These days, UX design should not only be adaptable to a variety of users with varying levels of knowledge and needs, but also take into consideration the fact that it will be used across multiple platforms.
In fact, as most UX and UI experts already know, users now days may often begin performing a task on one device, and continue on one or more other devices and platforms, without even being aware of the complexity that transition involves.
Therefore, in order to stay relevant in the ever-advancing field of digital design, we have to consider the bigger picture that goes beyond screens, websites or devices.
So How Do You Create a Design that anticipates User’s Changing Needs?
1. Use Real Content While Creating Your Prototype
Using generic content (such as Lorem Ipsum) creates an unreliable representation of the final design since any change in the amount of content, font or any other element can cause significant changes in the overall design – and these should be taken into account from the beginning.
2. Adjusting to Different Populations
When it comes to App and Website design, it is important to remember that your audiences will likely be quite diverse, including people different parts of the world. So you should take into account the need for your design to be flexible enough that it can be adjusted to other languages. For example – in most countries readers scan the page from left to right, but in some languages they read in the opposite direction – from right to left.
3. Analyzing User Behavior
At the end of the day, practical experience is the best teacher, and therefore, once you gain some active users, you can examine the issues they encounter, learn from them and adjust your UI accordingly.
Slips – these occur when the user plans on performing a certain action, and accidently performs a different one, such as typing in the wrong letter. Obviously you, as a designer, can’t prevent these human errors, but recognizing ones that occur often can help you locate problem areas in the design, For example – reducing the need for typing altogether and replacing it with multiple choices that only require one click.
Mistakes – These happen when the user develops a mental model of how they think a certain goal can be achieved, while in reality it requires a different set of actions. Here too, you can recognize the problem by analyzing user behavior and adjusting the design accordingly.
UI Problems – Errors that are caused by the interface itself, and are actually the easiest to solve since they are entirely under your control. So, for example, if your users are having a hard time finding a certain piece of information, or consistently click the wrong tabs – you can probably deduce that there is a UI problem that should be addressed.
Scenario Errors – no matter how much analyzing and predicting you do, or how advanced your analytic tools are there will always be errors and assumptions that are simply wrong and will require adjusting.