April 20, 2024
12 disciplines under the umbrella term UX
Not sure how many different design disciplines the term user experience covers? This article provides a comprehensive glossary that explains the subtle differences and correlations.
Im Gespräch mit Oliver Stöcker
What's meant by "UX"?
UX in the digital world is essentially about designing products from the user's perspective and putting yourself in their shoes to understand their needs and goals. Products can be designed better and more meaningfully for the end user by focusing on user-centered principles such as usability, accessibility and relevance.
Although simple in theory, “user experience” (or “UX” in technical jargon) can mean many things, with different disciplines underneath, each with its own focus, components and goals.
User research
User research, also known as UX research, is an important part of product development. Interviews, surveys, field studies and focus groups with relevant target users are used to gain insights into their behavior and preferences. These findings are used to make well-founded decisions during the development process and to design a product.
To be effective, user research goes far beyond simply testing hypotheses. It requires the right users in the right context, comprehensive data collection and thorough analysis to ensure that the solution developed actually meets the needs of the target group.
Information architecture (IA)
Information Architecture (IA) is the discipline of organizing and structuring information on the user interface of a digital platform. It creates intuitive navigation systems and clear content structures based on logic and design principles that ultimately help users to find information quickly and easily and make the product more user-friendly.
To be effective, information architecture must be inspired by the overall business goals, user research, a solid content strategy, and potential technological constraints that guide all design decisions related to a product's information architecture.
Prototyping
Agile processes have become the norm in product development, and with it prototyping as a key UX discipline. Prototyping consists of creating interactive mock-ups or “dummies” to test and iterate design concepts before committing significant resources to their implementation.
Depending on your goals and situation, prototypes can take different forms. From pen-and-paper prototypes for drawing and testing concepts to advanced low-code or Figma prototypes with a full user interface that mimics a real product.
Content Strategy
Content strategy focuses on planning, creating and maintaining content (text, visual, audio, etc.) in a way that meets user needs and business objectives. Content strategists decide what content to create, where and how to publish it, and how to maintain and update it over time.
Closely linked to marketing, content strategy also significantly shapes the user experience of a product, with clear and consistent content that engages and retains users or effectively guides them through tasks and product workflows.
User Interface (UI) Design
User interface design (UI) is the art and science of designing visual elements and interactive components such as buttons, menus, icons and other graphical elements to ensure a seamless and intuitive user experience for a product. UI designers are experts at organizing, presenting and communicating information visually on a screen.
Beyond the visual aspects, designers must anticipate user behavior and create interfaces that respond appropriately to user input, provide feedback and are easy to understand, navigate and use to ultimately ensure user satisfaction.
Interaction Design (IxD)
Interaction designers are mainly concerned with designing the interactive aspects of digital products and systems and with how users interact with, experience and navigate a user interface.
This specific discipline looks at the design of comprehensive user flows, the design of micro-interactions such as feedback and response interactions, but also focuses on accessibility and interaction quality across different devices.
Service design
Service design is a holistic approach that considers the entire lifecycle of a service. By creating a more comprehensive product and delivery process, service designers look at the entire ecosystem, including people, processes, technologies and physical environments, to create consistent and user-centric service experiences that create value for both users and organizations.
Service design is applicable wherever a service is delivered, whether through digital channels, physical interactions or a combination of both. Many industries such as retail, healthcare, finance, transportation, hospitality and government can benefit significantly from applying service design principles to improve their digital service experiences.
Accessibility
Accessibility in UX refers to the practice of designing digital products and services in such a way that they can be used by people with disabilities and people with different needs and preferences.
Accessibility is a standard requirement in most UX design disciplines as well as in development and content. It encompasses principles such as inclusive design (design with empathy to create inclusive experiences for all), WCAG guidelines (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities) and can also include assistive technologies.
Usability Testing
Usability testing focuses on evaluating the usability and user experience of digital products and services through direct observation and feedback from representative users to identify problems with the product and potential areas for improvement.
Designers plan tests, recruit participants and observe user interactions by collecting data using a variety of methods. This data is then analyzed and used to inform the next design cycle, leading to continuous improvement of the user experience.
UX Strategy
UX strategy involves developing plans and frameworks that align the direction and vision of the overall user experience with broader business goals and outline how UX will support business success.
UX strategists define KPIs and metrics to measure the success of UX initiatives, develop frameworks for research, design and implementation, plan for growth, and understand the broader environment that can help inform strategic UX decisions.
