How can brands evolve their user experience (UX) design to be more accessible to all? In what ways can augmented reality (AR) enhance a brand’s mobile experience? Can we overcome cognitive bias in research and design? Why does the quest for speed hurt good design?
Ansira team members learned the answers to these and other questions at the recent Big Design conference, where UX and design experts shared insights, best practices, and trends through workshops and keynote speeches. Attending a conference like this is one way we can stay on top of the latest UX developments, apply those learnings, and help our customers better meet their customer experience goals.
Here are seven takeaways from this innovative event.
Save Resources With Successful Service Design
Although service design is complex, brands must create a framework to move the design forward and in the right direction. Clearly articulated assumptions eliminate guesswork and wasted resources. Every project should have a testable hypothesis that, when supported, can lead to a plausible solution — or one that can be accurately revised.
Design for All
Accessibility compliance doesn’t have to compromise good web design. Higher color contrast, live text for headlines and navigation, and alt text that evokes emotion are but a few ways to layer accessibility on top of creativity. In other words, designing websites that are on-brand, beautiful, and accessible is absolutely achievable — and ultimately better for everyone.
Add Value With AR
AR isn’t just fun and games. It’s part of a technological solution brands are adding to their mobile platforms to create excitement and engage audiences. One example is Spark AR Studio, which empowers Instagram users to add filters and effects to further customize their stories and increase followers.
Foster Collaboration Across Disciplines
Enabling researchers to more effectively collaborate across research disciplines, as well as with others inside and outside the organization, can drive significant UX, product, and marketing benefits.
Battle Research Bias
Cognitive biases can distort user research and lead to illogical, inaccurate, or faulty conclusions. Awareness is critical to ensuring accuracy — and so is following best practices to help researchers defend against them.
For example, by understanding there is an experimenter’s bias — in which the researcher tends to report only those insights she or he believes while ignoring others — the researcher can counteract the subjectivity by asking others on the team to contribute feedback.
Remember That Faster Isn’t Always Better
When designers are pressured to turn around work as quickly as possible, they may sacrifice quality to meet deadlines. How can designers stay true to their craft? By focusing their attention on the details. Speed doesn’t overrule the need to deliver aesthetics and detailed, quality work.
Teach, Don’t Preach
UX designers spend a lot of time talking about their work, often driven by the need to educate stakeholders on what good UX design entails. However, as more professionals understand UX design, it’s time to talk less and do more.
Manasa Kandikonda contributed to this report.
