Make or break the brand: experience design and accessibility

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It’s no secret that today, users expect exceptional experiences. People are accustomed to savvy digital products in their personal life, and they’ve come to expect the same user experience when they encounter digital tools in their work. Regardless of whether an organization serves businesses or consumers, quality experience design will go a long way. Not only are these experiences linked to higher levels of productivity and increased revenue, but they’re also ultimately a competitive advantage necessary to win in today’s market.

Here are three points to keep in mind when thinking about delivering truly beneficial experience design:

  • Design systems benefit the organization internally and externally – A design system is a set of standards and guidelines that enable product teams to work more efficiently with greater consistency when designing and building digital products. Experiences are becoming more complex. No longer is there just one touchpoint with a brand, there are several devices and channels, and a strong design system is paramount to provide a consistent feel for the brand through all touchpoints. It helps build trust. Internally, a quality design system can help systematize product development and streamline collaboration and processes. Trust is a relatively new design component in interactive intelligent systems and is especially important in building and supporting advanced technologies such as AI and ML.

Peek into Google’s Material design system and how it helps teams build high-quality, consistent digital experiences across many platforms.

  • Data will help drive seamless user experiences – Getting feedback in real-time by interviewing customers and observing them using digital products gives businesses the data they need to make better decisions. To adapt experiences to the customers’ evolving needs and expectations, data needs to be collected as a continuous process, so brands can modify services as needed. All the while, design debt needs to be effectively addressed to provide a better user experience.

Explore how Emergn’s UX Expert Review provided Balta an action plan to improve their customers’ experience while reducing design debt.

  • Digital inclusion with usability and accessibility is no longer a “nice to have” – Accessible, inclusive design is good for business. When accessibility is considered at the beginning of a project, there are more market opportunities. Unfortunately, it is often an afterthought. By implementing best practices around accessibility early in the design process, organizations not only mitigate legal and financial risks but also create new opportunities for innovation and market expansion.

Learn how one technology leader redesigned its platform to meet ADA regulations.

A truly seamless design experience will improve the customer and employee experience. By considering what technological advances are available today, brands can use those tools to enhance the digital experience. And, by keeping accessibility at the forefront of the design process and not as an afterthought, more customers will be able to interact with an organization.