In this digital age it is becoming increasingly dangerous to ignore the power of UX design. It can have a severe impact on a company’s bottom line and online reputation.
Consider these stats:
Around 80% of users will go elsewhere if they do not like what they see on a website
50% of people have indicated that a bad user experience will make them less likely to do business with a company
Over 80% of users have deleted a mobile app due to poor design and performance
50% of mobile users will pull out of a task or transaction if the site is not optimised for mobile
For those in the tech world it’s no surprise that UX is a big deal already, but with the latest advancements in technology and shifting user demographics, the only way is up for UX in the future.
Further rise of cross-platform tools
Users now want to use multiple devices to complete online tasks and transactions. This is only going to increase and will include not only mobile and web but also virtual reality, wearable tech such as fitness bands, cars and electronics.
Targeted products for ‘silver surfers’
With life expectancy growing year on year there are huge opportunities to target the older generation with apps that are focussed around health, from taking medication, to monitoring key health stats (blood pressure, heart rate, sleep analysis etc.) and in general making things easier for the ageing population. This is a massive market already and it’s only going to get bigger.
UX designers will have to consider innovative new ways to design friendly customer journeys that are geared towards these users.
Virtual Reality
VR is going to be huge. End of. You only need to look at Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus (one of the world’s leaders in VR technology) for $2 billion to understand how much importance Mark Zuckerberg places on this area.
In the very near future UX designers are going to have to consider a whole host of new obstacles specifically around speech, movement and other hybrids of virtual reality.
The return of layered interfaces
Hot on the agenda this year is the blending of flat design (which uses minimal design to give an illusion of 3D) with layered interfaces (based on drop shadows, blending modes and angled containers) – this blend of the two will really mix things up and provide some amazing results.
Content will continue to reign as king
It used to be about how much traffic you could drive to your site. Nowadays companies that are producing valuable content that serves their audiences are the ones who will prevail. It is paramount that content has to be not only engaging but also helpful.
Recruitment-wise, back in the day people were investing everything in job boards and aggregators to reach the widest possible audience. Now it is more about innovative techniques and ensuring that the content is more appealing and relevant.
One of our efforts in providing a different experience for our clients and candidates can be found in InSite – a unique digital platform to help companies highlight their working environment and separate themselves from the competition whilst also creating a much more visual and interactive way for candidates to review a job. The key to this is in the content.
All in all awesome content, increased cross platform tools and the seemingly limitless possibilities of virtual reality will be the hottest areas for UX designers to embrace this year.
We cannot wait to see the amazing creative solutions that come to the forefront during the course of the year ahead!
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