What is Design?
When you hear the word “design,” don’t just think about appearances. Design is so much more than that! In fact, I have this audacious belief that we’re all designers in our own way. From the moment you wake up to the app you check before bed, design shapes your world. It’s in the way your coffee maker functions, the layout of your favorite store, and the ease of finding what you need online.
“Everything is designed. Few things are designed well”
– Brian Reed
Here is a generic way to think about design! Imagine you are trying to build a treehouse.
- First of all, you have to think about the purpose. Is it going to be a hideout for kids or a comfy reading nook?
- How high will it go? What kind of ladder will you use?
- What kind of materials and tools do you need?
- Ensure your treehouse is safe, sturdy, and easy to get in and out of.
- Maybe you can hang some cool flags or put in comfy cushions!
Design is all about making these sorts of decisions. That is why design is everywhere! Sometimes, we think about this consciously, sometimes intuitively. It is the whole journey of creating something— from thinking about its purpose to making it work well and look amazing.
“Design is intentional decision making.”
Formal design education spans various disciplines, including but not limited to Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Fashion Design, Architecture, User Experience (UX) Design, and many more… In fact, we can find shared knowledge and intertwined vocabulary across all of these fields.
What is User Experience (UX)
In simpler and practical terms, User Experience (UX) is the feeling a User gets after having an interaction with a Product. Users will generally use some Interface to interact with the given product.
More formally, User Experience (UX) Design is a broader term that refers to the process of creating products (physical or digital) that provide meaningful and enjoyable experiences for users. It involves understanding users’ needs, goals, behaviors, and pain points and then using that knowledge to shape the entire design process.
A Glossary of Must-Know Terms
If you look at the terms used in the UX design field, these do not come out of thin air or alien terms. Rather, these are derivatives of real-world terms, and you will be surprised to learn that these have very simple meanings.
👽 User
Someone using a product or service.
📦 Product
Traditionally, something tangible that is manufactured or refined for sale. However, these days, products can be physical items (like a phone), digital services (like software/applications), or even a combination of both.
🎛️ Interface
Traditionally, it is a situation, way, or place where two things come together and affect each other. In our design realm, an interface allows a human user to communicate with a system. This could be a screen with buttons, a website’s layout, or voice commands.
👉 Interaction
Simply put, it is how a user communicates with the product’s interface to get some response or complete certain tasks. Interaction could be direct or indirect. Examples include clicking a button, typing on a keyboard, giving voice commands, or swiping on a touchscreen.
✅ Feedback
A response to some action. In our case, the way the product responds to a user’s interaction. This could be a sound, a change on the screen, or perhaps a physical vibration while typing on the keyboard.
✨ Experience
This is a bit of an abstract concept. In our case, experience is the overall result or feeling that a user gets from their interaction with the product. This could be bad or good or in-between.
Where does Product Design come from?
Not a long time ago, products were once only physical objects you could touch. Now, we tend to consider computer software or mobile applications as products as well. Traditional product design process (crafting physical products) existed long before its digital counterpart. However, the general end goal of creating any physical or digital product is still the same: create something that users love and generate profit for the company.
This shared purpose is why the term ‘Product Design’ now entered into the digital world. Also, some designers believe that UX design is one of the aspects of creating digital products. Designers should care about both the user and the business side of things.
In the end…
If you are a beginner and reading this, don’t worry too much! We, the designers, love to name our things. We often use different names for the same things or almost the same things. While there is always merit to getting deep into the philosophy of things, sometimes it can be unnecessary or overwhelming at best. Also, these discussions does not offer much value in our day-to-day lives as designers.