ARTICLE SUMMARY: What is the agony and ecstasy in UX design? The agony is the frustration, confusion, and distress users experience when trying to interact with a website or an app that fails to meet their expectations. The ecstasy? It’s an enjoyable, friction free user experience where everything works seamlessly and intuitively.
Other than designers and marketers, most people who visit your website have no clue what goes into creating a website that draws you in and then helps you choose their product or service. It’s not a gift, it’s psychology, and the designer’s knowledge on how to apply it to the design.
In Ryan Almeida’s “10 UX secrets behind great design“, he goes into great detail about the psychology behind creating a great user experience, and more importantly, how to use it effectively. He looks at how:
- The brain is lazy
- Hierarchy is your secret weapon
- Emotion beats logic
One of the biggest problems in design is to many choices, The longer they take to decide, the greater the chances of potential clients walking away. In UI fewer choices = faster decisions.
Another thing for designers to consider, there’s comfort in familiarity. There are standard ways of doing things that people just know how to use, search bars, shopping carts, login forms, so why change them? When it comes to creativity, somethings are better left alone.
Ryan closes his article reminding us that, “Design is psychology in pixels. Every spacing choice, color contrast, and button label either reduces or adds friction to the human brain. When you design for how people actually think, you’re not just making a prettier interface, you’re making a product that feels natural, trustworthy, and kind. That’s the difference between good UI and great UX.”
This is a great read for all designers, especially those designers just starting out. Let us know what you think and please share them in the comments.
