In this competitive digital age, businesses need a functional and beautiful user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) designs in order to be successful. While these two website design components are often interchanged, there are differences between the two, although, one can always find a UI/UX designer or a company such as Ramotion, that provides both types of web design.
User experience is still quite novel. It has been done for years but design firms didn’t always have a name for it. As such, it wasn’t developed until the last few years. UX, while still a design, refers more to how user-friendly a website is, hence, the term experience. It delves more on the functionality of the website and how easy it is for users to navigate the page, whether it is on the website or on the mobile app. The UI, for its part, is really more on the graphic design. But this design process is highly reflective of the research process that denotes what the majority of the online population or users prefer. In other words, it is not just about having a beautiful site or app, it is about what makes the users want to interact.
Now that the descriptions are out of the way, here are some important qualities a UI / UX design agency should consider in creating digital products that are not only beautiful but highly practical as well.
Top UX trends
Simplicity
You would think that with technology, creativity should be equated with complexity. You want icons moving around the screen or words popping out. In some cases, that would work. But if you are dealing with something more straightforward-business type, simplicity should be the order. This is based on the concept that business people are always in a hurry to make money, so make things easier for them. That’s why Paypal works. It is one of the simplest websites or mobile apps to navigate. In fact, when you look at it, it seems almost effortless. But it works out the way because when it comes to Paypal, you just want to send or receive money. There is no need for multiple pop-ups and several click buttons.
Personalization
Don’t you just love it when you open your Netflix account and it tells you that there is something new for you? You read the plot summary and it is exactly to your liking. Well, that’s because Netflix has been very attentive to your viewing choices in the past that it knows what you want in the future. This makes navigation very easy for you as you don’t need to search for so many keywords just to get to the one you want. The application has laid it down for you based on UX research.
Speed
When it comes to e-commerce, speed is crucial. Actually, speed is crucial in all things online related but it’s different with purchases. One reason why people don’t go to supermarkets or malls is that they don’t have the extra time to do so. So what do they do? They go to their mobile app and shop. They want everything fast because they have other things to do. They usually don’t have the patience for the loading icon moving in circles on a mobile phone. If they have to wait, they could just leave and find another website or app. Speed should be a priority among top UX agencies.
Top UI trends
Informative and easy-to-understand content
This is a test of creativity, which is very important when it comes to the UI of the digital product. You have to be very creative to provide a design pregnant with content in the least number of words—brevity is going to be essential because you don’t want your cover web page to be too wordy. That would send a message that your website is more academic and might be a little boring. So you want the site to be information-heavy with words, videos and images—one format more prominent than the others, depending on what the website is about.
Memorability
A test of a great design is if people remember it even when they log off from the site. This is important for two reasons: One, you want your users to be able to remember how to use the website when they return to it; two, you want your creativity to provide a lasting impression to the user. If they think about your design while they are off the site, chances are they will be going back to this digital product over and over again.
Practical beauty
In makeup, practical beauty refers to cosmetics that go beyond the current trend. That is exactly what we want in a digital product, too. It should be beautiful but also practical. That is to say that beauty in design is also functional. While abstract in art is great when it comes to a digital design that is just chaotic. You want order in your web or mobile design because you want to attract people to it. That’s why it takes user research to create a highly functional but aesthetically pleasing UI design.
What UI / UX designer should consider
The most important thing when it comes to creating a digital design is to make users want to use your website or mobile app all the time. Not only that, for these users to actually convert this browsing to profit. Usability testing is key. As a UI / UX designer, you have to test your design out before you allow it to go live.
Because of technology, businesses are really getting competitive and a UX agency and UI company are almost a necessity to survive. In fact, a UI / UX designer is among the highest paid professionals in the world. Even fresh graduates get paid higher than a lot of other professional careers out there. Two of the highest-paying digital marketing jobs this year belong to a UX-related position: director of UX/UI ($125,000-$175,000) and UX specialist/information architect ($110,000-$175,000), according to a Forbes report.
