I've noticed something crazy happening in the technology marketplace within the past few years. Things have started to change. It's no longer that whole conceptual notion of "form vs. function," but "form and function." Platforms, while still important, are less of a concern as to the way they're connecting with their users.
So, you can say, in many ways this new approach is more design-centric than ever before. Though we're not to abandon our scientific roots - that would be just absurd. But more often than not, the process of creating a memorable experience requires far more than a purely quantitative approach; businesses not only need to create service that's profitable in the long run, but also an aesthetic experience that generates value, engagement, and purpose for the user.
From the internal development of in-house works as well as designing boundary-less solutions to wicked problems in my Human Computer Interaction Design graduate program at Indiana University, I've learned to ask the following questions whenever designing anything:
While it seems dead-simple, every audience has a different need and if you don’t understand your audience, you can’t accurately invite them into a story that makes sense to them.
How can we use current technologies in a better way?
If you look at it from a development perspective, you can easily breakdown the ways to enhance the user experience by telling it like a story: by keeping things hidden from the user, keeping things revealed, and using transitional elements that help move the user through the story.
How can new technology be a bad thing?
Typographers always say, "Use the white space to your advantage." The same holds true for technology as well. Just because there's a new product out there, you shouldn't rush to use it as a solution in a project. It's all contextual, which you can discover by asking...
What's the users end-goal?
Understanding the users' priorities and what needs to be accomplished is the quickest way to begin uncovering the story that needs to be told.
Lastly, are you delivering a complete experience?
In a world designed by external influencers from cultural to business, one needs to truly understand that, generally speaking, most consumers and people don't understand the specialized world to which we are submersed within. And for the most part, they don't care. They just want "the cupcake."
The "cupcake" is the experience as a whole. Completely finished. Bugs squashed into eternity. They don't care to know all the blood, sweat, time, cost, and energy that went into a good design, but they can certainly tell you if it's a good experience or a bad one. When compromises have been made, the story ceases to exist and loyalty of brand, product, and services slowly begin to deteriorate. Be it a consumer, financial analyst, teenager, or business owner, Experience certainly matters.
