What is user
experience?
There is no official definition of user experience, but it
is essentially the interaction between the user and the product. Does the user
find the product useful? Usable? Desirable? Is the product findable?
Accessible? Credible? These are all questions that a user experience researcher
and designer has to figure out and answer.
A brief history of
user experience
Some trace the history of user experience back as far as the
Renaissance, if not earlier. They pointed to Leonardo da Vinci’s (failed)
attempt to design a kitchen with conveyor belts and the first sprinkler system.
Although it was an unsuccessful attempt, it hints at user experience design
practices from later on.
In 1995, Don Norman, an electrical engineer and cognitive
scientist, first incorporated the term “user experience” into a job title when
he joined Apple to help with the research and design of its upcoming line of
human-centered products. He asked to be called “User Experience Architect.” He
also wrote a book, “The Design of Everyday Things,” that hugely influenced
designers today.
In 2007 Steve Job unveiled the iPhone, claiming it to be far
easier to use than any other smartphone at the time. Led by Apple, many other
businesses began to recognize the importance of user experience design. From
there, the discipline grew and designers today are in high demand across various
fields.
What UX designers
draw from
User experience is mainly applied to the tech field. The
technology itself may be complicated, but through UX designers, the
user-product interface is simplified so that users have no need to know the
complex designs behind the interface. A UX designer does not have to be a
computer scientist, but he or she needs to know the basics of CS, including
some technical terms. They should also have some statistical skills, as UX
research often involves A/B testing. Other fields the UX discipline draws from
include arts, social science, etc.
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