If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design. ~ Dr. Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover
If I had to ask the difference between UX and UI, then what would your answer be? If you are taking more than 3 seconds to differentiate between the two, then this blog is for you!
According to the report, “About 29% of users immediately abandon the apps if they don’t find it valuable.” It can be due to experience in design. Designers are not able to build a user-friendly app, and they would not able to add elements.
Herein we are going to outbreak a few common UX myths, which you need to avoid in order to build a user-friendly app.
Let’s dive right in.
Myth #1: UI & UX are the same thing.
One of the most common myths and confusing to many clients, especially for those who are newcomers in the field of UX design. A classic example, where you can see the difference between UI and UX design is — Facebook app. Facebook has always been the leader of creating a fantastic and single page. Facebook’s home page showcases search, news feed, notifications, and profile page.
When some user reacts to the post or message, Facebook allows users to comment on any post or message through texts, stickers, GIFs, and even other emojis. It also lets users tap on the emojis and react to the posts in several ways.
Having a well-designed UI is a vital part of providing good experiences for your app users. Nonetheless, a great mobile app starts with UX followed by UI. And, both are essential for the success of the application. In other words, UX is all about to deal with purpose, however, UI deals with functionality and appearance of the application.
Myth #2: UX Design is Optional.
UX design can’t be an afterthought. It is misguided to think that UX is just an “add-on”. UX design does not come after the important stuff is done. UX can make or break the product. Many apps have succeeded solely on the basis that they had a stellar user experience. On the other hand, there are many apps have failed due to terrible user experience.
Let’s take an example of the Yelp app, which has a good UX design. It includes all the information as what the user needs, including hamburger menus, directions, top reviews, and tips. It helps users to cleanly navigate in the application.
A mobile app is not about features and functionalities. UX design plays an important role in its success. Now, UX is not merely an option, it is an absolute essential to succeed.
Myth #3: Design is About How it Looks
A very common misconception about design is that it concerns only aesthetics and how things look. People do generally connect designs with beautiful things. Nevertheless, it is not true to a certain extent. However, UX designers generally do not have a strong visual design background. UX designers are often concerned about how the app works rather than how it looks.
The main goal of the design is to solve the pain points of users. Design is based on the understanding of how users see the app, what they think about it and behave. It is also kept in mind is the tools of designers should broader than including just “colors” and “font styles”. There are also a few important factors like user-research, prototyping, usability testing, that should be included.
Myth #4: Usability Testing = Focus Groups
When it comes to collecting feedback from users, usability testing and focus groups are often confused, although both terms have totally different goals.
Focus groups determine what users say in terms of many people gather to discuss their feelings, attitudes, and thoughts on a given topic in order to reveal their preferences.
Usability testing is all about observing how people use an app, by assigning the key tasks to users and analyzing their performance and experience. It focuses on the interaction between the user and the app.
Being a UX designer, it is an important step, which distinguishes between usability testing and focus groups. After all, it is much better to spend time and money getting an app right before it is coded.
When Should ‘Focus Groups’ & ‘Usability Testing’ Be Used?
Focus groups:
● It should be performed early before developing an app.
● It should be used if you have little knowledge about the target market.
● It should be used if you are looking to develop something new, but not sure what the reaction will be.
Usability testing:
● It should be used when creating a new app from scratch or want to make changes to an existing app.
● It should be performed through the development cycle constantly.
● It should be used to find out the performance of the app.
Myth #5: White Space is Wasted Space
“If everything yells for your viewer’s attention, nothing is heard.” ~ Allon Walter, Design for Emotion
White space or “negative space” is referred to the empty space between and around elements of a design or page layout. It is responsible for readability and content prioritization. It also plays an important role in visual layout and brand positioning.
When designing an app, white space is something, which needs to be filled. If white spaces are used wisely, white space design is a great way to grab the user’s attention, drive a message and give an elegant user experience. It also increases readability.
White space is an element of good design. As a designer, we always want to achieve a great user experience. So, it always plays a large part in the current mobile standards.
Final Thoughts
It goes without saying that — trying to please everyone leads to pleasing no one. Therefore, the same applies to the UX design. You don’t go for ease of use for everyone. Rather than, it is pivotal to focus on providing a good experience.
You have just gone through with a list of common UX myths, which you need to start avoiding them and it could overwhelm you. If you are trying to put yourself in your users’ shoes, then do not make too many assumptions about their behaviors and motivations.