It is shocking how often enterprise clients ask designers for a “next-generation user experience” without articulating beyond that.

Debates around measuring user experience or modernizing designs often leave UX designers trapped in a subjective spiral, struggling to prove their work’s worth. These arguments lead to inevitable back and forth with clients as we aim to hit a moving target. However, if we fail to define a next-gen user experience’s qualities, how will we ever know if our design missions are truly successful?

Designers and developers have different skill sets, talents, and perspectives, but when both sides can contribute in open, respectful, and collaborative ways, it makes for a better process and product.

In an environment where timely project delivery is crucial, collective efforts cannot risk being compromised. Equal contribution of expertise and ownership of tasks is paramount and can be achieved only through expert collaboration.

For many, the three-stacked, neat-bar Hamburger menu icon is synonymous with responsiveness and modularity in web and mobile standalone/companion apps.

Most UX designers are beginning to think that hiding features off-screen behind a nondescript icon, side menu, or navigation drawer isn’t a great mobile design choice. In fact, it impedes engagement and visibility, in addition to cramming a ton of functionality into an app.

From desktops to smartphones to the ever-expanding gamut of connected screens and devices, it is safe to say that on-demand access to information is part of our lives. The way users interact with online content has seen a seismic paradigm shift in the twenty-first century; mobile is the definition of connectivity.

To state the obvious, the mobile browsing experience is significantly different from that of a desktop. Mobile offers the most user-friendly and convenient media use on-the-go while using desktops is confined to a specific stationary area.

Using space, or the emptiness between objects, is an essential balancing element for websites and digital interfaces. It may seem as underrated as the silence between musical notes. But these are what bring your UX designs to life.

Interactive design is composed of many elements, such as layout and structure. Often neglected is negative space, which is one of the most vital, nevertheless.

Often in UX design, transparency and feedback affect a users’ experience and how they engage with a system. Periodic feedback and system knowledge help users feel more in control, which supports better decision-making. The visibility of system status relates to communication and transparency, which are critical to user-system interactions.

Informative Text 

This type is used when an error occurs during form creation. Perhaps a user is creating an account on your website or configuring their settings. If a field is filled out incorrectly, colored text can appear near the form to inform a user about the validation error. This type of text keeps appearing until the user resolves the error and does not let the user move forward.

Image Source: wowmakers.com

White space, grids, information architecture, principles, and purpose are all good UX design staples. An often-overlooked tool of UX design, however, is that of the subconscious. The human brain has a fascinating ability to observe an image and create a ‘whole’ more significant than the sum of its parts. It is wired to see structure, logic, and patterns that don’t exist but are perceived by the onlooker. That’s why we see children (and adults) often finding patterns and entities in things like abstract designs, trees, nature, etc.

In the world of design, UI and UX are often used interchangeably. However, designers have to merge aesthetics, usability, component placement, layout, spacing, and typography to create meaningful and functional interfaces. All these factors of visual design influence significant interactions and drive conversions for a business. All of this sums up to User Experience (UX), a broader term in design. UX Design is a designing process that supports the user’s behavior and includes usability, desirability, and relevance to improve the interactions with a product.