Imagine the following scenario: you’ve signed up for an account with a local bank. You receive an email to set up your online account. You go to their site, and this is what you see. 

Would you trust them with your money? Would you trust them with your social security number or other personal information? Why or why not?

The case for human-centered design

If you are creating a product, it means you’re creating a product for someone (probably a human) to use. Consider the specific use case for your product: Is it an app for hiring babysitters? Or an app for a ride service? Or to book an appointment with a mental health professional? What are your users (ahem…humans) trying to accomplish? What specific pain point is your idea trying to help or lessen? Do you know what that person cares about? What goals do they have? What is their emotional state when they’re trying to use the product you’re creating? Consider the various emotional states of the people using the products mentioned above. If it’s an app to find babysitters for your child or pet, trust is paramount. Hailing a ride service requires speed and transparency, as well as trust. Transferring money from one account to another requires clarity and security. Each product requires special consideration due to the people who use it and their context of use. After all, you wouldn’t design Craigslist the same way you’d design an online banking site. 

But “we don’t hire designers”

The absence of a designer does not mean the absence of design or “no design” at all. It most often means, quite simply, bad design. When someone interacts with software, they are experiencing the design of your software, whether you hired a professional to create it or not. Only your customers can tell you whether their experience with it was a positive or negative one. In other words, without an intentional approach to design, they likely faced a clunky, frustrating experience or a cluster of features with little thought given to the people the product was intended for. At worst, they experienced a product that was unusable or provided little value and was quickly deleted. To be clear, design in and of itself does not deliver value, but good design does. Hiring an experienced professional to design your product pays dividends. Studies have shown that visual appeal can be assessed within about 50 milliseconds. This boils down to the fact that designers have to make a good impression within the space of 50 milliseconds. Good design creates a clear understanding of what a product does, why and how you should use it, and a seamless, friction-less experience.

If you want your customers to have a positive first impression of your product, you need to invest in good design. You likely won’t get a second chance to change their mind. If you want to learn more about what makes a design good, check out this article. 

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