UX defines whether your customers perceive you as a helpful, smart and efficient brand or an outdated, cluttered and inconvenient experience. In this age of smartphones, wearables, and Internet of Things, convenience is the only factor that takes brands, products and services to higher levels. The implication is quite simple but at the same time incredibly crucial for success.
UX or user experience hasn’t just become the foundation for brands but also present new opportunities across verticals. Gone are the days when there were just a few service providers and brands like Ford could afford to say that they “can sell a car in any color as long as they are black”. Today, the customer and end user rules the market. Any degree of inconvenience will come to strike back badly.
It has been for enough reasons that 84% of global companies were committed to a customer experience goals in 2014. Today, more companies are joining the bandwagon and investing to make their brands more customer-centric. Here are the latest trends in this regard:
1. Invisible UX
The concept is similar to an iceberg – 10% visible and 90% surprise. The latest app development concept has been termed “Slippy UX”, wherein user interactions are mostly invisible and non-distracting. This UX trend compels developers in creating scenarios that eliminates all unsafe and unwanted attention to the app, thereby increasing its usability. From smart homes to wearable devices, everything is being integrated with the “Slippy” experience to cut back the problem of information overload and giving end users an incredible experience.
2. Material design
A Google initiative, Material Design is aimed at developing usability and graphic standards to work across a variety of devices including smartphones, wearable, desktops, smart TV, etc. Material design will support new input methods like gesture, voice, touch and mouse that simplify usability and integrates an element of ‘fun’ into the purpose. Material designing is also moving towards the concept of skeuomorphism that makes digital screen behave as physical objects.
3. More of physical experience
It has been said time and often that the only limitation of digital experience is not being able to match up with real physical processes. Shopping for example has gone digital but many still prefer a first-hand feel of products before they pay for it. Well, this problem would be solved soon. In 2015, we already see a rise in Internet of things, wherein the line between digital and physical experience gets thinner and blurs out.
4. Security and Privacy
Lastly, the biggest challenge and development in the lines of UX has been security and privacy. Everything is being processed and done through information – information which could be stolen. We are certainly making progress in the field of data encryption, stricter access, regulated logins and identity safety.
These are just the beginnings of a new era in UX. UX has and will continue to amaze and surprise us. Write in to us and let us know which element of UX will be your key success factor in the near future.
