Generally speaking, the user experience designer is mainly concerned with how the product feels, and there is no only correct explanation for a given design problem. In the process of product design, user experience designers need to explore different methods to solve users' problems, such as conducting face-to-face user tests to observe users' behaviors, identifying tentative language and judging users' nonverbal communication (such as facial expressions, body language or tone), so as to achieve the best user experience design.

However, in addition to considering how to design products, it is also necessary to consider users and their use of products, which makes the user experience extremely challenging for designers.

Next, let's discuss in detail the difficulties for designers to design user experience.

It is impossible to design users.

Different users have different needs and expectations. Although some products can easily achieve users' intentions, most of them still face great challenges. A good experience often depends on how the product inspires users, which can also be used to compare different user experiences.

For example, when we come to a hot spring bath, we will compare the service quality and our experience with other baths we have been to. This is natural, because our past experiences have shaped our expectations of things.

However, different users have different intentions, and they may use the product in different scenarios. Let's go back to the example of hot spring bath. For example, the purpose of going to a hot spring is to experience anti-aging services, while your partner just wants to rest and relax. This difference in intention will also affect the user experience of bath users.

Similarly, in the construction of websites, applications and software, the attributes of design elements used to motivate users will be very different due to different experiences or expectations of users.

It is also impossible to design a situation.

We take CMS (ContentManagementSystem) and WordPress (free open source blog software and content management system based on PHP and MySQL) as examples. Almost everyone has used these platforms, and we are keen to explore the functional features of these platforms, but in some cases, the functional features of these platforms will be too complicated. Therefore, the functional characteristics of the product are only one aspect, and more importantly, the user's use of the product determines the success or failure of the user experience.

In addition, the user experience will also improve as users use the product. For example, when you first try SnapChat on iPhone (an application where users can take snapshots, and the snapshots will be completely deleted after the set browsing time limit), you may be a little confused, which is a common phenomenon when users try new applications for the first time. Many people here will complain that this is a negative experience, but as time goes by, users will gradually discover the functions and potential features of the app, and they will eventually get used to it and know how to use it reasonably.

There are many ways to create a good first-time experience, but one thing is the same: the more users use your design, the more likely they are to rely on it emotionally, and through this, you can constantly create more positive user experiences.

In a word, the usage scenarios of products really affect user behavior and user experience to a great extent, and the diversity of scenarios will make user experience difficult to design.

However, we can design for the user experience.

Yes, although we cannot "design" the user experience, we can "design for the user experience".

Usually, when we design a product or service, we set a specific user experience form in our mind. Unfortunately, users may not understand our original intention. As mentioned earlier, we can't limit the expectations of users or the scenarios when they use products.

A more practical and effective method is to collect user data and analyze the user's reaction to the products you designed. Based on the study of user behavior, the analysis of user needs and the analysis of market trends, some experiences can be predicted, and designers can design these predictable experiences.

At the same time, the propaganda context of products, users' knowledge structure and analytical ability are also very important. For example, although advertisements can render scenes of user experience, the success of an advertisement depends on its emotion, interest, enthusiasm, usability and user participation.

There is a subtle difference between "designing" the user experience and "designing for the user experience". Let's discuss how to do the latter.

Understand the user experience

First of all, you need to correctly understand what user experience is. As mentioned above, you need to understand the emotional motivation of users, including practicality, ease of use, accessibility, credibility, necessity and value.

-"Know the user.

By visiting users, getting direct feedback from users, observing market trends and so on, these are some ways to understand your users. When designing the user experience, you also need to consider the following factors:

_ What are the user needs?

_ How will users respond to similar products or services?

_ What's missing?

_ How to solve it?

_ How are users likely to react to the product in a given situation?

Conclusion-Pay attention to the design process

Designers usually start designing products or services without fully understanding the user experience. At present, designers' information architecture and design ability are very important, but in order to define their goals more clearly, designers need to pay attention to user traffic, add value to users through design, and create excellent user experience.

In short, our goal is to do a little more than users want and exceed users' expectations! So they will marvel at your efficiency and think: Wow, this is the best application I have ever used!