The New Rules Of UX

The rules of user experience are always evolving. Kenny Chen looks at six themes in UX that have taken off and will shape the future of design.

- Kenny Chen

When I started my UX career, the iPhone didn’t exist. I was wireframing screens for car navigation systems using PowerPoint. Users interacted with the touchscreen interface with their fingers or voice. Tap was the only gesture; there was no swipe, pinch or slide. There were quite a few voice commands but they were difficult to recall, and you had to say them a specific way. Even then, the system didn’t understand it most of the time.

Today, swipe is the new click. Technology has made it possible for us to talk to computers as if they were human. We’re designing experiences for multiple platforms using design specific tools. Companies with a design culture are prospering. Designing a unified experience is a requirement for products to succeed.

The rules have changed. The next generation of UX designers will face new challenges that will impact our everyday lives. Here’s a look at some of the themes that are changing the face of UX.

CONVERSATIONAL UX

Hey Siri, find a table for six in Los Angeles tonight. OK Google, take a selfie. Alexa, ask Uber to request a ride. Tech giants Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook have embraced conversational interfaces. Virtual assistants and chatbots have exploded onto the scene. We’re seeing a growing number of applications with invisible interfaces; applications with no commands to remember or user interfaces to learn. Users can just type or talk as they would to their friends or family.

Conversational UX will be one of the biggest shifts in how people interact with devices. Natural language recognition is progressing at a rapid pace. Frictionless computing can be a reality.