What Does a UI/UX Designer Do?
Lately, there has been an influx of tech companies that are concerned with creating interfaces for screens. This has carved out new roles in the field of design, such as UI and UX designing.
User Interface (UI) design is the graphical layout of an application, while the User Experience (UX) design describes the experience a user gets from interacting with an app.
UI and UX design often go hand-in-hand, which leads people to think they are the same thing. The two concepts are not exactly the same, but they are intertwined. Sometimes their roles interlap, and this forms the basis for this guide.
If you’re looking to hire a UI/UX designer, become a UI/UX designer, or are simply curious, this article will guide you through the key roles and responsibilities of a UI/UX designer.
They prioritize the look and feel of the website
Owning a website as a business owner is one inevitable step that aids the growth of the business. But simply having a website is not enough to bring in more customers; your site has to fulfill certain criteria that make it visually appealing and easy to maneuver.
Just as it is with judging a book by the cover, people often base a website’s efficiency on how it looks at first glance. This is what a UI/UX designer helps you to do. They create a great first impression on first-time users, building relationships with customers and investors, with your website’s outlook.
They concern themselves with how the product or site of a company looks and works. They are mainly saddled with the responsibility of making sure that your website is well laid out. In addition to this, they maintain your website’s consistency in terms of aesthetics.
UI/UX designers are in charge of designing the home screen and several other webpages that the users would interact with on your site. When it comes to your website’s design language, these designers make certain that there is uniformity across the website.
They match the tone of the business with the services the website offers. Services such as online trading platforms, which help people trade stocks and other possible investments, have to give off a trustworthy look and appeal. The UI/UX designer’s job is to ensure that the trading platforms do not look askew or scammy by using the right colors, aesthetics, and design.
They optimize your software to have the desired effect on users
You build programs, software, applications, websites, etc. and expect them to carry out specific actions at the click of a button. However, sometimes a website may not function as intended because of background issues as it was being built. A UI/UX designer must ensure that this is corrected.
A website that does not produce the desired results or effects as you use it could be very frustrating. This frustration goes for both the website owner and the users of the website. A UI/UX designer makes sure that your site or software works like you designed it to.
UI/UX designers are tasked with making sure the user of any program maximally enjoys using it. For example, the desired effect of a retirement calculator software is to help its users calculate how much they would need for retirement and, determine their savings goal and even what age they are expected to retire. Therefore, it would be absurd to visit such a site and find the button that helps you navigate your user profile malfunctioning or discover that it is placed inconspicuously. Visitors cannot navigate through the site appropriately and buttons are mixed up in a hurried and disorganized manner.
This is evidence of a poorly done job by a UI/UX designer. A website with such an outlook is termed unprofessional, untrustworthy. It may result into loss of clients and customers, both old and potential, to your competition. The service would have a reduced conversion rate, thus discouraging likely investors.
A good UI/UX designer ensures that these problems do not occur in a business. They design your website with the end goal of making a conversion. Once a user visits a product website, for example, every step they take on the platform should ultimately lead them to make a purchase.
They carry out user testing
Usability or user testing means assessing a website or app’s readiness to be used by first testing it on users who are part of the target audience; it is a very crucial step in building a website, software or application.
In the process of usability testing, UI/UX designers take note of the experiences and interactions that occur between the product and its users. This information is then employed to develop a clear understanding of the users’ needs. They could also define interaction models, build prototypes, storyboards and design the wireframes.
Running a usability test helps the UI/UX designer to be sure that the app or website is efficient, easy to navigate. That specified tasks unique to the website can be completed without stress. This is carried out through the creation of a prototype of the product; it is on this prototype that they do the testing.
Overall, the usability test’s primary purpose is to gather useful data to pinpoint possible usability issues, which enable the UI/UX designer to prevent these problems.
They boost User Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is the bedrock of return customers and clients. Your website can assist in ensuring you have return clients. A website that is up to would give you a satisfied customer, and vice versa. You're not guaranteed a return client if they have a frustrating experience with your site. The chances of this happening become slim if you hire a UI/UX designer to take care of business.
A UX designer attends to the experience a user has on your website and attempts to predict challenges they may have before they do and solve them. The UI designer works to prevent issues with what the user can see on the screen as relates to the functions it carries out. They employ special tactics that help to persuade purchase decisions on your website.
When they work together, the product or software has the desired effects on its users and delivers what the customers want. This means satisfied customers, assured referrals, boosted conversion rates, increased profits, and a higher chance of customer loyalty.
If you are designing a new product or feature or even making specific changes to the existing product, UI/UX designers ensure the end-user of the product is satisfied. They do everything within their power to ensure that your customer does not give up on your website and move to the next. All this is done through the compelling power of design.
They analyze the competition
There are several websites, applications, and software that offer the same functions like yours. For this reason, the competition to choose the superior service becomes tough. A UI/UX Designer is primed to give you an edge over your competitors.
They carry out adequate research and analyze them thoroughly with the intent of understanding what they are offering users. They then implement these features on your website to make your products and services stand out. They help to organize your initiative and ideas creatively on your website.
Take a look at the e-commerce sector. Online shopping has become the norm. There are several online shops in the market today, and several more would still pop up. As a UI)UX designer starts to design your business’ shopping website, he must familiarize himself with your competitors and find a way to implement their winning strategies in your site.
When the designer does his research on your existing competition, he classifies his data into three categories. What your website can learn from the competition, how to do better than them, what the competitors are doing worse than your business, and what the competition is doing is similar to yours.
He then begins to work on your product with this new knowledge and depth of information. The end goal is to equip the website with new updates that are poised to outshine the competition.
One general difference between UI and UX designers is that while a UX designer researches and gets data about the competition, the UI designer implements them into the product he is working on.
A UI/UX designer must, therefore, be able to thoroughly research any topic, be ready to learn, and continually make adjustments.
Conclusion
The roles of UI and UX designers have been intertwined in such a way that one person can now handle all the above responsibilities. For enhanced website design, outlook, and usability, you must employ a good UI/UX designer. A good website creates a lasting first impression on your clients and customers; conversion rates also skyrocket. The pros outweigh the cons of having someone who can be held responsible for this on your team.
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