Don Norman coined "UX design" in 1993, but designers still can't agree on what it means. This explainer walks through the actual process: research, problem definition, UI design in Figma, prototyping, user testing, then handing off to developers, using a Batman app as the example.
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UX design, short for user experience design. But we use X and not the E because designers like to think different. According to our Google AI overlords, it was coined in 1993 by the design legend and cognitive scientist Don Norman when he joined Apple as a user interface architect. But if you ask 7 UX designers what UX design means, they'll likely give you 7 different answers. What do you mean? What do you mean? What do you mean? So let's go to an official website like the Interaction Design Foundation and see how they define it. UX design is the process design teams use to create products that provide meaningful, and relevant experience to users which in my opinion sounds like a bunch of yapping. Blah blah blah! What if you're a solo UX designer? Or what if you design something that isn't meaningful or relevant to users? Does that mean it isn't UX design? So at the risk of getting canceled by the UX Design Police I'm simplifying this definition to "the process of designing software websites and other digital products." Who do I think I am? I'm Batman motherfucker. But if UX design is a process of designing software does that mean we have to code? Nah, that's for Software Developers our very best friends who we tell what color our button should be but if UX design is a process What does that process actually look like? Well, just like an opinion, everyone has one and everyone's UX design process may look a little different. But I'll show you mine if you show me your— Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's say I want to build an app that helps people become like Batman. I'll call it the Bat Academy. First, I'll start with the research phase. I'll watch thousands of hours of Batman movies and read every comic in existence and start dressing in all black. Oh wait, I already do that. Then I'll define the problem. In this case, the problem is that most people who want to become Batman don't have the knowledge, skills, or executionary plan to become the Dark Knight. After that, I'll design the user interface in Figma. I'll start with the wireframe, spend hours deciding on the perfect font and button colors to make sure Bruce Wayne himself would approve. Then I'll wire up my designs and create the prototype in Figma to test out with potential users. Gather feedback, update designs, test, gather feedback, update designs, test, until we have in fact created a Batman who can actually save Gotham. Then I'll hand off my Figma designs to my best friends, the software developers, and ask them to start coding my app idea or suffer the consequences of my bat fist. That's my UX design process in a nutshell, but remember, design Designers like to think different, so they may have different processes and wear slightly different shades of black turtlenecks. But you know I couldn't end this video without giving credit to the godfather, AKA Fireship, who inspired this 100-second format. You should check out his channel to learn how to be the most gangsta developer on the block. And if you're curious to learn more about UX design's more beautiful brother, UI design, you should watch this video next.
