What is UX Design? The evolution of web design

Design is a pretty vague term. When someone says they are a designer, it can mean anything from industrial design for automobiles to designers who work with clothing and print media. However, in the last decade, the technology industry has seen the emergence of a new type of designer: the UI UX design services . This new job title can be confusing to understand, so let's dive in to get a better understanding.

What is UX Design?

A user experience (UX) designer is primarily responsible for how a user experiences a product. It covers all aspects of the user interaction and the entire product experience (from onboarding to the final transaction). The broad responsibility of a UX designer is to ensure that the product flows logically from one step to the next. Uber's new user onboarding process would be a perfect example of great UX design.

A user interface (UI) designer is responsible for how the product is presented. It is a subdiscipline of UX Design and focuses on the interaction between the user and the product. They are responsible for designing each screen or page a user interacts with and need to ensure that the user interface visually communicates the UX designer's path. For example, after the UX designer creates an onboarding process for new Uber users, a UI designer would visually create the interface for that process.

In most small and medium-sized businesses, a UX designer is responsible for UX and UI design needs . However, in larger companies like Google, Facebook, Uber, AirBnB, and Tesla (the list goes on) where hundreds of millions of end users are involved, the role of a designer becomes very granular.

Why does it matter?

Often cited by UX evangelists, Tom Gilb's research in the '80s found that every dollar a company invests in UX can produce a return of up to $100.

UX design plays a critical role in both user acquisition and retention. That is, if you build something amazing, more people will want to use it and continue using it. It's what allows Apple to charge a premium and sell millions of iPhones, iPads and Macbooks on launch day. It's what allowed companies like Uber, Airbnb and Tesla to disrupt the centuries-old taxi, hospitality and automobile industries. They completely altered the user experience around their product/service to become industry leaders and innovators.

Some of the world's most valuable brands have employed a design-focused philosophy to differentiate themselves from the rest. Often cited by UX evangelists, Tom Gilb's research in the '80s found that every dollar a company invests in UX can produce a return of up to $100. Another study by the Design Management Institute (DMI), a of the largest communities of design leaders, revealed that over the past 10 years, design-focused companies have maintained a significant advantage in the stock market and have outperformed the S&P by 228%. Some of the companies in the study included Apple, IBM, Ford, Nike, Starbucks and Walt Disney.

If this isn't convincing enough, according to a study conducted by the Missouri University of Science and Technology, 94% of the factors that affect a user's first impression of a product are related to design. In fact, by 2020, UX design will overtake price and product as the key differentiator in consumer decisions. What is the end result? UX is increasingly playing an important role as a market differentiator for startups. To be a competitive player in the market, companies must focus on creating a lasting experience around their product.

How can you become a UX designer?

UX Design does not require a college degree, however, there is a big difference between the number of job openings and qualified candidates. According to EMSI, IT jobs (a category that includes UX design) account for 28 percent of all monthly job postings, making it the second most in-demand group of professionals in the industry.