User-centered design is a design approach that focuses on creating products or services that are intuitive and laser focused for the end user.

This means that the needs and preferences of the user are the central to the design process, and every decision made throughout the design process is made with the user in mind.

By considering the user's perspective and goals, user-centered design ensures that the things we create are easy to use and helpful for the people who use them.

This results in a user experience that is seamless and effective, and ultimately leads to products and services that are user-friendly and practical.

Professional product designers are very keen to follow this five-stage design process that has been proposed by The Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school) that is often used by product teams in user-centered design (UCD). The stages of this process are as follows:

1. Emphasize
2. Define
3. Ideate
4. Prototype
5. Test

However, in this article I would like to approach this topic from a helicopter view, as I see most of the articles out there are focusing more on the narrower aspect of UCD (design process) and neglecting the fundamental aspects of it, therefore let me introduce to you the 5 key principles to keep in back of your mind before you hop on the design process itself.

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User focus is the first principle of user-centered design, it refers to the idea that the design process should always be centered on the needs, goals, and preferences of the user. This means that designers should prioritize the user's perspective and aim to create products and services that are tailored to their needs and desires.

To achieve user focus, designers must first understand the target audience and their context of use. This requires researching and gathering information about the user through methods such as user interviews, focus groups, and usability testing.

By gathering this data, designers can gain insights into the user's needs, goals, motivations, and pain points, which can conceptualize the design process and help ensure that the final product or service meets the user's expectations and requirements.

Overall, user focus is a critical aspect of user-centered design and requires designers to prioritize the user's perspective and needs at every stage of the design process.

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In addition to understanding the user, product designers must also involve the user in the design process. This can be achieved through various methods, such as user testing, user feedback, and co-design activities.

Involving users in the means seeking out and incorporating the thoughts, ideas, and feedback of the people who will be using a product or service. This helps ensure that the final product meets the needs and expectations of the user and is useful and easy to use.

There are various methods of involving users, such as asking them questions, observing them using a prototype you made for the product, or involving them in the design process itself. It is important to involve users throughout the entire design process, rather than just at the beginning or end, in order to take their ideas and feedback into consideration at every stage.

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Usability is a measure of how easy it is for people to use a product or service, and is an important factor in user-centered design (UCD). In UCD, Usability Test is considered in the context of the user's goals and needs, successful product designers who aim to create solutions that are intuitive, usable and useful for the user, they will highly consider the Usability aspect.

There are several characteristics that contribute to usability, including:

• Learnability: Learnability in UX design refers to the ease with which users can learn to use a product. This concept is based on Nielsen's Usability Heuristics, which are widely accepted as representing high standards for usable product design. In other words, learnability is not about the user's ability to learn, but rather the ease with which they can learn to use the product.
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• Efficiency of use: How quickly users can complete tasks once they are familiar with the interface design. It can be thought of as the number of keystrokes or clicks required for a user to complete a task. In other words, efficiency measures the speed at which users can accomplish tasks within the interface.
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• Memorability: Memorability refers to the ease with which users can remember how to use a website. For example, a website with high memorability allows casual users to return and use it without having to re-learn the navigation system. In other words, memorability is a measure of how easily users can recall how to use the site.

• Error prevention and Recovery: By providing an undo feature, we can assist users in quickly correcting mistakes and staying on track with their desired user journey. For instance, if a user clicks a link or CTA that leads to an unexpected page, they may want to return to the previous page. By using cookie crumbs or displaying the user's location in the website hierarchy, we can help them retrace their steps without losing any important input. This helps to facilitate mistake recovery with minimal user effort.
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• User satisfaction: is the final attribute of usability, it refers to how enjoyable it is to use the system or the product.

By considering usability during the design process, designers can create products and services that are easy and enjoyable for the user to use, which can improve the user's overall experience and increase the likelihood of the product or service being successful in the market.

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User experience (UX) refers to the overall feelings and impressions that a person has while interacting with a product or service.

In user-centered design (UCD), designers aim to create a positive UX by designing solutions that are easy to use, efficient, and satisfying for the user.

To achieve this goal, designers often conduct User Research and Usability Testing to understand the user's needs, goals, and behaviors. For a profound understanding of user research and usability test; take a look on our previous article: 6 Crucial Steps to create a successful and professional website for your client.

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Lastly, Iterative design is a method of continually refining and improving a product or service based on user feedback and testing.

This process involves creating a prototype or initial version of the product, gathering user feedback, and using that feedback to make changes and improvements to the design. This process is then repeated until the final product meets the needs and expectations of the user.

Iterative design is often used in user-centered design (UCD) because it allows designers to incorporate user feedback and insights throughout the design process, rather than waiting until the end to gather user feedback.

By adopting an iterative design approach, product designers can save a lot of time and energy upon delivering the final product to the client.

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By following the 5 principles of UCD:

1. User Focus
2. User Involvement
3. Usability
4. User experience
5. Iterative design

I hope you find the article useful and has a positive impact of your learning journey. If you are UI/UX enthusiast like us and want to stay up to date with our daily articles about Product design and Business tips, subscribe to our newsletter and join our journey.

Thank you and have a fabulous day.

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