There’s a term I hear on an almost daily basis. Sometimes it’s when I hear product managers discussing something with designers, other times when search engine marketers are talking about ranking factors, or often when developers are having general discussions in the office. That term is User Experience (UX) design.
It’s kind of a funny term, because although it’s technically a specific skillset within the gray waters of design and development, UX is also evolving to become more of a benchmark for how a business values its users in the digital space.
This makes sense because while traditional design is about how things look, UX is all about how things feel. And how users feel is a huge part of the decision-making process that leads to conversions.
With the growing connection users are making with the products they use — now almost entirely digital — more emphasis is being placed on how a specific design element, website, or app makes the user feel, because this makes them more likely to convert.
The key difference between design and UX is that while design is an open canvas, free for the artist to create all kinds of beautiful visual elements, UX is much more restrictive. It serves that business function, not a creative one.
This is difficult for many creatives to grapple with. Even I get frustrated when I think of some cool CSS animation or movable event that would work well on a website, only to be told that it doesn’t really serve a necessary function for the company we’re building the website for. When I tell a design friend who came up with a really great navigation element full of images, and I tell her that using images will hurt that site’s SEO, her face goes dark.
And it’s true. Creating things for businesses hinders creativity. It’s not an open canvas, but a very specific set of requirements based on that company’s bottom line. However, while creativity is hindered, it is never fully stoppered. This is where UX comes in.
When talking to designers, product managers, and SEOs about how that visual element would be good for the business, the reaction is often minimal or even unenthusiastic. However, when I start talking about how that visual element would really help the user get from point A to point B, I see faces light up.
Maybe it’s because those designers, product managers, and SEOs grew up on Tron’s mantra of “I fight for the user!” Or maybe it’s because talking in terms of how visual elements impact users on a personal level awakens their natural artistic instincts. After all, being an artist is about creating something that people love, and creating a website that users love to use is the core of good UX. This not only fuels that artistic creativity, but also serves the business as a result.
Why? Because while a business has a bottom line, that bottom line is determined by how well the business can get users. Optimizing the user’s entire digital experience from start to finish gets people interested, helping that bottom line. UX may serve more of a business function when compared to design, but it’s also that sweet spot where creativity and business align.
Hurrdat is a Lincoln, Nebraska, digital marketing agency specializing in social media and content marketing. The company was founded in 2010 and merged with B² Interactive of Omaha, Nebraska, in 2014 bringing even more digital marketing specialties to both firms’ clients. Together they provide a full range of social media, SEO, and website development services to both national brands and local clients. The companies employ more than 80 people in Nebraska and have won multiple awards for their business efforts, company culture, and clients’ campaigns.
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