Design In Technology
Design has surrounded us since the beginning of time. The ancient Greeks and Romans emphasized beauty in the form of art, and it is easy to see that these traditions have only grown stronger throughout the years. There is an apparent relationship to psychology that never seems to fail: people just love attractive things, whether it be other people, or objects. The dopamine that the brain secretes upon seeing something attractive is what drives society even today.
In 2019, 240 billion dollars went into the advertisement industry in the United States. As you can see on the graph above, the advertisement industry’s gross revenue continues to grow year after year. This is a whole other topic, but hear me out, advertisement is booming because companies want to hire professionals who can make an ordinary idea or product and make it extraordinary.
So, let’s talk about computers. The first computer that was created was created out of the need to compute numerical problems quickly. In essence, the first computer was a giant calculator. Fast forward a couple decades, and the first personal computer was created. I’m no computer science historian, but one thing I do know for sure is that these first computers invented were not cute. Fast forward to present day, and it is quite crazy to see how much technology has advanced. We literally cannot get away from digital products, they surround us, and sometimes consume us. So with new digital products coming out, how do we differentiate all of them? By how they feel? How easy they are to use? How they look? How about all three.
The term ‘UX/Ui’ was officially coined by Don Norman sometime in the 1990’s, but in fact, people were using the modern day UX/UI principles long before it became an official field or an official name. The idea of creating useful tools and products for people, keeping in mind how a user may interact with a product, and how they may be attracted to it as well, have always been in the background of product developers’ minds. So, if these principles have been around for a while, what caused the big UX/UI boom ? The simple answer is that technology has now become such a solidified portion of our lives, that users no longer want technology that just works, but something that triggers that dopamine effect.
It may be cliche to use Apple as an example. But they have truly set an example of how good design can almost brain wash users into buying their immensely over-priced goods. Yes, they’re products are built well, they work well, but are they irreplaceable? No, but Apple sure as heck make you believe they are. They’ve designed products that physically look nice, feel nice to the touch, but also interact with the user seamlessly. Their products are simple but they do their simple tasks well, pairing features with a user interface that has become iconic.
As products gear themselves more towards a user, those on the reciprocating end are catching on to this trend as well. Users are getting pickier and harder to please, considering things that were not necessarily considered prior. When reading reviews and watching review videos about new digital products, I often find myself intrigued at how meticulous people are getting about the details. For example, often times comments about exterior qualities such as color, and quality of materials are made. This is a clear indication that users are no longer satisfied solely with a functioning product. Some may say that function comes before design, but in this day and age, function is not even a question. The real question is, how to get users to purchase and/or use your product.
A large misconception about design in the digital product development process is that it consists solely of ‘making things pretty’. What people do not see is the immense amount of research that goes into the design process for a digital product, the UX in UX/UI. Research can go on for months at a time, analyzing the competitive market and target demographic is only a small part of the thought process, and this thought process is the behind-the-scenes money maker in our digital products today. So much so, that UX/UI designer salaries’ are now on par with software engineer’s salaries at many companies.
I find myself very fortunate that I found myself caught in the middle of the emergence of UX/UI design. Whereas software developers along with digital artists created the user interface prior, the skillset out grew itself and really transformed into a whole new system. It has definitely been interesting to see this shift and experience it myself, whereas design was once regarded solely as an art form by many, it is amazing how highly regarded it is today.