The truth is user experience is a broad discipline. Anyone practicing UX design needs to have skills in multiple areas. It is rather impossible to summarize all information that’s proven to be helpful in one article. But, there are some significant points highlighted, to be followed by every UX designer globally, for creating some excellent results for clients. Without wasting any time, let’s get started with highlighted notes.

• UX is not what you know as UI:

User Interface is basically a part of User experience, but it is not the entire thing. Swapping UX with UI is a rather common mistake among many designers. It is vital to understand the differentiation between these two principles. User interface is mainly a space where interactions between a product and human occur. On the other hand, you have User Experience or UX, which is the emotional outcome after interacting with the product. So, basically UX comes after UI.

• You have to know your audience:

User research is always the natural step in the current design procedure. It is no surprise that you have to consider the audience first before designing any project. If you are planning to design a project, which your users will be down for, you should actually know what your audience wants first. It means user research has to be a mandatory part of UX design procedure. It is vital to keep users at the top of your mind while focusing on designing aspects. It helps in providing value for people who will actually be using the product. Here, the focus will be on benefits and not the features.

• You won’t be the user:

Testing with real users is a significant part of design procedure. Designers mostly assume that people using their products will be like them, which isn’t true. Due to this misunderstanding, designers always project their reactions and behaviors onto users. In reality, people planning to use your product will come from different backgrounds and will have varied mindsets. They have different goals and mental models. So, they are not quite like you.

There is a proven technique, which helps designers overcome this false-consensus bias. It is known as usability testing. If you plan to create a product for users, then you have to test it first. Test the product with some real users to learn how the items are to be created to make them right. The task might be time consuming, but it’s the only proven way to help you move towards right direction.

• Adapt some designs for short attention spans:

Void overwhelming users with way too much information. Attention span is mainly defined as time that someone concentrates on task without becoming quite distracted. A study recently conducted clarifies that average human attention spans have rather declined from 12 to 8 seconds. It means designers now have shorter span to gain attention. They have to cope with this changing behavior and set a goal to get people with the information they need within fastest time span. Before you head for UX designer jobs, be sure to prepare yourself accordingly.

• UX procedure is not set in stone:

You have to adapt design process for the item you are designing. UX process is basically the make it or break it section of the UX design. Without a proper UX process, designer might be working completely in dark with no clue. A concise and clean procedure makes it promising to craft some great experiences for the users out there.

Some designers believe that only one universal UX procedure can be applied to all products. But, this isn’t the truth. Even though it is possible to define separate steps for each product, but a precise UX process is mandatory, depending on the project’s requirements. Each project is rather unique with its special needs. So, you have to create best user experience, which a designer will be ready to adapt.

• Always prototype first before creating real product:

Every design phase for digitalized items should have prototype stage first. Skipping this prototyping stage and putting pressure into building actual project is a dangerous mistake among UX designers. Prototype is mainly like creating a model of project to be tested out first. It allows you to test hypothesis before eventually spending time with a team to create the actual item. Designers have the liberty to use various designing techniques in this prototyping stage.  One such promising technique is known as rapid prototyping. It is a quicker way to reach the future scale of your item and validate the same with group of real users.

• Be sure to use real content while designing:

Do not go for the dummy and Lorem Ipsum placeholders. Most of the products are based on content, which can be either text, images or even videos. It can easily be stated that design is a way to enhance content. Even after knowing it, some designers don’t consider content into account when the design is in process. Instead of real text, they end up using Lorem Ipsum or dummy text. Well, these designs may look great on art board, but the picture will be totally different when that same design gets filled up with actual content. as the goal of designers is to get close to real customer experience, so using real content is the key.

• Maintaining a simple and consistent motto:

Hallmark of greater user interface has to be consistency and its simplistic nature. Simplicity, over here, means easy understandable and proficient interaction with product. Your users will not have to read instruction to understand ways to use an app or map to navigate through it. Being an interface designer, it is your job to make things rather clear for them to understand and guide them subtly in their course of work. Moreover, interfaces should maintain consistency through design.

So, the next time you are planning to build a career in UX design, remember to keep these points in mind. Once you have done that, being a pro won’t be a tough call.