Four cutting-edge technologies to improve user experience

In the early days of the computer age, PCs did not have graphical user interfaces.

Only employees of scientific institutions could work with them. I accessed the operating system through the console using a special command. In the 1970s, Xerox PARC succeeded in making technology easier for people by developing GUIs. The computer age has begun. Today, it’s hard to surprise users who have seen iOS, Android, MacBook, and Apple Watch in their previous computer accomplishments. The user experience never stops, and innovations are constantly appearing to challenge UX design. Promising he takes a look at his UX design method in four.

1. Voice user interface

Professor Don Norman, in his book The Design of Everyday Things (The Usability Bible), describes the main goals of UX/UI designers. It should provide users with a comfortable and simple product experience. Designers should always put themselves in the client’s shoes and solve the problem in the best possible way.

Today, the average user needs a keyboard, mouse, or touch screen to interact with application interfaces. However, the future of devices is often viewed as interfaceless. Golden Krishna has written a book on this topic, The Best Interface Is No Interface: The Simple Path to Brilliant Technology. But is it possible to work without an interface? Yes, you can easily do it with voice and virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri.

In 2019, there were 2.45 billion voice assistants. By 2023, that number will equal the world’s population, about 8 billion. VUI is a hot design trend and IT professionals need to learn how to build efficient voice interfaces.

Voice interfaces have no visual representation. Therefore, the main task of a designer implementing a VUI solution is to research the target her user, their goals and challenges, develop interaction scenarios with voice devices, and prepare text her messages from user and device responses. is to

Designers should analyze how the client interacts with the device and determine what the VUI is needed for. You should collect terms and phrases that your customers use more often. This data helps build conversations between people and devices.

Next, we need to consider the scenarios for using the VUI so that the voice assistant can solve the problem in the easiest and most efficient way. For example, if a person asks an assistant for directions from Chicago to New York, the device must understand the request and provide the necessary information in the correct context. Voice interactions must constantly improve with each design iteration so that Smart Her Assistant can correctly perceive voices and their meanings.

After working with dialogs, designers should continue to develop, test, and improve voice interfaces. Done right, businesses can gain a competitive advantage over those that don’t embed voice assistants into their applications.

2. Touchless Gesture Control

In the past, working with smartphones required a stylus and a touch screen. But in the future, users will never need to touch their phone to turn on music, answer a call, or turn up the volume. In 2015, Google introduced Soli technology by introducing a miniature radar that reads every human movement.

Since then, designers have been talking about touchless gesture controls, a new way for humans to interact with devices and applications. Examples of this are the Google Pixel 4 smartphone and his Airtouch dashboard on BMW. The latter allows drivers to change the volume of their music or take a call without taking their eyes off the road.

What does this innovation mean for designers? UX/UI professionals need to think about navigation, actions, and transformation gestures that can control device content. Movements should correspond to human ergonomics, be simple and not require great physical effort. The design community has not yet developed a common gesture for UX, so you can create your own. I can try to make it as easy to reproduce as possible based on my real world experience.

Users should be provided with text or visual cues to help them learn sign language. Also, don’t forget people with disabilities who may have problems with fine motor skills. Designers must therefore also implement alternative interfaces to which joysticks and electronic devices can be connected.

Touchless gesture controls build a unique way of interacting with your application to give your customers a new and accessible user experience.

3. Artificial Intelligence

AI is widely used to create voice assistants. Smart algorithms can also optimize the work of UX designers.

Personalization is the queen of UX. McKinsey estimates that 71% of his consumers expect personalized experiences from businesses, and businesses that succeed in doing so deliver an average 40% increase in revenue. To deliver personalized experiences, IT professionals must analyze vast amounts of user data, segment it, and serve only relevant content to customers. AI is very useful for analytics. Using archived data, algorithms predict the user’s actions or requests and suggest her best UX options to the designer. AI in UX can therefore be used to optimize interface modules, provide improved experiences, and increase the value of products for a wider audience.

AI in UX automates repetitive and simple designer tasks. For example, color correction and photo resizing can be performed while a UX specialist solves more important tasks. Of course, AI developers have impressive ideas. They want to teach Smart his algorithms that understand sketches and transform them into user interfaces. By the way, this feature is already implemented in an AI wizard-based app called Designer Assistant.

A content generator for design layouts built on AI. Designers typically spend a lot of time typing text and photos to create realistic content. Generative Adversarial Network uses Smart-Her algorithm to automatically fill layouts with real content. There are similar solutions on the market. For example, consider the This Person Does Not Exist platform, which generates photos of non-existent people based on images of real people. Such software frees the UX designer from specific tasks and responsibilities, allowing him to focus all his attention on perfecting the layout.

4. Virtual reality

As science advances, VR/AR/MR in UX is actively permeating healthcare, education, e-commerce, and other industries. In 2021, these technologies will cost him $28 billion, according to researchers. By 2028, they are projected to grow to $250 billion. This is a powerful trend that UX designers cannot afford to ignore.

Designers follow the same pattern when implementing VR solutions. They research customers and target audiences to create UX. The difference is that in VR applications, the client is an active participant rather than a bystander. To plan the digital interactions for these applications, specialists must first put ideas down on paper using the storyboard technique.

It’s also important to consider the duration of your VR session. As a rule, it does not exceed 20-30 minutes, as a person gets tired and loses concentration. For long-lasting VR application sessions, designers should consider options to save progress and return to it later. UX designers need to correctly calculate the scale of the VR space so that users don’t get lost in environments that are too large or feel uncomfortable in small areas.

It’s important to consider the issue of the VR space preventing motion sickness, which is the most common problem. To do this, create a fixed point in space or a static horizontal line that does not move as the user moves. Therefore, a person can concentrate on something without feeling dizzy. Designers should also ensure that the user maintains the same speed, has no sharp drops, and has a “staging post” for rest. A sound accompaniment that corresponds to the action taking place in the virtual space also helps avoid disorientation and motion sickness.

To conveniently adapt users to VR, specialists should consider a system of hints to guide customers. You should avoid using too much text. In a virtual environment, excessive reading causes eye strain. We recommend adding audio instructions, visual effects, and simple sentences to convey important information. Users will appreciate such care.

Conclusion

UX design technologies improve the customer experience by providing users with new opportunities and more convenient interactions with applications. UX designers need to adapt to new trends to provide clients with easier and more exciting ways to solve problems. As you can see from the examples above, VUI, touchless gesture controls, AI, and VR handle UX tasks well. Knowledge of these techniques is essential for professional designers. For businesses, it represents an opportunity to increase revenue through improved CX.