Look around you. Everything you see around you has been designed, from how you see, hear, feel, listen and taste it. All these components were designed by someone for someone to use. The person who designs these tries to provide a much appealing service to its users. But why do we see different smartphones having different demand levels, with different types of users and different prices? Why is one design always better than the other? Not all designs are well made. Some are so unappealing that it becomes a total failure soon after launch. This is why User Experience plays a major role in today's industry. It doesn't matter which field you are in, whether it's a building design, software design or even a car design, one of the toughest factors that define the success of a product is its design. Designing a better user experience is just another part of Human Computer Interaction (HCI), where acceptance of a product can take steep bends if UX does not suffice the users' expectations.
In this article, I would like to address what User Experience is solely about, and how we can build a universally acceptable model of any design. Since I come from a computer science background, most of my examples will be related to software products. But, it is all applicable in any domain, as these are theoretically proven to be principles of Universal Design. Following are the contents to be addressed in this article.
What is User Experience (UX)
Difference between UX and UI Design
What is a Universal Design
Seven Universal Design Principles
What is User Experience
The overall experience a user encounters when using a product is generally known as User Experience. Short for UX, this is one of the most crucial factors that products have to go through in the development life cycles. According to Wikipedia, User Experience (UX) refers to a person's emotions and attitudes about using a particular product, system or service. It includes the practical, experiential, affective, meaningful and valuable aspects of human–computer interaction and product ownership.
The most important thing that matters in UX is User Perception. Any design becomes good or bad, based on the User's Perception. According to the international standard on ergonomics of human system interaction (ISO 9241-210), UX is defined as "a person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service".
Initially UX was used to be known as Human Computer Inetraction (HCI). What UX designers do, goes way beyond just UI Designs. Designing UX is an art. Not everyone can pursue nor sustain, as UX design is much more sophisticated that just UI designing. This is more like reading people's minds and designing products to play around with Users' Thoughts.
Let's hear from Don Norman, the inventor of the term UX, on how he explains the concept User Experience.
Difference between UX and UI Design
A common mistake that we all make is, that we interchangeably always use the words UX and UI together. They seem like the same, but they are not. UI, short for User Interfaces, is simply about what the user sees, plays around with, which is a layout of all the components which are meant to be seen. A UI is a product which we give the end user to visualize and make use of the features provided by the system
UX on the other hand is more like a psychological connection with the user, which can play with the user's mind to provide an appealing User Experience. Ken Norton from Google, explains the difference as follows.
What is a Universal Design
In the above sections, we were talking about the influence of User Perception on User Experience. But what if our product cannot provide an appealing UX to all of its users? Will the product be a failure? What if one of the major stakeholders withdraw from the application, due to bad UX?
These are all problems that a typical UX Engineer would face in his/her day to day life. But how can we ensure that a majority of our users will be satisfied with the experience provided? What if disabled people try to use the application? Do we have to forget about them too? This is why we need to always try and build a Universal Design for any product we are building.
So what is a Universal Design? Wikipedia explains it as: "A Universal design is the design of buildings, products or environments to make them accessible to all people, regardless of age, disability or other factors." Building a Universally accepted system is practically impossible, but theoretically needed. The concept of being universal intends the product to be able to cater to a vast number of users, despite any factors like age, gender, height, disability etc. It is a fundamental condition of good design. If an environment is accessible, usable, convenient and a pleasure to use, everyone benefits. By considering the diverse needs and abilities of all throughout the design process, universal design creates products, services and environments that meet peoples' needs. Simply put, universal design is good design.
Universal design is the process of designing products so that they can be used by as many people as possible in as many situations as possible. In our case, this means particularly designing interactive systems that are usable by anyone, with any range of abilities, using any technology platform.
We all know that due to many other constraints, achieving this would be very hard. But there are always advantages of trying to build a universally accepted product. I'll give you a simple example. You all have traveled in elevators right? Have you ever noticed the engravings on the buttons inside the elevator?
If a blind person gets in, he/she can easily identify the buttons via the engravings and braille codes beneath each button. Similarly why do you think telephone keypads have a different tone for each key? This could help a blind person to listen to the tone and type the numbers without trouble. Have you noticed the small bump on the letters F and J on the keyboard? This could make a typist recognize the keyboard and place the keys in a preferred pattern, so that typing would be easy, without even having to look at the keys.
Seven Universal Design Principles
We have defined universal design as ‘the process of designing products so that they can be used by as many people as possible in as many situations as possible’. But is this really possible in practice? Wouldn’t the cost be prohibitive? In reality, we may not be able to design everything to be accessible to everyone, and we certainly cannot ensure that everyone has the same experience of using a product,but we can work toward the aim of universal design and try to provide an equivalent experience. This is why we need a framework as to how a Universal Design should be made.
Given below are the Seven Universal Design Principles, applicable to any product in any domain. These were intended to cover all areas of design and are equally applicable to the design of interactive systems. These principles give us a framework in which to develop universal designs.
Equitable Use
Flexibility in Use
Simple and Intuitive Use
Perceptible Information
Tolerance for Error
Low Physical Effort
Size and Space for Approach and Use
Equitable Use
Provide the same means of use for all users: identical whenever possible; equivalent when not.
Avoid segregating or stigmatizing any users.
Provisions for privacy, security, and safety should be equally available to all users.
Make the design appealing to all users.
Flexibility in Use
Provide choice in methods of use.
Accommodate right- or left-handed access and use.
Facilitate the user's accuracy and precision.
Provide adaptability to the user's pace.
Simple and Intuitive Use
Eliminate unnecessary complexity.
Be consistent with user expectations and intuition.
Accommodate a wide range of literacy and language skills.
Arrange information consistent with its importance.
Provide effective prompting and feedback during and after task completion.
Perceptible Information
Use different modes (pictorial, verbal, tactile) for redundant presentation of essential information.
Provide adequate contrast between essential information and its surroundings.
Maximize "legibility" of essential information.
Differentiate elements in ways that can be described (i.e., make it easy to give instructions or directions).
Provide compatibility with a variety of techniques or devices used by people with sensory limitations.
Tolerance for Error
Arrange elements to minimize hazards and errors: most used elements, most accessible; hazardous elements eliminated, isolated, or shielded.
Provide warnings of hazards and errors.
Provide fail safe features.
Discourage unconscious action in tasks that require vigilance.
Low Physical Effort
Allow user to maintain a neutral body position.
Use reasonable operating forces.
Minimize repetitive actions.
Minimize sustained physical effort.
Size and Space for Approach and Use
Provide a clear line of sight to important elements for any seated or standing user.
Make reach to all components comfortable for any seated or standing user.
Accommodate variations in hand and grip size.
Provide adequate space for the use of assistive devices or personal assistance.
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