Experiential Design: The Backbone of Modern UX Design
For any business, gaining and maintaining customers is always a challenge that needs to be overcome. Experiential design, the art and science of shaping the user experience, can drastically increase the number of users you attract and retain. In UI/UX design, where the user experience should always be at the forefront, best practices for experiential design can be beneficial.
User experience is about encouraging users to think outside the box. These designers want users to understand that a website is an experience that drives emotion and senses and not just a tool for them to use. With decreasing attention spans and constant changes and growth, designers are constantly trying to stand out. Through the use of animations and movement, designers are able to make sites and apps more exciting.
First Impressions Matter
The best experiential design is equivalent to a great first impression. It leaves the user feeling good and builds user loyalty. When beginning the design process, it is essential to consider what the user is seeking, what you want them to feel, and what you want them to think when viewing your site. The answers to these questions can become the framework for your design because they help the designer understand the user’s desired experience. For example, on a website for a hotel, a user might be looking to book a room, wanting to feel welcomed, and be thinking about everything the hotel has to offer for them as well as the price to stay. This translates into a website design with easy accessibility to booking, warm-toned colors that give off a welcoming and homey feel, and access to information about all of the included amenities.
Even with all of these considerations, questions from the user may still arise. One way to combat this problem is through convenient customer support. This might look like a chat feature on a site that allows instant communication with someone from the company or easy-to-find contact information. These seemingly simple elements can significantly improve the interactions one has with a website and bring people back for more.
Getting Everyone Involved by Utilizing Contextual Inquiry
People are curious creatures, and this can be used in experiential design to a company’s advantage. This can be used in experiential design to a company’s advantage. To understand what people want in a site, you must understand the audience. One easy way to do this is simply asking users for their opinions. Asking users about their experience with your site during the creative process can allow for user-friendly changes. This can quickly be done with a survey. Sending questions out to current users and asking for feedback can allow for practical changes to be made. Some example questions might include: What are your feelings about the colors on the site? Can you describe a way you might have been able to find the information you were looking for faster? Would you prefer a larger font size? Ensuring questions are open-ended allows more information to be collected.
Contextual design is another way UX/UI researchers can gather information about users. Researchers can observe the way a user interacts with a site to gain an understanding of the encounter. Through this process, the users can be prompted with questions to access their thinking while utilizing the website. This type of research allows designers to understand how to better simplify processes for users’ benefit.
Empathy, Functionality, and Experience
The user is always at the forefront of experiential design. Empathy is required in the design of a site because you want the user to feel understood. The site should answer any user questions as they move throughout their user journey. The user should feel a sense of belonging and connection to your brand through your designs. This can be done through an innovative design system.
The site also has to be functional. If users can not find what they are looking for in the first ten seconds of visiting, they will not return. The information must be placed precisely, fonts must be large and readable, and links must all work. Previewing information through images or links is also helpful for users.
These two elements play into the overall experience of a site. It should convey a feeling to the user. The voice of the brand should be demonstrated clearly. The goal is for the site to offer an enjoyable experience rather than just to sell a product or service.
Experiential Design Can Have Many Faces
Experiential design can be used in many different industries to help enhance the user experience. In UX/UI design, the ultimate goal is a satisfying experience for the user. Experiential design helps make this a reality.
