Design for the user, not for yourself

There is a very basic truth about human nature. We are full of biases, voluntary and involuntary ones, which affect the way we perceive things around us constantly. It becomes the responsibility of a good designer to not let these personal biases affect the product they’re working on.

How do they do that?

• Expert designers, like the ones at our design startup WTM Design Lab, understand and recognize these biases that result from their individual personal abilities and likings, and that they must be kept aside for the duration of the time they spend designing a product.
• When the designer does that (keep as much of their personal biases aside), they are able to create more room to consider the needs of their potential user.
• Before beginning with the design, designers define personas (who they’re working for, what kind of users they will have, and how they will feel towards a certain product). Doing this allows them to step into their future user’s shoes, and lean the product’s design more towards their likings.

What goes on in User Research? What you just read above is a massive oversimplification. In reality, designers have to dive into various observational techniques and feedback methodologies to build the aforementioned personas through user research.

Results obtained from the user-research process answer “questions” like age ranges, user preferences, errors/difficulties that the users faced, what part of the product was more engaging, which one was the least. All this is done with the motive of figuring out the answers to questions like — “What are the things that the user will not understand/not like?” “What will make the product easier to use?” “In what way can the user be made to feel more comfortable?”

Here is a scenario that will prove how products resulting from user research do well.

It is not surprising these days to see a toddler be fully capable of operating YouTube. That is just no coincidence. The designers at YouTube, while designing the interface, actually considered 3-year old toddlers into their target audience! The same goes for iPads and Tablets. They are willingly designed to be simple enough to be used by little kids who can’t even read or write yet.

The proof that ease of use is designed around the user — Now Netflix and YouTube, are both roughly intended for the same function, i.e., watching videos. YouTube is very basic to use; just tapping/clicking on a thumbnail starts playing the video.

On Netflix however, videos don’t start playing the moment you click on the thumbnail, instead, another page opens with a variety of options, info, and buttons. It would be fairly tricky for a kid to operate is. Why did Netflix designers not make that simple? Simply because they don’t intend to cater to a 3-year old user.

Feedback collection and its importance.

1. Feedback collection is a self-explanatory concept. Potential users, and sometimes even actual users, operate the product and then provide feedback about various aspects of the product to the designer. What this does is that it helps the designer understand the user preferences and opinions that are incorporated into the product during later stages.
2. Feedback collection is a technique that works charmingly. The product is intended for the user, which means the user knows best and makes feedback collection necessary. So a designer creates a basic product by making a few assumptions about what or what not will the users like, sort of like a hypothesis. And this “hypothesis” is tested during the user feedback and user research process.
3. Anything that has been missed or is unlikeable, comes up during user testing. Small things like font style, font size are adjusted in reference to the user response. All these tools and the procedures like heuristics, psychological tools, semiotics, are all incorporated for the user itself — Design for the user.

Conclusion

Design is an industry that seeks to create products that a user will like. Every designer should make that their motto. Design for the user, not yourself. Need designers who will place their customer's opinions at the highest? Schedule a 30-minute call with us here.