UX, or user experience, is the curated flow of tactile or digital interactions designed to create an ideal environment for the audience. Through the user experience, a brand’s products or services should integrate into the users’ lives invisibly (read intuitively).
In the outlay of brand development, the brand evokes an emotional response, the branding provokes a desire to engage, and the UX invokes an elevated reality, closing the loop between feeling, thinking, and living. The role of UX spans the cycle of user engagement by bringing the brand’s purpose to life through a unique end-to-end experience.
A stellar user experience design envelops the audience in an immersive journey where every interface and touchpoint highlights the benefits of owning, using, or upgrading the brand’s commodities. Just as with the brand and the branding, the focus of UX is not the products or services but the experience they produce.
A powerful UX incorporates a focus on the brand’s who, where, and when, creating an idyllic world for the target audience.
The who represents the target audience at the center of every touchpoint in the user experience. Who is the brand interested in attracting? Who identifies with the brand’s purpose the most? Who are the competitors that attract the brand’s target audience? The brand user experience should cater to the ideal user.
The where signifies the conditions or resources the ideal user would need, use, or solicit for the solution. Where does the brand’s target audience currently shop for the solution to this problem? Which platforms supply the highest concentration of viable traffic for the brand? Where does the ideal user search for products or services offered by the brand? Where does the ideal customer need to access the solution most? The ideal user should be able to find what they need from the brand with ease and without having to stray too far outside of their ideal flow to interact with the brand.
The when focuses on the timing of introducing certain elements into the user experience. When should advanced options be made available to the user? When should the brand introduce an upgrade? When is the best time to incorporate a call-to-action? When should the user be introduced to add-on products or services? The UX design should intuitively address the users’ needs, expectations, questions, and boundaries at every step of the customer journey.
Renowned brands are able to embody the invisible relationship between feeling, thinking, and living allowing the user to function and thrive in their ideal conditions. The foundation for success includes a brand purpose that is useful; branding that is beautiful; and a UX that is intuitive.