User experience (UX) design is the process design teams use to create products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users. UX design involves the design of the entire process of acquiring and integrating the product, including aspects of branding, design, usability and function.
Designing an experience includes not only making the software easy to use but also designing the other experiences related to the product, for example, the marketing campaign, the packaging and after-sales support. Most importantly, UX design is concerned with delivering solutions that address pain points and needs. After all, no one will use a product that serves no purpose.
You might see the “UX/UI designer” job title and think UX and UI are interchangeable. But while there is overlap, they are separate disciplines.
“User Experience Design” is often used interchangeably with terms such as “User Interface Design” and “Usability.” However, while usability and user interface (UI) design are important aspects of UX design, they are subsets.
A UX designer is concerned with the entire process of acquiring and integrating a product, including aspects of branding, design, usability and function. The story begins before the device is even in the user’s hands.
“No product is an island. A product is more than the product. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences. Think through all of the stages of a product or service – from initial intentions through final reflections, from the first usage to help, service, and maintenance. Make them all work together seamlessly.”
— Don Norman, inventor of the term “User Experience.”
Products that provide a great user experience (e.g., the iPhone) are thus designed with the product’s consumption or use in mind and the entire process of acquiring, owning and even troubleshooting it. Similarly, UX designers don’t just focus on creating usable products but on other aspects of the user experience, such as pleasure, efficiency and fun. Consequently, there is no single definition of a good user experience. Instead, a good user experience meets a particular user’s needs in the specific context where they use the product.
A UX designer attempts to answer the question: "How can we make the experience of interacting with a computer, a smartphone, a product, or a service as intuitive, smooth and pleasant as possible?"
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines user experience as:
“A person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service.”
— ISO 9241-210, Ergonomics of human-system interaction—Part 210: Human-centered design for interactive systems
We can break this definition into two parts:
A person’s perceptions and responses.
The use of a product, system or service.
In user experience, designers do not have much control over a person’s perceptions and responses—the first part of the definition. For example, they cannot control how someone feels, moves their fingers or controls their eyes as they use a product. However, designers can control how the product, system or service behaves and looks—the second part of the definition.
“One cannot design a user experience, only design for a user experience. In particular, one cannot design a sensual experience, but only create the design features that can evoke it.”
— Jeff Johnson, Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department of the University of San Francisco
The simplest way to think about user experience design is as a verb and a noun. A UX designer designs (verb)—ideates, plans, changes—the things that affect the user experience (noun)—perceptions and responses to a system or service.
The simplest way to think about user experience design is as a verb and a noun.
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
For example, when using a physical device, such as a computer mouse, we can control some aspects of the product that influence whether the user enjoys looking at, feeling and holding it:
The way it fits in their hand. Is it snug? Is it too big and cumbersome?
The weight. Does it affect their ability to move it as they wish?
Its ease of use. Can they use it automatically, or do they have to think hard about it to achieve a goal?
When a person uses a digital product, such as a computer application, a few aspects that we can influence include:
How intuitively they can navigate through the system.
The cues that help guide them to their goal.
The visibility of the essential aspects of a task at the appropriate time.
As a UX designer, you should consider the Who, Why, What and How of product use. The Why involves the users’ motivations for adopting a product, whether they relate to a task they wish to perform with it or to values and views that users associate with the ownership and use of the product. The What addresses the things people can do with a product—its functionality. Finally, the How relates to the design of functionality in an accessible and aesthetically pleasant way.
UX designers start with the Why before determining the What and then, finally, How to create products with which users can form meaningful experiences. In software designs, you must ensure the product’s “substance” comes through an existing device and offers a seamless, fluid experience.
Since UX design encompasses the entire user journey, it’s a multidisciplinary field–UX designers come from various backgrounds, such as visual design, programming, psychology and interaction design. To design for human users also means working with a heightened scope regarding accessibility and accommodating many potential users’ physical limitations, such as reading small text.
A UX designer’s typical tasks vary but often include user research, creating personas, designing wireframes and interactive prototypes, and testing designs. These tasks can vary significantly from one organization to the next. Still, they always demand designers to be the users’ advocates and keep their needs at the center of all design and development efforts. That’s also why most UX designers work in some form of user-centered work process and keep channeling their best-informed efforts until they optimally address all of the relevant issues and user needs.
User-centered design is an iterative process where you take an understanding of the users and their context as a starting point for all design and development.
You can read and watch more about UX design from the inventor of the term, Don Norman, on the Nielsen Norman Group website.
Learn about UX design by reading the insightful, funny and inspiring material about UX on Medium.com.
If you want to start learning how to work in UX Design now, the Interaction Design Foundation’s online courses are a great place to begin.
Learn more about the differences between UX and UI Design in the article UX vs UI: What’s the Difference?
User experience designers are in high demand across the industry, and you can expect to earn a good living as a practitioner. Based on Glassdoor’s salary estimates, The average UI/UX design starting salary in the US in 2023 is $75,057 /yr. Depending on your role, you can expect anywhere from $90,000 to $128,000 /yr in the United States of America.
To know more about how much you can earn in your region, see this:
Yes! Whether you plan to work as a freelancer or prefer to work in a company, UX design is a remote-work-friendly profession. More companies are hiring remote employees and contractors than ever before. As a remote professional, you will work primarily with digital tools and must have good communication and presentation skills.
There are some situations, particularly in user research and usability testing, where being in person is helpful. However, there are solutions to help overcome those challenges as well. Learn more about remote user testing here:
Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing (URUT) - Every Step You Take, We Won’t Be Watching You
UX design projects come in many sizes and shapes. With so many steps involved in the design process, you can focus on specific areas, such as research, information architecture or usability audits. If you’re just starting with user experience design and would like to build your portfolio while still working or studying, you can take up smaller projects and gain experience on the side.
Learn how to thrive as a freelancer in this course: How to Become a Freelance Designer
The short answer: No. UX designers don't need to know how to code. However, having coding skills can give you a big advantage. Knowing how to code will allow you to be more efficient and communicate better with developers. You can become a better designer when you understand how websites and apps are built. Unless you’re in a bootstrapped startup, you don’t need to be a specialist programmer and will not be expected to produce code. For a detailed discussion on this question, see this:
While AI can help automate tasks and help UX designers, it will not completely replace them. AI lacks the creativity and empathy that human designers bring to the table.
Human designers are better at understanding the nuances of human behavior and emotions. They can also think outside the box and develop creative solutions that AI cannot. So, while AI can help designers be more efficient and effective through data analysis, smart suggestions and automation, it cannot replace them.
For more on how designers can work with AI, watch this Master Class on AI-Powered UX Design: How to Elevate Your UX Career
A happy user will always return to a business. So, a good user experience directly contributes to a business’s revenues. In addition, UX design can help businesses by reducing development costs, creating a competitive advantage and reducing support costs. By investing in quality UX design, businesses can improve user satisfaction and drive growth.
Take this Master Class to learn How To Design UX That Users Love To Convert Through
Learn how to manage design teams and processes in an organization with this course: UX Management: Strategy and Tactics
UX design is important because it focuses on fulfilling user needs. This ultimately benefits businesses as it improves brand reputation and loyalty. A good user experience provides a competitive edge and reduces the risk of product failure. Taking it one level higher, designers, in general, are very good problem solvers and can apply their knowledge to broader areas — not just to specific products or services but also to the entire company and even society.
Find out how designers can help build a better future in this course: Design for a Better World with Don Norman
Most UX designers don’t have a degree in UX or a related field. Many are self-taught and have learned through practice. While some employers may prefer candidates with at least a bachelor's degree, they may not insist on one related to design, particularly if you have a strong portfolio. Many soft skills required to succeed in the field are transferable from other professions.
Ultimately, what matters most is your ability to demonstrate important UX design skills, mastery of the design process, proficiency in industry tools, and an understanding of core UX design principles.
There are several online and offline resources to learn UX design, many for free. However, that also means a lot of misinformation is present on the internet. One credible and free resource is the Interaction Design Foundation.
We offer the world's largest open-source library of expert and peer-reviewed UX design resources. See the latest free articles here.
If you’re ready to start learning, we recommend the course User Experience: The Beginner’s Guide
If you’re already familiar with UX design, then take this course to learn how you can showcase your portfolio to wow your future employer/client: How to Create a UX Portfolio
The most basic tools in a UX designer’s arsenal are the humble paper and pen (or whiteboard and sticky notes). UX designers use different tools for different tasks in the design process. For example:
Survey tools such as Typeform and Google Forms help with user research.
Whiteboarding applications such as Miro and Whimsical are useful for affinity diagramming, brainstorming and defining user flows.
Interface design and prototyping tools like Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch and Marvel help designers communicate their ideas to stakeholders and developers and conduct usability testing.
For more on these tools, see these lists:
There isn’t any standard UX design process. However, most teams tend to follow a variation of the 5-step design thinking process:
Empathize (through user research)
Define (through data analysis and synthesis)
Ideate (through brainstorming)
Prototype (using analog and digital tools)
Test (with real users)
UX design is a highly collaborative and iterative process. Designers plug back their findings from research and testing to improve the end user's experience.
Learn more about the design thinking process in this course: Design Thinking: The Ultimate Guide
A UX designer’s role in a project depends on the team size and project type. In small projects and teams, you can expect to conduct several tasks, including user research, creating user flows, wireframes, and prototypes, conducting usability tests, producing visual elements such as icons, and even defining the brand identity. In larger organizations and complex products, you may have more specialist roles such as researcher, interface designer and UX writer.
See these free resources to understand UX roles better:
The Ultimate Guide to Understanding UX Roles and Which One You Should Go For
What is a UX Designer and How do you Become One?
Ready to take the plunge? Take this course: User Experience: The Beginner’s Guide
Remember, the more you learn about design, the more you make yourself valuable.
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Here's the entire UX literature on User Experience (UX) Design by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:
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