A beginner’s guide on how to improve any User Experience (UX)
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Hey there, I’m Srikant Tripathi, a self-proclaimed creative designer. Yep, I know, it’s a pretty fancy title, but honestly, it’s just my way of expressing the fact that I can’t stick to one particular design niche. I mean, come on, there are just too many exciting avenues to explore! I started out with pencil sketches and drawings, mastering the art of pen and portraits. Then, I jumped into the world of graphics, whipping up illustrations and logos like there’s no tomorrow. I even took a shot at NFTs and let my creativity run wild. And now, I’m on a quest to conquer the realm of UI/UX (User Interface & Experience) Design.
Let me tell you, it hasn’t been a smooth ride. The internet is overflowing with an endless sea of UX design content, and I understand, it can get really overwhelming at times. No matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to cover every single base and that’s why I’m here, writing this blog. My mission is to share my knowledge and understanding of UX design in a clear and concise manner. I want to make sure you don’t feel drowned in information, and that you grasp the essence of the subject without feeling like you’re on the verge of a meltdown. So, buckle up and join me on this adventure into the world of UX design.
How to improve any User Experience
The most crucial thing to grasp here is that you have to become the user in order to comprehend their needs. Unless you step into the user’s shoes, you can’t truly grasp the significance of a problem. So, let’s dive into 5 key pointers that you should always bear in mind when enhancing any user experience.
1. Bridging the gap
Always ask yourself a question — “What will happen between these 2 steps”
- Does the user have to figure out something that is not clear there.
- What task must be done to go to the next step.
- What are the decisions that need to be made in this whole process?
and once you figure out the answer to these questions, you will start finding gaps in your product’s experience.
2. “The Optimizers”
Every product has a journey, and every user is on their own journey. You need to understand how your product can help the person, to get to the end of their journey, as seamlessly as possible. To do so, try mapping out different paths —
- How can each step in a path be made more efficient
- Are we always prioritizing people’s paths, or are we pushing our own? (it’s really important to understand the need of both)
3. Get rid of the clutter
Think of any app, any website. Open it. There is always something they want to sell you off the bat. You need to understand your users before you try anything like that. Go back to your roots; ask yourself —
- Why is the user coming to the platform in the first place?
- What are they trying to accomplish?
- Does everything on the screen have a clear purpose? is it aligning with the user’s needs? or does it align with the business’ goals?
It’s really important to understand the difference between each and ask the right things at the right moment.
4. Groupie-Group-Group-Group
Group Things Together. It sounds very basic, but most of the redesigns come from the very fact that previously, everything was just all over the place, and the lack of visual hierarchy is lacking — thus ruining the whole experience. So, always make sure that the things related to each other are grouped together. Let your design breathe, yet stay intact at the same time!
5. Content always comes first
You can not design without content, and if you’re doing, then you’re not designing my friend, you’re just coloring.
Content is the core of any design and your design revolves around the content that is there on the page. That is why, thinking about people’s jobs is a great way to think of ideas. Don’t start with a menu, start with a goal.
So, these are a few tips, in my opinion, that you should keep in mind while working on improving any user experience. It was a short read. I hope you liked it and I really hope it helps you.
See you soon. Stay tuned.
Signing off
-Srikant Tripathi
