Read the prologue of this series here.

We are now in a digital age, touching more designed experiences than ever before.

Experience Design allows us to craft experiences that solve problems for real people — experiences that will ultimately improve their lives. With this end goal in mind, research becomes a crucial part of the UX process. It allows us to understand the perspectives of the people we are designing for. What pain points are they experiencing? How can we use our creative and strategic skills to design real solutions for those problems?

Popular image used to describe the difference between UX and UI

The image above is commonly used to explain UX. It shows a well-treaded path beside a elegantly crafted sidewalk. What can we infer from this picture?

If the person who designed this sidewalk had spent time researching the people it was designed for, it’s likely she would have noticed that most people cut across the field to save time.

Now consider the images below that depict two sides of the same door. Which side requires you to push? Which side requires you to pull?

This image displays two sides of the same door with handles that are visually identical.

Without seeing “Push” or “Pull” written above the handle, we are not able to infer which way to open the door.

This image displays the labels push and pull above the handles. Which is pull? Which is push?

Take a look at another set of doors. Which side requires you to push? Which requires you to pull?

This image displays two sides of the same door with handles that are visually different.

These doors don’t require directions in regard to pushing or pulling because their design matches user intuition. Had the first designer conducted research about the people she was designing for, it is likely that the doors would have been designed differently.

In her presentation Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX, Hess displays the image below of the intimate aisle at a grocery store. The photo shows contraceptives sitting beside pregnancy tests on store shelves.

What UX problems do you see in this picture?

If we were to research consumer behaviors (or even consider our own), we would easily realize that most people do not want to think about the possibility of pregnancy when they are ready to get-it-on.

A better UX for intimate products might be to separate the contraceptives from the pregnancy tests and place them outside — something a few convenience have actually done. This allows shoppers to quickly, and discreetly, get the protection they need without having to think about the possible consequences.

As Kara Swisher points out in her Interaction15 talk, we spend most of our time staring down at tiny boxes, our computer and mobile screens. Designed experiences have taken over most of our time. They have become the majority of the human experience.