Design Optimization for better user experience

"In the field of design, many of us tend to prioritize UI design while neglecting the essential aspects of the UX process. We often design solely based on our own aesthetic preferences, which can be a significant oversight. Early in my career, I too fell into this trap. However, with years of experience in design, I've come to understand the critical importance of optimizing design for creating superior user experiences." Let’s know about design optimization.

What is design optimization?

Design optimization refers to the process of refining and improving the design of a product, system, or process to achieve specific objectives. In the context of user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design, optimization involves enhancing various elements to create a more effective and user-friendly experience.

Design optimization: In my perspective:

As a designer, you change the design from the perspective of a user, making the system easier to use which helps in building better user experience. Design optimization is when a designer alters the system's design from the user's point of view to make it easier for the user to use and improve their experience.

To put it in my way, design optimization is the process of creating the first design (V1), changing/optimizing the design, and creating another design (V2), and so on until the final design (V Final). You keep making changes to the design until you can hear yourself say,

"It's getting better than before"

In this process, the more you optimize, the better the outcome. This process involves close interaction and communication with the user/client. Every version of the design is shared with the client/user and updated based on feedback to ensure that the exact system is designed and developed. The final design will be more user-friendly and optimized than the first version.

Example of design optimization

Design 1: Initial planning as per requirements

The first initial plan was to add/assign teachers and content creators to the appropriate course. So, as simple as it appears, I added a CTA button that allows users to add teachers and content creators. There is no User Experience planning.

Feedback received form the client:

"We can have multiple subjects here and to showcase all the subject information will not be useful. Please find out the better solution for this phase. It also looked over crowded as there are all repetitive data here." 

Design 2: Optimized design 1(After Feedback)

A lot of changes and optimizations were made to Design version 2 with an emphasis on improving user experience (UX) and user feedback. Major modifications included adding CTA buttons inside the menu bar so that it can popup when needed, listing subjects in a drop-down view so that only the subjects the user wants to see are visible, and improving the pattern of the layout structure.

Feedback received form the client:

"It’s getting clearer but the assigned persons are scattered and the consistency isn’t quite right. Please fix this and I forgot to mention that the subject consists of marks and duration. Please integrate this as well. Thank you."

Design 3: Optimized design 2(After Feedback)

Design 3 was focused on addressing the complexity that users may encounter while using the system. The design is centered on user experience, as the user assigned on the course are clearly visible and the layout of the design is consistent. Tags were added to the assigned user so that user who are using the system could easily identify the difference. Menu designs were optimized based on category, and icons were updated to reflect the actions. Marks and durations are also added based on user feedback. The layout is designed in a table format, with each content element separated from the next. Also, checked statuses have been added for improved usability and accessibility.

In conclusion:

The more you optimize the design the more the design turns out to be user friendly. UI design optimization helps in creating better user experience (UX) by improving consistency,usuability, accessibility, performance, aesthetics and functionality. Overall, design optimization is a continual process aimed at producing the best potential results within the limits of a certain project, whether it's boosting website speed or optimizing the user interface. It undoubtedly improves the user experience at the end of the design process.