What's a Common Misconception About UX Design That You've Encountered?
In the realm of digital product creation, UX Designers and Product Designers often face myths and misunderstandings about their craft. To dispel these misconceptions, we gathered insights from these professionals on the reality behind UX design, from the importance of functionality beyond flashy visuals to the need to adapt design processes to the company. Here are the top four clarifications they provided.
- UX Design Beyond Flashy Visuals
- UX Design: Usability Over Aesthetics
- Empathy Drives True UX Design
- Adapt Your Design Process to Company
UX Design Beyond Flashy Visuals
People often think UX design is all about flashy visuals and forget that, in reality, it's about designing with the user in mind, ensuring that the experience is smooth, intuitive, and effective. I tackle this by emphasizing the importance of user research and iterative testing to create designs that truly work for people, not just for show.
UX Design: Usability Over Aesthetics
A common misconception about UX design is that it's purely aesthetic. Many people seem to think that the only thing a UX designer does is make stuff look pretty. UX design, in fact, is a broad practice. Good UX design helps to make things usable, accessible, and meet actual user needs.
UX design is about understanding how people behave, researching in order to help solve real problems, and ultimately, improving user experience through the process of wireframing, prototyping, testing, and more. Visual design is just one element of a broader strategic practice. It's about creating stuff that works for real users.
Empathy Drives True UX Design
A common misconception about UX design is that it's solely about creating visually appealing interfaces. Many people assume that UX design is just about making things 'look good,' but it's much more than that. UX design is fundamentally about solving problems by focusing on the user's experience, ensuring that interactions are seamless, intuitive, and effective. It involves understanding user behaviors, conducting research, wireframing, prototyping, and testing—well beyond aesthetics alone.
To address this misconception, I emphasize the importance of empathy in the design process. I explain that UX design is about creating solutions that genuinely meet users' needs, which requires an in-depth understanding of those needs. I often walk clients through the UX process, showing them how each step, from user research to prototyping, contributes to creating a product that not only looks great but also works beautifully for the end-user.
Adapt Your Design Process to Company
In every interview, I've been asked what my design process looks like. However, this is never really about you and your process; it's about the company. If possible, do research on what the company's process looks like. You will not be able to stick to your process when working within a company, especially an established or corporate-driven one, so ensure that what you describe as your process aligns with what the company does for theirs.