Characteristics of a good UX according to Google
What makes a product effective to its users? The answer varies depending on the product. Different people/organizations have different opinions on this. I found the information for this article from one of Google’s UX Designing courses. There are 4 characteristics of a good user experience,
- Usable
- Equitable
- Enjoyable
- Useful
These characteristics help to measure how good the experience of a product is. The rest of the article explains the 4 characteristics and I’m trying to explain everything from the software aspect.
Usable
If a product is usable, it indicates that its design, structure, and purpose are obvious and simple to understand. You may ask questions like these while evaluating a product for usability: Is everything in the design easy to find? Is the design’s functioning simple to grasp? Is it possible for users to do certain activities inside the design? These questions might help to assess whether the design provides a usable experience.
The above UIs are examples of usable designs. The first one is the UI of the Gmail app. The purpose is to read and write emails. Users can easily find unread emails because they are categorized and highlighted. Also, the search box on top makes it easier to find old emails. Not only that, the floating action button in the bottom-right makes it easier to write emails instantly. The second UI also has many features that make it usable, such as categories, easy navigation on the bottom, Search on top.
Equitable
When a product is equitable, it indicates that it is designed to benefit individuals of all skills and backgrounds. In other words, the product’s design caters to a broad audience and guarantees that all consumers, regardless of background, gender, color, or ability, have a high-quality experience. Giving individuals the tools they need to achieve their objectives and improve their quality of life is what equity entails. Because people frequently require different tools and assistance depending on their requirements, equity extends beyond the notion of equality, in which everyone is provided equal resources. This is particularly crucial to remember for people who belong to often marginalized groups. You might pose questions like: Are the requirements of a diverse set of consumers considered when evaluating the equity of a product’s UX? Is the design of the product inclusive to traditionally underrepresented and excluded groups? These questions might help to figure out if the design provides an equitable experience.
The above application is not in English. Having multiple languages to select is a good example of equitable design. Also, the above UI has an option to select the currency. Having gender-neutral icons and images, low and high contrast themese are some other examples of equitable designs.
Enjoyable
When a product is enjoyable, it indicates the user is pleased with the design. The design reflects the user’s thoughts or feelings and establishes a favorable relationship with them. It is not necessary for a product’s design to be enjoyable in order for it to perform effectively. However, an enjoyable design complements a useful product and can improve the user’s perception of the experience. You can ask questions like: Are there parts of the design that regard the user’s sentiments when evaluating how enjoyable a product’s UX is? Is the user’s joy sparked by the design? Is the user engaged throughout the experience because of the design? These questions might assist to figure out if the design is enjoyable.
In this example, the designers have made it enjoyable with interesting messages and icons. Another great example of an enjoyable design is personalized recommendations. In applications like YouTube, Netflix we can experience it.
Useful
When a product is useful, it solves a user’s problem. To put it another way, the design answers an issue that the designer has recognized. It’s worth noting that, while similar, the terms useful and useable have different connotations. Even if a product is useful, it isn’t necessarily useable. The same may be said for the inverse. The difference between the two is that usability relates to the product’s ability to operate well and be simple to use, whereas usefulness refers to the product’s capacity to address user issues directly. You may pose questions like: Does the design bring value to the user’s experience? while evaluating how useful a product’s UX is. Is there an issue that the design solves for the user? Is the design assisting the user in achieving a certain objective? These questions might help to figure out if the design provides a useful user experience.
Assume you’re assessing the utility of a financial app. These apps are generally downloaded by people who need a location to keep track of their finances. With this in mind, functions that may be used to move money between accounts and pay bills may be deemed useful.
So these are the four characteristics of a good user experience according to Google. Hope you learn something from my article. Please feel free to point out anything because I am new to UI/UX field. Thanks for reading.
Be creative folks 👽
