The current pandemic teaches us that properly leveraged UX makes life more meaningful and lessens the inconveniences of social distancing.
For example, I needed a part to fix a leaky pipe during the lockdown. I wasn’t sure of the part’s exact size, so I had to go to a hardware store physically. When I arrived, there was a long, socially distant line outside. Mask on, I joined the slow-moving queue, and as I approached each 6ft marker at a snail’s pace, I couldn’t help but imagine a better way.
What if the store could spin up an app that lets shoppers pre-book a shopping slot? The app could be based on a First-Come-First-Served algorithm with considerations for people with special needs.
This way, shoppers would not need to wait in long lines and reach the spot minutes before their allocated shopping time. This is an instance of how UX can ease inconvenience, ensure safety, and ensure business continuity without hassles.
The COVID-19 pandemic will likely change how we work in the years to come, increasing the significance of UX in our daily lives.
In this blog, we demonstrate examples of how UX/CX is more critical than ever.
During the lockdown, people started to realize how dependent on technology we are. As more users look for information and services on the internet, user experience and usability become more beneficial to UX designers, developers, and users.
From financial institutions designing their digital products and services for support and transparency to government agencies providing relief over apps, UX has become a much-needed source of hope.
According to the latest from PYMNTS.com, online shopping spaces are flourishing in the U.S. based on the following statistics.
These services have become increasingly popular during isolation because of the value-addition made by UX and CX on these digital platforms.
Image Source: nypost.com
Users prefer managing financial transactions, mortgages, loans, payments, and more on a secure platform over their banks’ visit. Transactions are quick, safe, and more reliable while assuring social distancing for those sheltered in place. Social media platforms offer uninterrupted entertainment. They also spread awareness, provide live updates on the pandemic situation in different parts of the world, help us stay in touch with loved ones, and allow people to reach out to those who need help during emergencies. UX on networking platforms is guided by practicality, accessibility, and cost-efficiency.
Companies do not have to spend millions of dollars on campaigns or conventions. Instead, they can continue to promote their business on social media platforms.
Similarly, with cinemas closed, people have become accustomed to binge-watching on streaming platforms like Netflix. The binge-watching phenomenon demonstrates the power of UX in this domain as well.
The seismic shift in the digital climate has expanded users’ horizons.
Telehealth services have been life-saving for patients and doctors alike. A recent survey conducted by OnePoll found a 154 percent increase in the use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
76 percent of respondents said they’ve utilized delivery services to get their prescriptions during the pandemic.
Online pharmacies, researchers, and doctors alike need tools with great UX design and functionality to deliver orders, find vaccines and get an advanced understanding of patient health issues.
Here’s how PMD has summarized Telehealth growth during the pandemic.
Based on the guiding principles for Telehealth design, UX impacts these key areas.
The UX design of Coronavirus case, risk, and proximity tracking apps like the John Hopkins Map help millions of users monitor the outbreak on the county and global levels. The intuitive dashboard provides insights on confirmed cases, deaths, and the fatality rate per region. The user dashboard also keeps a tab on the critical trends and recent developments in COVID-19.
Image Source: coronavirus.jhu
Additionally, Microsoft AI for health introduced the AI for Health COVID data page that visualizes human progress against COVID-19 with real-time data analysis, interactive visualizations, and key metrics like COVID-19 Cases, Progress to Zero (P0), Rt, Testing, and Risk Levels. This has aided in the following endeavors:
- Data and insights
- Treatment and diagnostics
- Allocation of resources
- Dissemination of accurate
- Scientific research
While essential and business travel continues with restrictions, travel for tourism is slowly opening up. The accuracy of apps about safety zones, weather conditions, the proximity of hospitals, and crowd density, backed by advanced intelligence, reliable navigation software, and an intuitive UX, make this possible.
Google Maps introduced COVID-19 related public transport information and direction alerts for local transportation on the app. The user experience includes features to analyze how crowded an area is at different times, provide driving alerts, and notify one about COVID-19 checkpoints and restrictions along the route.
Apple tweaked its facial recognition software to make unlocking your iPhone easy while wearing a mask by moving right to the passcode or password screen when the user swipes up. This key enhancement of UX usability with AI embedded in image recognition is a game-changer.
Apple’s intuitive UX design made critical contact tracing tools more user-friendly and effective in lowering infection levels. Apple and Google also developed APIs that other apps can plug into for tracking and tracing.
The APIs help location-based apps, health apps, and COVID-19 tracking apps integrate and communicate with each other from their respective devices. You can read the detailed article here.
Imagine your mobile phone detecting when you haven’t worn a mask while stepping out and sending you prompts to do so. This is the kind of personalization that UX promises when it comes to the human side of technology.
Screens offer salvation to humans during the pandemic with remote home security control, pre-authorizing food delivery, kids monitoring, business meetings, virtual-cuddling your kids, completing a target, doing virtual tours of museums or national parks, celebrating birthdays, dating, and what not!
Yes, the human presence is missing, but UX can significantly uplift the human touch and experience on touch-based, sensor-based, or data-driven apps.
UX design pertains to easy-to-use interfaces, ethical interactions, intuitive flows, and a coherent, visually attractive design. In times like these, it elevates the human connection with technology to provide the aid people need during a global crisis.
At Radiant Digital, we enhance the human-technology connection with our experience in futuristic UX design. Connect with us for impactful UX designs for your business.
