UX/UI design has been on the rise in recent years, so much so that any agency or company usually has a UX team to increase its reach and sales. But what are UI UX design services. They are the same?

UX stands for User Experience, that is, user experience: it refers to how the user feels during and after using the digital product. While UI means user interface, that is, how the person is guided through the application or website during the time they use it.

Both are very important and are related all the time, so UX/UI design takes and works with both concepts. In addition, it is one of the most important reasons why a user continues to choose an app or website, so professionals must be attentive to the new UX/UI 2023 challenges and trends that arise. Let's expand the information on that.

Challenges in UX/UI

Personalization

We all want to be seen and taken into account. Yes, even because of the brands. This is why customization is so important in UX/UI. There will be different degrees of customization depending on whether you are a new or already registered user. Of course, it is much easier to personalize the experience of the registered user, since we can call him or her by his name, give him recommendations based on his last purchases and remind him what he bought the last time.

On the other hand, when it comes to a new user, proposals and recommendations can be made in real time, while they are browsing. So, for example, if you are looking at a Bluetooth speaker, similar products, such as headphones or other audio devices, may appear to the side or below.

Accessibility

Recently in Uruguay, Decree 406/022 was approved requiring that all websites be accessible to people with disabilities, taking into account the standards of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Although no decree is implemented in our country, it always adds points to the user experience that the content is accessible. For example, creating ALT texts for images (alternative texts that blind readers can scan to see what the photo is about), adding subtitles to videos, or a sign language interpreter for deaf people, among others. Other actions.

An interesting point of the Uruguayan decree is that it allows having two versions of the same website or app, allowing the user to choose whether they want the accessible version or the traditional version. You see that there are many ways to implement accessibility so that no user is excluded.

Interaction with IoT devices

IoT stands for Internet Of Things. When we talk about IoT devices, we refer to the interconnection of objects to the Internet or to each other. We can refer to everything from a smartphone to a car, appliance, watch, television, among others.

So, we must think of our app or website being used from a mobile phone (as an easier example). Is it responsive , that is, adaptable? Or does it look confusing and strange? The same thing happens if we use the app or website from a smart watch, a much smaller device. We must keep in mind that the user experience is not always developed from a computer, but there are many devices that must be paid attention to and considered.

Design of virtual and augmented reality experiences

Virtual reality will be a real hit of 2023 if we talk about interface technologies and user experience. Mark Zuckerberg was one of the first to talk about virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and extended reality (XR) when he presented the Metaverse, a project that captured everyone's attention. In the Metaverse, you can create an avatar, buy and sell both clothing and accessories and plots of virtual land, with cryptocurrencies as the designated currency.

But virtual and augmented reality is already being applied today. For example, certain electronic clothing stores allow the user to try on garments with this technology, without leaving their homes.

This is one of the biggest challenges that companies have, since it requires specialists and cannot be applied in all regions (because users do not have the required equipment). But in situations where it can be promoted, it usually works well.

Trends in UX/UI

Conversation design

According to the Google development team, conversational design is a design language that is based on human conversation. That is, it abandons all kinds of technicalities and replaces them with words and expressions that its audience can understand and find attractive.

Expanding further, conversation design is based on designing a natural interaction between the digital product and the user. This digital product can be an app, a website, a virtual assistant, such as Siri or Alexa, among many others.

This trend had a favorable effect on users since nothing ruins the user experience more than words that they cannot understand. Conversation design is applied in several disciplines, such as process, interface, visual or voice design, but especially in UX Writing.

Buttonless user interface

For those who have been in UX/UI for a long time, this concept will seem a bit strange, but it is totally possible. The aim is for the interfaces to be so intuitive that they will know just how to act, without the user needing to press a button. For this, we must help with technologies such as cameras, microphones, GPS, virtual reality, augmented reality and expanded reality.

For example, Facebook recently implemented that when it asks you “What's your mood?” (which in the past meant pressing the button and typing) you only have to respond “I want to go on vacation” so that the system recognizes your response and publishes it.

Another example that professionals present could be in an app where it allows you to recommend a post only by clapping, just as the application icon indicates.

This trend is something very new that will surely take several more years to be implemented in most apps and websites.

Responsive user interface

Responsive UI is all about customization and accessibility. As we said before, the personalization of the user experience makes the user feel much more comfortable in our digital product, while accessibility allows, nothing more and nothing less, that an entire sector of users can access our product.

Something that is also worth mentioning, speaking of UX/UI design, are the changing brand logos. Thus, they can, for example, adapt the colors of the LGTBIQ+ flag for Pride Day or have different logo versions depending on the platform or the moment in which they are located.

An example of the above is Mercado Libre, the e-commerce platform, which in times of pandemic was able to adapt its logo to two arms bumping elbows instead of shaking hands.

User experiences in virtual and augmented reality

We have already expanded on the topic of the Metaverse, but what are the current applications of virtual and augmented reality? As we said, one of them is being able to try on clothes virtually.

Another example of an augmented reality application (which mixes virtual elements with real ones) can be in an online decoration business: the user can, through their cell phone, see their own living room and virtually add the armchair, painting or whatever. Whether you want to buy to see how it looks.

Virtual reality is somewhat more complicated, because users must have special glasses, headphones and a screen, which not everyone has, especially in underdeveloped countries.

Augmented reality also reached the tourism sector, since Lazio (Italian region) has created an app where with just the glasses, you can set your eyes on an attractive Italian and the application will tell you everything about it. Of course, another discussion arises from this: can augmented reality put many people out of work, such as, in this case, tour guides?

The future of UX design in action

We can conclude that the biggest challenges in UX/UI are being able to incorporate new technologies, such as augmented, virtual and extended reality, adapt to the user, recognize them as a valuable part of the process, treat them as someone special and not as one more and speak in the same language.

It is important to be aware of new UI UX design services trends so as not to be left behind and not be passed over by the competition that does apply them. Furthermore, the user is increasingly demanding and will demand these treatments and innovation from an app or website.

In closing, we can assure that everything you do to improve the user experience and its interface will benefit not only the user, but also the company that applies it. If you want to learn more about all the trends and all the solutions we can offer you, go here .