What Is UX, And Why Do Brands Need To Pay Attention?

What is UX and why is it important? User experience (UX) research is rapidly changing the way we construct our user interfaces and online systems. It is the crux of user interface (UI) design as a practice and can make or break a brand as early as its incubation period. Whether you own a brick-and-mortar business or are launching an eCommerce venture, conducting and utilising UX research will be a crucial first step in the establishment of your organisation. Here are just a few small reasons why UX is becoming rather huge.

1. Brand identity

In an era where businesses are expected to interact with their customers using multiple channels, developing your user interfaces using UX research can make a world of difference when it comes to establishing and maintaining your brand identity online. Utilising customer experiences to craft UI that’s unique to your brand will ensure that every time your audience interacts with your brand’s online presence, they will remember and your brand will consistently stand out over your competitors.

If you’re looking for examples of strong and singular UI, look no further than Airbnb. They developed their unified style by first asking and answering a big question that you’d expect the creators and developers of a travel service app to have kept in mind: ‘what do travellers want?’. Airbnb’s innate design language highlights convenience, prioritises coordination, and facilitates a smooth flow of information for both hosts and travellers alike. To develop a professional brand identify, choose the best UX design agencies San Francisco, whilst you focus on your core business.

Their ‘trip planning’ features don’t just ensure that customers continue to use their app, they also demonstrate that their app will evolve to fit travel trends and will continue to be a multifunctional, ‘one-stop’ app for all travellers. Through the context of Airbnb, we can observe that ‘user experience’ is really another way of saying ‘brand experience’. You cannot develop a strong brand identity without understanding UX.

2. Ease of access

It’s no secret that the more accessible your UI is, the more likely you are to retain customers and experience commercial growth. But it’s important to keep in mind that user interfaces aren’t static. In fact, depending on what sector your organisation resides in, your UI may need an update every few months to keep ahead of market trends and customer demands.

Some experts say that you should consider your UI as a living organism, with your UX being the driving force behind all of its evolutions. If you want to stay in control of the trajectory of your brand, you will need to consistently utilise your UX data and regularly revisit your UI. The upside to doing this work and doing it well will be that your UI should always feel familiar, intuitive, and just downright easy to use.

Tinder is a stellar example of the power of utilising UX findings to craft a smooth and silky UI. With its simple swipe-to-swipe set-up and impeccable ease of access, Tinder is able to provide its users with the instant gratification that most of us would expect from a dating app. When it comes to ease of access, Tinder is definitely the reigning champ.

3. Developing your business strategy

One of the first hurdles of entrepreneurship is being able to succinctly define and describe your enterprise. Being able to summarise what you’d like to achieve through your business is a truly valuable skill, and whether or not you possess this skill is largely reliant on two main factors: the quality of your business idea, and your own preparedness.

The fantastic thing about creating a UX map that walks potential stakeholders through your app or website’s layout is that you basically have to ensure that you yourself have a well-rounded understanding of your own product or service through the process of designing your UX strategy.

Engaging with your UX material is basically a synergistic method of business development. It not only helps shape your business but simultaneously ensures that you will be able to answer virtually all questions on your brand and your overarching business strategy that are thrown your way, which is guaranteed to make your investors very happy.

It’s evident that from the bottom-up, UX plays an integral role in the formation of organisations and their UI. And if you’re developing a brand, UX can either be your greatest ally or your worst enemy. Whatever your relationship with UX develops into, however, is entirely within your control.