Design governs how we interact with our world. Designers make critical decisions for us about how we navigate the web, and even how we hold a smartphone. One of the most important forces we use in design is friction. Designing around friction can allow a product or service to create a better experience for the user with fewer costs. Instead of viewing friction as negative, designers of anything, from software to bathroom sinks, should embrace it as a major tool for good design. When good design is echoed elsewhere in the employee’s experience, this signals that the company cares about the people on the frontline. It’s not enough for businesses to merely implement UX improvements to enhance the customer experience. Instead, companies should invest in good UX if they want to succeed by building a better team.
Understanding Friction in Design
What exactly constitutes friction in design? Anything that stands between a user and his or her ability to complete the task at hand can be considered a point of friction. A website in which it is hard to figure out how to navigate to the desired section could be a friction point, as could a button that’s tucked at the bottom of a webpage, and not easy to find, or a one-page checkout process that takes too long. Points of friction could potentially frustrate the user to the point where he or she gets fed up, leaves the product or service, and has a bad UX. But appropriately applied friction could also be a person’s best friend, and a business’s best partner, in guiding desired behaviours and engagement. In his article on design solutions, Rysen emphasises that friction deserves serious attention: It’s amazing how little success companies enjoy by simply overcoming friction. Friction – the force that opposes movement – lies at the heart of creating more effective design. It is quite amazing how many platforms are actually designed without any regard for friction. If we rid our platforms of anti-movement and anti-speed, we would create so much more successful business and Ultimate User Experiences (UXs).On top of increased functionality, decluttering user interface can enhance the user experience – and the business’ bottom line – by enhancing customer satisfaction and incentivising customer loyalty.
The Value of Investing in UX
It is also important to recognise that investing in UX can benefit employees as much as or more than it benefits customers. First, a well-designed system can help smooth out workflows so that many actions can be automated or improved. In fact, effective UX can reduce accidents and errors – a real benefit to both customers and companies that have a vastly increased average quality of experience.
They noted in an article on investing in UX, as shown in Rysen’s article on investing in UX: ‘When a person’s experience with your product or service is good, you increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, boost conversion rates, and improve brand perception. For employees, these benefits translate to increased job satisfaction, stress reduction and greater productivity The investment adds up to a win-win for the customer and employee experience.’
Creating a Better UX with Rysen
This can promote an entirely redesigned UX that’s built upon an engagement for user needs provided feedback on user needs, Rysen could use their UX design expertise to ensure that it translates into engaging and intuitive user experiences that meet the needs of the user while going beyond their expectations to exceed them. Our User Experience practice defines a great UX as being centred around the user, simple and clear and constantly improving,” says its description on Rysen’s User Experience page. By partnering with Rysen, businesses can use these principles to ensure they deliver a better UX and enable customer engagement, ultimately helping to achieve their business goals.
Conclusion
Finally, focussing on friction leads to the most efficient and effective UX design solutions possible. Investing in UX is good for customers and employees alike. People who enjoy their work are more satisfied, loyal and productive. A better UX, using the codings of Rysen, creates more stickiness – and, of course, business success.
