A couple of months ago I received a message from a visitor to Pixel Munch, asking about the terminology we’ve used to describe our services. This is the message:
The terminology you use to describe your services is a little specialized, and I always wondered if that was intentional to target a certain type of client. I couldn’t figure out what ‘user experience design and interface’ meant without consulting Google.
We love start-ups
Much of our work comes from local internet start-ups such as Qaym.com. These are websites that are started largely by developers who who have nailed the development of their product, but need awesome user interface and interaction design to go with it. They’re familiar with the terminology and they know the exact services they require. Since this is our main client-base and one that isn’t really being served by anyone else in the market, we’re aiming to get more clients of the same type.
Although the question brings to our attention that perhaps we could be losing out on potential clients due to a language barrier, as a side effect the clients we have been getting were all actively curious about user experience, which gave us a chance not only to render our services, but also help play our part as UX evangelists.
UX for n00bs
User Experience (UX) is the way a person feels and reacts to a product, website, or service. An interaction designer designs the way a user will interact with a website or an application. This covers information architecture, which is the organization of information across the entire website or application and on each page, as well as user interface design which is the design of specific elements on each page including content, buttons, etc.
Development of a website normally includes two types:
- Front-end development is the programming layer that facilitates user interaction with the website or application through a functional user interface
- Back-end development creates the logic that allows the website or application to carry out a user’s instructions