The Evolution of UX Design

Importance of Technology

From the discovery of fire, to the invention of the wheel, humans have changed the course of civilization through their inventions and technologies. These inventions and technologies have affected our lives in ways that we never thought possible.

A great number of these inventions have been revolutionary from the development of the Mars rover to the invention of the wheel.

No matter what you're involved in, it's connected to the world around you. You can see how quickly the world is progressing and improving every second.

It is true that any new technology takes time to find its place in the market, and users may not easily accept it. The key to the success of these apps and gadgets in the long run is user-friendliness. In the first place, technology needs to be user-friendly.

UX Definition

UX stands for “User Experience” and as the name suggests, the whole process revolves around the user.

For a designer, User Experience is the process of designing products that provide meaningful, relevant and flexible experiences. It is a user-centered design process that focuses on the needs of the customer.

From the consumer point of view, UX designers focus on the usability and functionality of the product, ensuring that it is easy to use and understand for the end-user. They also focus on how users feel when interacting with the product - whether it's pleasurable or frustrating.

Empathy in UX

Empathy is being able to understand people and see the world through their eyes. In order to understand someone, we must be able to read their reactions and the environment that surrounds them. We can do this through research, tendencies and use this information to place ourselves in their position.

The user experience (UX) designer is responsible for creating an optimal experience for the user when they interact with a digital product They work across the entire end-to-end journey of a user's interaction with a product, identifying new opportunities for the product and business.

UX design often gives a UI design clear guidance about what to be designed. Understanding the problem you are trying to solve is the most important thing in design. User Interface design concerns the visual styling of an app or website. Design elements such as font choice, color scheme, graphics, buttons, and menu styling are all elements of interface design.

4000 BC: The Art of Feng Shui in UX

Around 4000 BC Feng Shui was an ancient Chinese techniques taught people how to promote energy flow in order to create a harmonious environment. This energy also known as CHI can improve the harmony and balance of a home to create a happier life. Feng Shui translates to “wind and water.”

Research has found that the way we feel and act is greatly affected by the environment we live in and the space we inhabit. People living in crowded, small and often poorly designed smaller apartments may find it difficult to be healthy, comfortable and happy.

Feng Shui is a method of improving the flow of chi by arranging furniture, decorations, buildings, and even whole cities in a useful way.

In Ux it is about balance of design, layout, interaction, and functionality. The primary goal of an UX designer is to make users happy and feel at home in the product they build.

By making your product inviting, uncluttered, gentle, spirited, and delightful products UX designers can create a "home" with flourishing CHI that improves engagement and retention.

460-370 BC: The Ancient Greeks and Ergonomics

Ancient Greek civilization utilized ergonomics principles to design and build their tools and workplaces. Ergonomics translates as "work" and "natural laws", and is a term coined to describe how people interact with elements of a system.

Ergonomics learn how the human body interacts with the work environment and affecting the design of furniture and other equipment as well as process and systems of completing tasks. Whether it's a bottle, a cup, a knife, a musical instrument or any product that is designed for humans has evolved with the same process of iterations to enhance User Experiences.

Ergonomics has evolved into a much more expansive discipline than merely preventing health problems. Today, it seeks to address a wide range of physical concerns and problems in addition to health issues.

Stonecutting tools. Even today their shape remains unchanged, proving that it was honed perfection through practice.

Child's chair. Although made from a different material, modern chairs have practically the same shape.?

1900s: Taylorism, workspace efficiency

Frederick Winslow Taylor was an American mechanical engineer and one of the first management consultants. He conducted extensive research into the interactions between workers and theirs tools.

Taylor is best known for his 1911 book, “Principles of Scientific Management. The theory stated that managers should work with their employees to improve efficiency in the workplace.

Taylor created the idea of a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, motivating employees to work harder and produce more in order to earn more money. This objective was fulfilled by motivating employees to work harder and faster to produce more in order to earn financial compensation. Another theory was that workers required breaks during their shifts if they were to be more productive.

"The principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee." F. Taylor

1940s: Toyota-5 WHYS

The 5 Whys technique was created in the 1930s by Sakichi Toyoda, a Japanese manufacturer, inventor, and founder of Toyota Industries.

Taichi Ohno, who was an architect of the Toyota Product System in the 1950s describes the method in his book Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production as “the basis of Toyota’s scientific approach . . . by repeating why five times, the nature of the problem as well as its solution becomes clear.”

The “5 whys” method is a technique for finding the root of a problem by asking “ Why” questions five times. Its purpose is to determine the exact cause of a problem by asking Why questions repeatedly.

Nowadays it is widely used in UX research now as a problem-solving technique.

Toyoda Model AA: First Prototype

1955: Henry Dreyfuss - Designing For People

Henry Dreyfuss, an influential American industrial engineer, played a significant role in the history of UX design, particularly when it came to making improvements in usability.

Ergonomics was one of his primary focuses, leading the way to industrial design processes that included human factors considerations.

In his book "Designing for People" Dreyfuss explain:

"If the point of contact between the product and people becomes a point of friction, then the designer has failed. if, on the other hand, people are made safer, more comfortable, more desirous of purchase, more efficient – or just plain happier - by contact with the product, then the designer has succeeded."

Model 302 Telephone

Big Ben Alarm Clock

Polaroid Land Camera 70

1970s & 1980s: Human Computer Interactions

From the early 1970s to 80s UX design was known as "Human Computer Interaction" - HCI.

Before computers were just large machines and really hard to use.

The first computers were introduced by Xerox PARC in 1970 year. Soon companies Apple and Windows becoming create their own personal computers.

The important question was born: How should people interact with computers? And HCI started to grow. UX design today is really continuation of what was called HCI in 1980s.

In 1993, Don Norman, a cognitive scientist and expert on industrial design, created the term “user experience” . When he joined Apple Norman’s goal was to improve the usability of Apple’s products by inventing the term.

Apple-Macintosh 1984

1990s: The WWW Revolution Begins

The World Wide Web were developed along with the first browser and was shown to the world, by Tim Berners Lee in 1991 while he was working for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland.

He develops Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) 0.9, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), the first web browser (called WorldWideWeb, which was also a page editor web), the first HTTP application server (later known as CERN http), the first web server (https://info.cern.ch), and the first web pages describing the project itself.

New browsers came round to serve the increasing web pages, some of the early creations were the Line Mode Browser (1992), Viola WWW Browser (1992) and Mosaic Browser (1993). In 1995 that we first saw the release of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and its main compete, Netscape Navigator.

The era of the Information Age has been propelled by the development of the Web and the Internet.

Tim Berners Lee

1999: Accessibility and Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi history dates back to the 1970s. The creation of a network system called ALOHAnet at the University of Hawaii in 1971 was one of the first steps of Wi-Fi.

Vic Hayes, the "father of Wi-Fi," developed WaveLAN, which is now known as Wi-Fi, in 1974 at NCR CorporationIn 1991, AT&T Corporation and NCR Corporation developed the pioneering version of 802.11, the wireless networking standard still used today.

The Wi-Fi Alliance was founded in 1999 to bring the Wi-Fi trademark to life. The name of Wi-Fi was assigned by the brand consultancy firm Interbrand in the same year.

2007: iPhone Revolutionizes The History of UX

In January 2007, the original iPhone was introduced by Steve Jobs.

It featured a "3.5” inch screen, a multi-touch touchscreen display, microphone, headset controls and specs that the modern smartphone user takes for granted today.

First iPhone 2007

UX Today

As you can see, UX is not really a new thing. It might seem new to your organization and its design process, but in fact it’s been emerging even before the internet was created, back in the 80s, and even BC people have been looking for solutions similar problems for almost years.

UX design is a process that helps create an intuitive experience for the user. It allows them to complete tasks with ease while using the product, being efficient and relevant to their needs.

No matter how much you invest in promotion, you'll fail if your product, site or app is impossible or hard to use.

When you're working as a UX designer, you don't need to search for the most visually appealing answer. They are also able to see things from their client's perspective, which makes them great at communicating with others. They will always strive to make things better.

As Steve Job said, "UX is not what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it work".

What Value Does UX Design Bring To Your Business?