How UX research can make you a more confident designer
I have designed numerous marketing websites in my career — especially in the beginning when I worked as a web-designer at the marketing department of one of the New York City’s Fortune 500 companies. It was my first job out of design school and I tried my best to make an impression and do the best job I could. And I did a good job. There was, however, one thing I did wrong. I didn’t conduct user research.
Basing designs on one’s own or other stakeholders’ assumptions not only is the biggest mistake a designer can make, but also makes a designer’s work much more difficult than it has to be. In all aspects: be it coming up with a design strategy, writing the copy (yes, if there is no designated copywriter on the team it is the UX designer’s job to come up with the copy) or talking to stakeholders.
Here are three main reasons why user research is an essential part of the design process and is simply NOT to be skipped.
- User research makes your work easier
After talking to potential customers, sending out online surveys, watching your users interact with the existing product, you will inevitably gather tons of valuable information about your users’ goals, behaviors, needs, wants, pain points and the like. Sifting through all these results and then analyzing your notes, leaves you with the knowledge that you wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere else.
For example, I have just finished sorting the results of usability testing sessions and online survey responses of Flutter Crash Course users that Nick Manning and I are currently redesigning. We are reworking the entire website, i.e. the branding, structure, marketing strategy and user experience of all the pages including the video player. It’s important to note that the website offers programming courses to developers. Now, I am no coder (even though I did teach myself some HTML, CSS and JavaScript a few years back💪😄) and I have very little idea of different technologies that the website I am redesigning offers. BUT by the time I was ready to start sketching solutions, layout and interactions for the site, I was very familiar with what the users are looking for, what their complaints, likes and interests were.
In other words, what would otherwise be a daunting and overwhelming task, was instead a very straightforward process. I knew what sections to include in the layout, what copy to write and what to prioritize in terms of visual hierarchy to make the courses more appealing, make the site convert better and create more revenue. All because I did the research.
Keep in mind that the result of any redesign, no matter how well-researched and how successful, is not and should never be static. After the new design is live, we will have to look at the numbers, test, analyze and improve again. It is a never ending cycle, if you will.
2. User research makes your end result meaningful
The new-designer-me in 2014 designed good websites. Good — not great. The reason for the non-greatness was that no user research was conducted. As a result, I had no empathy for my end users. I just mindlessly and somewhat robotically followed the steps: listen to the design brief, look for inspiration, sketch a few hypothetical (if a little generic) layout options and then use visual design principles to create a decent webpage. But it was just that. Decent.
Today, after eight years of experience in the industry, I learned that design is not about following the steps. It is about the people. The users you are designing for. Listen to your customers, watch them use your product, have empathy, figure out the problem they are trying to solve and help them solve it. Then your design will not just be a website or a mobile app. It will be an instrument, a problem solving tool. And a well-designed product will hopefully not just solve your users’ problem but solve it in a smooth, effortless and enjoyable way.
3. User research gives your confidence
I love everything about design. Well, almost everything. There has always been one part of the process that I never particularly enjoyed doing. And that is trying to prove that your design decision is the right one.
I must admit that earlier in my career I did have a few unnecessary heated discussions rather with fellow designers that could easily be avoided. The arguments of both sides were always in line with “I think this color is better” or “If I were to use this website, I would prefer this button”. The problem is that neither of us were right. It is not about what you prefer or what I like. What you want or what I need. It’s about what our users want and need.
That’s where user research comes into play. It gives you data, and data gives you leverage. It’s one thing to simply present your mockups and try to explain why your design decision is good - it is a completely different story to show your team members and stakeholders a video clip of a usability testing session or the numbers from your Google Analytics page. Data advocates for your user, helps find consensus and puts all the team members on the same page.
No need to argue or prove your point. User research gives everyone on the team (and designers in particular) confidence that the design decisions taken are the best for your customers.
Conclusion
User research doesn’t take a lot of effort or cost a lot (even little research is better than no research) but it is nevertheless often overlooked. The benefits of user research are hard to dispute: it helps to find effective solutions for your users, makes for smooth and pleasant user experiences and helps the team avoid conflict and work together towards making your product better and better.