about inflation, the American spending power is dropping. Fewer consumers are willing to spend money on paid services and premium subscriptions. Businesses are scrambling to reduce their overhead costs and turn a profit.
AI seemingly offers an answer to cutting budgets and timelines. However, it lacks the human touch that makes products usable. The widespread concerns about the quality and ethics of AI are just the icing on the cake.
Companies can’t expect consumers to pay top dollar for outdated products with an over-reliance on AI — especially when the cost of basic necessities makes digital products feel more and more like luxury items.
It’s true, AI has AMAZING capabilities. But in 2024, usability, accessibility, and convenience will be the factors that gain and maintain consumer trust. Those are things that computers can’t provide on their own, it’s up to us UX designers to steer the ship.
Scalability: Friend or Foe?
In the last few years, many companies realized the importance of user experience design in their digital presence and hopped on the UX/UI bandwagon.
The scalability of digital products evens the playing field, making all kinds of tools for different purposes accessible on a larger scale. UX design is no exception.
New softwares for wireframing, graphic design, and even research certainly make our jobs easier, but they also put these capabilities in the hands of less experienced web designers.
We’re not knocking these products altogether. We think they’re valuable tools for learning the ins and outs of UX and visual design. However, many companies see them as a shortcut to creating necessary assets without understanding how users interact with them.
This means that skilled designers lose out on clients, and users lose out on products designed around their needs and behaviors. But how do we embrace scalable software solutions while still convincing clients that they need experienced designers at the helm?
The answer lies in the user research and testing methods that validate every decision we make. Midjourney or Adobe Express can generate visually appealing designs and mockups, but the system doesn’t know who it’s designing for.
With our UX design methods, companies can understand their target audience on a deeper level, create something they’ll react positively to, and ensure they’re designing in the right direction before launching the product to market. We protect their bottom line while using AI to enhance our accuracy and streamline processes.
So, How Are We Looking In 2024?
Just as we predicted at the end of 2023, UX design is far from dead — and even though companies are scrambling to cut costs with AI, it’s nowhere near perfect enough to replace an experienced designer.
However, we can expect many changes in the landscape of UX this year. From shifting team/client dynamics to layoffs and fluctuating processes, how can we prepare for the unexpected and prove our worth as professionals in this new normal?
Lean On The Power Of User Research
UX is all about designing for people, not computers. That is something AI will never understand. (Unless you feed it a bunch of qualitative and quantitative data about the user. But the system still needs us to ask the right questions to get that high-quality data in the first place.)
User research is the bridge between mind-blowing experiences and products that just look nice. When we gather data directly from the source that makes or breaks your product, we get vivid insights into what makes your users unique and how your product fits into their everyday lives.
While data might not be the most exciting part of designing, it's priceless in the long haul. It shows us exactly where to spend the most time and what we don’t need to waste our budget on. In short, it’s the quickest path to smarter decision-making and better business strategies.
Focus On Usability & Accessibility
Sure, an AI design system (or even a corporate boardroom) can conceptualize visuals that feel on-brand. But there are usually a few stones left unturned.
For example, how does the design translate to mobile? Does the color palette make the interface hard to read? Is it obstructing a critical conversion point? Can the audience quickly view and interpret graphics and iconography? Or are the contrast ratios making the experience difficult for users with poor eyesight?
UX designers consider all these scenarios and more when constructing a digital product. Companies can’t afford to ignore those details in the age of declining consumer trust.
Our research, strategies, and testing methods address all those factors and uncover some more along the way. The emphasis on usability and accessibility for diverse user types is an asset in maintaining consumer satisfaction; it is also the peace of mind a digital-first business needs.
Educate Prospective Clients On The Value Of UX
No, we’re not just talking about the insane ROI of UX (although it’s definitely persuasive).
Though many businesses are hopping on the UX/UI train, they may not fully understand everything that goes into it. Our design process is typically more involved than a simple web design project, so there is always some pushback on timelines and budgets.
Instead, look at that pushback as a valuable opportunity to demonstrate the impact of UX on user perceptions and core KPIs. If you can align your experience with their bottom line, you make a powerful case for the efficacy of UX and can secure more time and resources to make the product the best it can be.
This education shouldn’t end after the product launches. Through continuous research and iteration, you can deepen the loyalty between users and businesses with new technologies and intuitive features. Show the client that you (and UX design) are essential in their business strategy.
Stay Agile & Adaptable
We’ve talked both positively and negatively about emerging technologies in the past. However, we'll never be closed-minded about them.
It’s normal to feel anxious when you hear about an AI product or software system that can do your job more efficiently. But don’t be shocked when your clients or team leaders become curious about its capabilities.
Our industry is dynamic by nature, and we’ve quickly integrated new technologies into existing products in the past as a means of improving user experiences. Why should our jobs be any different?
That’s not to say every software will find a home in our arsenal of tools. But as the dependency on AI technology grows, our clients will expect us to leverage these systems to keep up with the rapid pace of the market.
As technology takes over in 2024, use this year as an opportunity to position yourself as a forward-thinking designer. Adopt new systems, try out new practices, listen to feedback, and discover what works for your design process.
If All Else Fails, Keep Your Portfolio Updated
We hate to end things on a downer, but let’s be practical.
Layoffs are an unfortunate reality in any industry, especially in the harsh and unpredictable economy we’re living in. In UX design, it’s important to cover all the bases and prepare for the unexpected — whether you’re actively searching for a job or not.
It’s crucial to keep your portfolio updated with your latest projects (your dream client could be viewing your website as we speak). Showcase who you are as a designer, your process, special skills, experience, and how you applied everything to the final product.
This is your chance to display how you’ve navigated challenges to create something truly impressive. And because we’re data nerds, don’t forget to top everything off with success metrics.
Worst comes to worst, you have a valuable asset to help you stand out among other applicants. Best case scenario, a potential new client or employer has immediate access to your work and contact information. Talk about a win-win!
Looking Forward…
2024 is already shaping up to be a pivotal year for UX design and its professionals. With the challenges arising from the economy and current job market, it’s hard to predict where most UX experts will find themselves in their careers by 2025.
But with every uncertainty, there is a silver lining — an array of opportunities to adapt and innovate. If there was ever a time to prove our worth, it’s now!
Remember that UX design begins and ends with human-centered interactions. No matter how many systems emerge in the coming months, corporations still need our guidance to turn that output into usable, accessible, and convenient solutions. You have the intelligence, you have the experience, and the digital market needs people like you now more than ever.
Here's to another year full of adaption, growth, and evolution for UX pros!
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