How UI/UX Agencies Drive Innovation in Product Design
You have created and launched your digital product. Now is the time to engage users, streamline interactions, and differentiate your brand in a competitive market. Innovative product design can boost user satisfaction by meeting evolving needs, simplifying complex tasks, and fostering loyalty, thereby transforming user experiences and creating memorable digital journeys.
Who do you call to handle this? A reputable User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design agency.
How UI/UX Design Agencies Drive Innovation
The leading UI/UX design agencies of the world employ design innovators who specialize in making digital products ‘usable.’ Usability can be divided into five sub-components:
Learnability
- Defines how easy it is to learn how to use your product for first-timers
- The basic activities in your product should be easy to master after a few uses for it to be easily learnable
Driving Innovation to Maximize Learnability
- UI/UX design agencies often implement guided onboarding processes that introduce users to key features step-by-step
- This approach reduces the learning curve and makes it easier for first-time users to navigate the product
- Agencies may also add progressive disclosure to the product’s design approach
- By revealing features gradually rather than all at once, designers help users master essential tasks without overwhelming them
Efficiency
- Efficiency is the measure of how fast users can complete all necessary tasks within your product
- A product’s design is ‘efficient’ if users can easily accomplish all the tasks necessary to get exactly what they expect from the product
Driving Innovation to Maximize Efficiency
- Agencies analyze user tasks in the product to identify bottlenecks and unnecessary steps
- They redesign workflows to minimize clicks and enhance speed
- They also take steps like adding keyboard shortcuts and gestures to the product’s design to help experienced users navigate faster
Memorability
- Memorability is the design’s ability to make users remember its key features and design elements, after the first visit and use
Driving Innovation to Maximize Memorability
- UI/UX design agencies use consistent design language (color scheme, iconography, etc.) across the interface to help users remember where to find key features and how to use them effectively
- Designers may also use visual cues or animations to draw attention to important functionalities during initial interactions
Error-Handling
- How does the product’s design respond to user errors?
- If it addresses the errors and users with patience and politeness, users will explore the product more freely
Driving Innovation to Improve Error Handling
- Agencies anticipate common user mistakes and design features that prevent those predictable errors from occurring in the first place (e.g., input validation).
- When errors do occur, UI/UX designers include friendly, clear messages in their designs to guide users toward resolution without frustration
Satisfaction
- If the product’s navigation flow is smooth and users always get the results they expect, it means that its design is satisfactory overall
Driving Innovation to Boost Satisfaction
- Agencies conduct user research and testing to ensure that design decisions align with user needs and preferences
- They add user feedback loops to products and then continuously improve their designs based on actual user experiences
All of these factors combine to make digital products more usable and successful. Here are some real-world examples of UI/UX design agencies driving innovation to make unsuccessful digital products successful:
Work & Co Transforms Ikea’s eCommerce App
- UI/UX agency Work & Co collaborated with Ikea to launch its first dedicated eCommerce app during the pandemic
- The agency prioritized understanding Ikea users’ pain points regarding online shopping through extensive research
- They simplified the online platform’s user journey, making it super-easy for customers to browse and purchase products
- By implementing a cohesive design language, they ensured that users had a familiar experience across different screens
- All of this consistency built customer trust and drastically enhanced the platform’s usability
Before and After
- The original online shopping interface was cumbersome and not optimized for mobile use
- The redesigned app saw a 60% increase in online sales
- The app’s user ratings went from 2.8 to 4.8 stars
UX Studio Makes the Xeropan Language Learning App Usable
- UX Studio worked with Xeropan to enhance its language learning app, which had very poor user adoption rates
- The agency employed user testing and feedback loops to identify barriers that prevented users from fully engaging with the app
- This iterative UI/UX design process allowed them to gradually refine the app’s features based on real user input
- They streamlined the interface by reducing clutter and improving navigation
- These innovative steps created a more inviting app environment for users
Before and After
- Before users found the app overwhelming and difficult to navigate (which led to low retention rates)
- The redesign resulted in a 3% increase in day-one retention
- It also resulted in a 5% decrease in trial cancellations
- In the long run, the app’s revised and more thoughtful design significantly improved user engagement rates
ProCreator Makes the ZebPay Cryptocurrency Platform Beginner-Friendly
- ProCreator redesigned the ZebPay platform to make it cater more to new cryptocurrency traders
- The agency introduced personalized quizzes that guided users based on their experience level
- They simplified the cryptocurrency app’s interface and made it easier for users to find essential features without feeling overwhelmed
- These steps made complex trading concepts on the app more ‘grasp-able’ and accessible
Before and After
- The original interface was cluttered and it deterred new users from engaging in trading
- The redesign fostered a more welcoming environment for beginners
- Now, thousands of new and experienced traders use ZebPay everyday
Designit Makes the WindowMaster IoT App Learnable and Usable
- Designit partnered with WindowMaster to develop an IoT-enabled app for managing indoor ventilation systems efficiently
- They created distinct UIs for different user roles (tenants vs. facility managers)
- This distinct set of UIs ensured that each group had easy access to relevant features
- All the relevant features were then tailored to the needs of each user group
- The UI/UX agency also innovated with Data Visualization
- They introduced dashboards to help facility managers monitor system performance at a glance
- Tasks like managing air quality became way more efficient after the new UIs were introduced
Before and After
- Users struggled with the old WindowMaster app’s complicated system that lacked intuitive controls.
- The new app provided clear controls and insights
- It significantly improved management efficiency and tenant comfort
- The new app was also easier to learn for both tenants and facility managers
Working With UI/UX Design Agencies: How the Agency Will Drive Innovation
As you can see from the examples above, working with a top UI/UX agency can usher in a new era of innovation at your firm. Here are the steps a top agency will take to make this happen:
Redefine Your Product’s Market Need
- The design agency conducts user, market, and competitive research
- They use that info to help your team create product features and design styles that users genuinely want
- The user-focused approach to design innovation will boost your product’s chances of rapid market adoption
Product Research and User Testing
- Professional agencies believe in continuously refining their designs
- By routinely refining your designs based on user feedback, they keep boosting usability and user satisfaction
Cultivate a Culture of Innovation
- A professional agency will set the tone for innovation within your organization
- They encourage both their employees and yours to think outside the box when it comes to your product’s utility
- They foster open communication, reward creative ideas, and normalize innovating with new ideas at your workplace
Use Gamification to Engage New-Age Users
- UX designers gamify digital interfaces with features like points systems and rankings
- They also use dynamic error messages and animated interactions to make experiences more enjoyable
- All of these innovative features appeal to new-age users with shorter attention spans
Conclusion
It does not matter how innovative or unique a digital product is. If users cannot grasp or make use of the product’s innovative, unique features — it is guaranteed to fail.
That’s where a top UI/UX design agency can help. UI/UX design agencies make digital products usable. They drive innovation to ensure that all the unique features of the product are effectively exploited by target users.