The Future of UI - How and What We Experience. LinkedIn Article

The Future of UI. How and What We Experience.

           For some, the letters UI or UX are an alien concept. Perhaps unknowingly, every electronic-device user interacts with them every day. UI/UX is the first conversation massive tech companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and hundreds of others have with their customers. UI stands for User-Interface, and UX means User-Experience. These terms may sound like clones, but they result in very different workflows and engagements for the average consumer of a particular product. UI/UX has been evolving since the first computer program was created. Tech companies have their school of thought on how user interaction should go. A company like Google may have a different interpretation than a company like Adobe regarding UX/UI. The goal for both remains the same, create a workspace for the user that can contain as many accessible features as possible while not overwhelming the user to burn-out or disinterest. Here lives the art form of UX/UI. This article will cover some of the latest trends of how cutting-edge developers understand what makes a program flow and how to improve consumer interaction constantly. While the concept initially may seem solely based on a technical interpretation of the product, more and more developers are integrating human psychology into the way they design their programs.

           We must first look at the origin story for any well-planned study or understanding of a subject. I will save you, the reader, from a lengthy anthropology lesson on either of these concepts. Instead, I will condense down the need-to-know so interpreting future development will be easier to see. Firstly, what is a UX or 'user's experience'? In the simplest terms, UX is the person's Experience using a product, website, application, or digital service and how 'pleasurable' it is to complete the user's task or find the information they need. At a glance, this may sound subjective and up for interpretation, but the history of UI development showcases that there is, in fact, a natural science behind the design. Every electronic device someone uses today has a meticulously intuitive UX design creating a pleasurable experience for the user or a poor UX structure that severely hinders the user's workflow and potentially results in the loss of a customer. As a developer or a UI designer, a coherent UI can be the make-or-break element of your business, particularly in the B2B space.

Suppose we focus on a specific sector, particularly B2B companies. In that case, it is no surprise that many significant players are using software written well before the sleek UI trend began to take shape. Users might describe this antiquated software as 'clunky,' 'complicated,' or 'overwhelming,' which is the death knell of any company selling a service or product to a consumer or other business. Famous yet clearly aged examples would include companies such as Salesforce, Oracle, or Monster. In the modern age, older companies must update their back-end UI in 'stages.' Otherwise, doing a complete overhaul in one motion will cause any business severe economic disruption as each client will need to re-adjust to the new system. Solutions like creating a UX' roadmap', closed-beta testing new features, and meticulously gathering feedback can alleviate growing pains for a company transitioning into the new era of on-demand, high-quality UX.

Now that we have established the what, why and the foundation of UI, let's shift to where the art form is trending today. There is no debate on how the global pandemic changed how businesses interact with customers and employees. There was a structural and psychological change between customer, client, and business exchanges. The result was a massive shift to online shopping and more intimate interactions with a company's brand or image. In other words, customers in the B2C space wanted to feel more like an individual instead of an order number when shopping online or conducting business. Attention to a business's philosophy towards eco-friendly procedures increased as well. Customers wanted to know that they were helping a global cause bigger than themselves by doing business with a brand. The pandemic and subsequent lockdown thrust a new perspective on what we think a company should be and can be doing for its clientele and the environment they operate in. Because of this shift, many new trends began in the UI space. The first trend that is becoming increasingly popular in B2B and B2C is conversational AIs to remedy customer requests.

 Many people, including you, have already experienced the early stages of AI-assisted customer service. Automated voice message systems have been around for decades. Companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft use conversational AIs as their first line of interaction with existing customers. Other companies, for instance, B2Bs, have AIs built into their webpage to allow customers to make inquiries regarding the business operating hours, general questions, product availability, and more. Amazon, in particular, has leaned heavily into AI for customer interactions allowing a computer to handle refunds, replacements, and customer feedback submissions. As the technology progresses and machine learning becomes more intelligent to the way we speak, conversational AI is the number one answer for any company looking to streamline a user experience while saving money on their bottom line. The digital landscape is ever-changing, and one might be surprised that not every new trend is a techie sci-fi human-like AI system. Still, instead, greater focus is being placed on connecting to the customer in other, more meaningful ways.

How does a company humanize its brand and create more responsive engagements from customers or potential customers? In the last three years, thanks partly to the pandemic, B2B and B2C companies are re-understanding what customers' needs or expectations will be. There is no longer a line of excuses for poor customer experience when dealing with online shopping; it now encompasses the entire business model for success. Whatever the customer's query is, there will be hundreds of options after a few button presses. How do you make yours stand out? For starters, update your company's image! Branding and aesthetics can be real game-changers for any company competing in a populated sector in the digital era. Younger generations appreciate artistic and creative ways to tell your company's story. Minor, simple adjustments to the landing page or website could include bolder typography and more creative visual elements to articulate better the story of what the company does for its customers. For example, one such upcoming visible trend is Isometric Illustration. An isometric illustration “ creates a visual representation of a three-dimensional object in two dimensions." [1] This can make a complex subject like the inner workings of a 3D printing company's workflow into a more palatable visual story that the customer can grasp in a few glances. Isometric illustration fits nicely into the B2B space, mainly because the design concept is "straightforward, features clean lines and angles that are usually associated with logic, reliability, and transparency in collaboration." [2]

The journey of evolving a B2B company's entire customer interaction and Experience starts from the inside. But outside factors can be utilized for a net gain in increased sales, referrals, or inquiries. One such method trending more popular is B2Bs collaborating with popular influencers active in their industry or sector. While we all know numerous examples of influences on YouTube or Instagram, thousands of other, more niche influencer channels hold a high amount of capital when recommending a product or service. There are a few benefits to this approach. First, the B2B company is getting its name out on a popular platform and solidifying its brand image by associating with a competent reviewer. Secondly, a video referral can get sent around and reach potential customers in demographics not considered before. Thirdly the human mind finds confidence in being told how good or bad something is, similar to the crowd-sourced format Amazon uses. While Amazon used a hivemind-like approach to instill buyer confidence, other companies can be more strategic with their product or service placement. Any B2-B or B2C company must establish its image through clearly identifiable characteristics. Highlighting consistent industry standards towards things like efficiency, reliability, product quality, unique sources of materials, a track record of positive customer feedback, and more are all vital ingredients for a potential customer to feel encouraged to commit to their initial engagement.  

The world of UI design is a vastly complicated network of abstract thought processes, varying schools of thought towards execution, testing, analytics, and more. Looking at the large picture, you can see that UI is just one cog in a sizeable well-running machine. There are other numerous relative terms, including customer experience (CX), user interface (UI), employee experience (EX), and multi-experience (MX). These elements comprise what is regarded as total Experience (TX). As the customers, employees, and potential consumers are all actual human beings, the term 'experience' should be looked at carefully through the lens of emotions. While the human Experience consists of feelings, emotions, and memories, it would not be a far jump to see how these elements can be translated into a digital world.

Digital experiences spark interactions that lead to engagement, satisfaction, loyalty, and soon-after referral advocacy. When these ingredients combine, the positive result is increased market share, employee and customer retention, sales, and market share. In previous years, the UX, CX, MX, and EX departments have been siloed away, causing overlaps, poor design choices, and poor customer engagement. Since the pandemic completely flipped the entire business-customer relationship upside down, the trend now focuses more on the total Experience. Through TX, a company can better understand its customers by tracking their journey from the very first moment of contact. Here are several potential points a TX overhaul might address. Recent studies have shown that up to 90% of consumers care about how a company treats its employees[3]. Incorporating a healthy employee experience (EX) behind the scenes will translate to the customer base reassuring them that corporate ethics are a solid foundation of the brand. This is a significant component of TX, establishing trust and transparency through open communications throughout the customer's lifecycle. This concept goes hand-in-hand with another key focus point for a superior, consistent human and touches through multiple channels. A recent PwC study indicates how important TX can be for any company by reporting that 82% of U.S. citizens want more interaction in the future with the brands they love. They also noted that 32% of consumers would leave their favorite brands after just one lousy Experience [4]. It is easy to understand that it is a significant potential pitfall for any B2C or B2B. Constructing a full-scope healthy TX can also attract more talented employees as the company's strong reputation will reach the far corners of the global workforce. The culture of TX was emerging before the pandemic. Still, after multiple lockdowns and remote/hybrid work schedules, the importance of TX became accelerated to the top issue a company should be considered for implementation.

The landscape of how consumers interact with their brands has been changed forever. In no uncertain terms, the natural selection of companies that did or did not take risks to adapt to this new environment occurred at a blistering pace. The result is multiple examples of success and failure. In the simplest of terms, the new era of digital consumerism has shifted towards more transparency, human communication, ease of use, and corporate ethos. Any B2B or B2C company looking to compete in this modern digital era must closely look at how their customers interact with their company from the moment of initial contact. The net gain positives could be endless by re-positioning the focus on how customers engage with the company's brand, corporate ethos, and ease of workflow.

  [1] Drawing Vector Graphics: Isometric Illustration, https://www.linkedin.com/learning/drawing-vector-graphics-isometric-illustration

[2] 7 Biggest B2B Website Design Trends to Embrace in 2022, https://fireart.studio/blog/7-biggest-b2b-website-design-trends-to-embrace-in-2020/

[3] For Consumers, Brands' Care for Staff Amid Pandemic as Important as Stocked Items, https://morningconsult.com/2020/04/15/consumer-crisis-brand-communications-report/

[4] Experience is everything, https://www.pwc.com/us/en/advisory-services/publications/consumer-intelligence-series/pwc-consumer-intelligence-series-customer-experience.pdf