However, companies that embrace bespoke software services can change this. By creating software built around actual business processes, companies are more efficient. Legacy applications can also be integrated, ensuring information is not lost.

Creating that perfect application is not easy. This is where User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) come into play. It is important to realize that while UI and usability, in general, plays a role in UX, it is only a part of the whole. UX design is larger in scope and needs to include the full life cycle of the product.

Usability Plays a Key Role in the User Experience

When discussing software, UX design is somewhat different. Here, a UX designer acts as the customer advocate within the business. Their focus needs to be on ensuring the customer’s needs are being considered at all stages, with usability being a key role.

Usability is a measurement of how easy a product or service is for consumers. Does it achieve its objectives and does it do so efficiently and effectively? Most importantly, is the user satisfied with it? Usability matters greatly. Customers that are unable to use a product in the manner they expect, are unlikely to continue utilizing it in the future.

Information Architecture Process and Creating the Best UX

The internet has almost anything you want. All the information and knowledge we have managed to compile as a species is available – if you can find it. Sadly, while the information is there, often the result of the best searches will only turn up another cat video. Fortunately, a new role has come into existence to solve this problem.

Information architecture (IA) is built around structuring and organizing the information online. Whether that information is contained on social media sites, blogs, websites or mobile applications, IA helps to organize and make the information usable.

Information architecture also has a UX component. While organizing information is useful, it does not really solve the problem. UX ensures that the content is organized in a manner such that it is favorable to the actual user. This is done by researching the actual target audience and then building an appropriate structure.

The Difference Between UX and UI Design

UX and UI are often combined in people’s minds. While they are related, they are also very distinct and separate disciplines and skills.

UX, in a nutshell, is focused on the user experience and how usable the application is. UX considers what the user wanted and how close the design is to that need. It looks at how easy or difficult an application is to use.

UI, by contrast, is about the look and feel of the application. It still considers usability, but now looks at it from the point of view of the graphics. This includes things like icons, buttons, colors, and fonts.

Software Development Services that Bring UX and UI Together

Custom software solutions needs to consider both UX and UI. It is important to know what the client needs and wants. What are they trying to achieve and who their end customers are, all play a part in the UX conversations. Added to this is a requirement of understanding the technologies needed. For example, smartphone apps can be built that function on either iOS or Android.

If a company needs to use both technologies, different programming languages and tools will be needed.

Once these decisions are made, UI helps determine the overall look and feel of the application. By pairing the two together, a powerful, user-friendly application can be built. Discounting either of the two, however, is a recipe for failure.

Custom Software Development

Konverge understands the importance of UX/UI design. With the power of the customer growing daily, Konverge knows any missteps can have severe consequences. Companies need to realize that consumers are no longer restricted to their local market when making a purchasing decision.

Consumers now have access to the entire world for information, tools, and products. Services that are not exactly to customer requirements or needs are unlikely to retain consumers. Added to this is the potential for negative consequences through social media commentary, and the importance of UX/UI becomes even greater.

Konverge knows how to build apps for all of the different operating systems and has teams of developers available. With our skilled team of project managers, designers, engineers, and architects, we can take your idea from a blue sky dream to real-world reality. Contact us for more information and to find out how we can help.

The post The Value of User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Design for your Custom Software appeared first on Konverge Digital Solutions.

The law of attraction to any person or object always starts with visual stimulation. With an object, both design and functionality play a crucial role. The play of colors, placement of text, font, and style are critical elements to make web and software applications attract the audience, resonate with them and generate brand awareness. The site needs to be eye-catching, user-friendly, and simple. The entire consumer experience that leads to product comprehension and purchase is called the “User Experience” or UX.

Understanding consumer psychology plays an important part in creating UX for a website, software or application. The creator needs to know how designs are perceived so that tweaks can be made to generate traffic or create effective apps. Here are some UX design principles that influence a user on a website, making it “user-friendly.”

UX Design Principles

1. Von Restorff Effect:

Have you noticed how you gravitate towards a design, color or object that stands out and holds its own when placed alongside a row of similar colors, designs or objects? That is the isolated effect, or the Von Restorff Effect. This is the reason why call-to-actions (CTAs) look so different from the other buttons on a website or application. The differentiating colors, font or style helps it to stand out and catch the eye of the consumer and recall later.

2. Serial Position Effect:

Where do you go to navigate on a website? Do your eyes automatically search from the top corner of the menu or the bottom corner? You will notice how iOS applications put the “home” and “profile” items up on the top left or top right. That is the Serial Position Effect.

3. Cognitive Load:

The amount of thinking and brainstorming that goes into a creative result is the cognitive load. Simply put, it’s the memory load needed to implement a task. There are three kinds of Cognitive Loads:

Intrinsic Cognitive Load:

This load weighs the difficulty in understanding instructions in a topic. This is why micro-copy and copy have an important role to play in good user experience. Short, simple text works best to allow the user to follow instruction.

Germane Cognitive Load:

This is the load that goes into processing information and construction of “schemas” (i.e. patterns of thought that organizes information into related categories). If readers are familiar with a pattern, they can recognize them easily elsewhere and follow faster using the same format.

Extraneous Cognitive Load:

This is the negative effect of not learning properly.

4. Hick’s Law:

Hick’s Law is about the time taken for a user to make an informed decision based on the choices presented. If they are categorized in simple terms, for example, the user is able to understand better and take an instant decision. If the text is unclear or complex, a decision takes more time or the user remains undecided. That is Hick’s Law coming into play.

5. Law of Proximity:

This states that objects that are grouped together are associated with the brain into one category. Similarly, when objects are placed farther away, the brain is unable to perceive the connection and assumes there isn’t any. This means that there is a need to create groups or clusters when designing a UI (User Interface). Caution needs to be taken while clubbing things together so that the user is not confused about making an informed choice.

Konverge: Toronto’s Leading Custom Software Developer

Konverge has been developing software and web application for over 20 years with intensive insights into consumer psychology and UX/UI design applications. Whether you are a small, medium or large enterprise in Toronto or around the globe, we can help you create tailored solutions and custom apps. Please call us for a free consultation!

The post What’s The Winning Formula Behind Good UX Design for Software and Apps appeared first on Konverge Digital Solutions.