Chapter 1: The Question
We’ve been creating user experiences for almost a decade now. We have a keen set of practices and deliverables that make good looking, easy to use web sites and interfaces. But every now and then, we run into potential clients who don’t know what we do. Amidst the terminology we see them struggle with questions like:
- What makes you different than Web Designers?
- What makes you different than an Advertising Agency?
- What the heck is a wireframe and isn’t Information Architecture just a Site Map?
But wait. Aren’t User Experience folk communicators? We pride ourselves on making things clear and concise so our users don’t have to think (Thanks Mr. Krug!). But why then is User Experience so difficult to explain especially to friends and family?
In search for an answer to this question I did as any good researcher would do- ask those outside of the field for an unvarnished version of the truth. So, I asked my wife who said, “I know what you do because I see you do it. But you need to make sure that you make it plain when you describe it to other people. Don’t use acronyms. Just talk about it and show it.” Now she has witnessed me give presentations and pitches so I have to believe that she’s on to something. But how does one make UX plain? Rather I suppose I should say, “How does one make User Experience plain?
So beginning today I will create a series of posts on communicating User Experience Design in an effort to clearly define AND differentiate what we do in UX. But I need to get your feedback. I need to hear from peers, students in the field, and clients of UX firms to help. Tell us a plain and simple way of describing the profession. I hope to gather this feedback and distribute it so don’t hold back!
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COMMENTS
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daimon: I hear the 37Signals is working on a major overhaul…
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Allen Fuller: We've been back and forth on this issue a lot,…
COMMENTS (4)
ALEX FISKEN
The best elevator pitch I have heard of comes from the founder of MeetUp – answer the question “My company helps users do X” in other words, “I help my clients/company/users do X”
DAVOR MIKSIC
I think that the best user interface is simply a clear path to the destination that the user wants to go to. That’s why the best UI’s are usually very simple, or deceivingly simple because they seem so intuitive. Though a UI designer has actually planned it to be so, and it may have taken a lot of work. For informative web sites, easy to read menus and logically laid out pages will work best. Another breed of user interface is the guided path. For instance, if your goal is to have the web site visitor sign up to your web site, or to buy something. In that case, user interface is a psychologically guided path to the destination. You can innovate something really unique and tricky in that case. Use emotion and momentum to catch them at a psychologically strategic moment, and present them with a beautiful and clear sign-up form or something. So in my opinion, user interface would be based on specific goals of a web site. And a good UI designer will know human behavior and how to accommodate to what the goal of the web site is.
DAIMON
Davor- thank you for contributing such a thoughtful response. The perception of simplicity that you mention is key. Simplicity is not easy to achieve. So to summarize your statement- the UI should be based upon specific site goals. Thanks again for your professional insight!
DAIMON
Hey Alex. Thanks for jumping in on this. UX is really about helping the user achieve goals. Similar to what Davor said in his response.