What is UX design? 15 user experience design experts weigh in
Editor's note: this post was originally published in May 2024
What is UX design?
User experience (UX) design is the process of creating products, services, and experiences that are useful, accessible, intuitive, and satisfying for the people who use them.
Good UX design goes beyond how something looks. It considers how people navigate a website, interact with an app, accomplish a task, or feel about a brand. It combines research, design, psychology, and technology to solve real problems while supporting business goals.
But UX design isn't a single discipline or a one-size-fits-all process. It draws on everything from user research and information architecture to interaction design, accessibility, and usability testing.
And while UX designers may approach their work differently, they share a common objective: understanding people's needs and designing experiences that meet them.
So what does that look like in practice? We asked 15 UX experts to explain what user experience design means to them. Their answers reveal both the complexity of the discipline and the principles that make great experiences possible.
The definition of UX design
According to a study from the Oxford Journal Interacting With Computers:
The goal of UX design in business is to “improve customer satisfaction and loyalty through the utility, ease of use, and pleasure provided in the interaction with a product.”
In other words, UX design is the process of designing (digital or physical) products that are useful, easy to use, and delightful to interact with. It’s about enhancing the experience that people have while interacting with your product, and making sure they find value in what you’re providing.
But unfortunately, that isn’t a comprehensive explanation of UX design either. So to help you get a better understanding of what it really is, we reached out to 15 thought leaders in the space and asked them:
What is UX design?
Said differently: “How would you describe UX design to someone who was learning about it for the first time?
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Here’s what they had to say:
1. Laura Klein
UX design is the process used to determine what the experience will be like when a user interacts with your product
“If UX is the experience that a user has while interacting with your product, then UX Design is, by definition, the process by which we determine what that experience will be.
UX Design always happens. Whether it’s intentional or not, somebody makes the decisions about how the human and the product will interact. Good UX Design happens when we make these decisions in a way that understands and fulfills the needs of both our users and our business.”
2. John Amir-Abbassi
User experience design is an approach to design that takes the user into account
“Your question is simple, the answer is a little complicated, and it sometimes can be controversial.
User Experience Design is an approach to design that takes into account all the aspects of a product or service with the user. That includes not only the beauty and function: (usability and accessibility) of a product or a flow, but also things like delight, and emotion—things that are harder to engineer and achieve.
While a designer can create a toggle, a flow, or an interaction that is beautiful, unique, sexy, and functional in a flow—UXD extends into all the disciplines that come together to make the user experience as a whole great.
Yes, you have interaction designers, but you also have content strategists, information architects, user researchers, engineers, and product managers—all of whom have a shared responsibility to create an experience that is easy to use, and leaves users pleased because it is adding value to them.”
3. Jason Ogle
UX design is about solving problems through empathy
“UX Design is an empathically-driven practice crafted to solve human and business problems, and remove obstacles and friction from a user’s desired goals—hopefully delivering delight in the process.”
4. Justin Mifsud
User Experience Design is a process for designing systems that offer a great experience to users
“User Experience Design (UXD or UED) is a design process whose sole objective is to design a system that offers a great experience to its users. Thus UXD embraces the theories of a number of disciplines such as user interface design, usability testing, accessibility, information architecture, and Human Computer Interaction.
User Experience Design is practiced by User Experience Designers—who are particularly concerned with the interaction that occurs between users and the system they are using.
So, for example, a UX designer would take the principles that state how to make a product accessible, and actually embody those principles in the design process of a system so that a user that is interacting with it would find it as being accessible.”
5. Steve Krug
UX is improving how useful, easy, pleasant, marketable, or addictive it is to use a product
“In 100 words? Yikes! (There go four of them already. Oops. Make that ten.) Here goes: The deliberately squishy term “User Experience” encompasses UX Research (figuring out how people perceive and interact with a product, system, or service) and UX design (improving or manipulating how useful/easy/pleasant/marketable/addictive it is to use it). UX descended from Ergonomics, User Centered Design, and Usability/Information Architecture until in the wake of the success of the iPhone it morphed into the current 46 subspecialties and flavors du jour. From its noble heritage of advocacy for the user (“improving the user’s experience”), it has displayed an alarming tendency to lean towards advocacy for the producer (maximizing usage/sales/addiction). [Sorry for turning dark there at the end.]”
6. Martyn Reding
User experience design is the fulfillment of a brand’s promise
“User experience design is the culmination of content, research, design and strategy and its effect on the delivery, selling and use of a digital product or service. In many instances, a user experience happens by the incidental smashing together of code and assumptions about people, so I think the distinction is in brands that recognize the value of a carefully crafted digital experience. In many ways, it is the fulfillment of a brand’s promise and recognition that how customers’ feel has a huge commercial impact.”
7. Tomer Sharon
UX design is the art and science of generating positive emotions through product interactions
“UX design is the art and science of generating positive emotions among people who interact with products or services.”
8. Marieke McCloskey
UX design is a commitment to building products with the customer in mind
“UX design is a commitment to building products that are created with the customer in mind. It starts with studying who the customers are and what they need and taking that information to provide products and services that improve the quality of people’s lives.
Design ideas are validated through real customer feedback and iterated on to ensure the final product will work well for those that will be using it.”
9. Steve Portigal
UX design is the creative and analytical process of determining what a website, device, or piece of software is going to be
“If we look at an interactive thing like a website or a device or a piece of software, designing the user experience for that thing is the creative and analytical process of determining what it’s going to be—what it’s going to do for people, how they’ll use it, and what it looks/sounds/feels/smells/tastes like.”
10. Paul Boag
UX design is so much more than just designing for a screen
“For me UX design is so much more than just designing for a screen. The user experience is impacted by decisions made across an organization from the boardroom to the way a developer codes for performance.
Take for example the new Disney Magicband. This doesn’t have a graphic user interface and yet creates an amazing experience using sensors and well-implemented customer service.”
11. Joshua Porter
UX design is design with an awareness of every touchpoint that makes up the overall experience with your product or service
“UX Design is simply design with an awareness of all the touchpoints that comprise the overall experience with your product/service. So it goes beyond screen and visual design to things like email correspondence, the way people answer phones, marketing messages, return policies, release notes, and everything in between.
It is critical to focus on the entire experience in the Internet Age because it is likely you will never meet many of your customers face-to-face. Eventually, though, the letters “UX” will fade away and it will be understood that all of these things are part of designing any product or service.”
12. Scott Johnsen
UX design is a process of deeply understanding the user's needs and objectives
"UX Design is the purposeful application of logic and rationale for creating experiences that offer both utility and value to the end user. It's a process of deeply understanding the user's needs and objectives, identifying where their greatest problems exist, and working generatively to ideate ways to solve these problems. Rarely centered on the creation of a single screen, UX Design is instead the intentional act of crafting countless interactions that span the entire user journey within a given product experience while also adhering to brand, design and usability standards."
13. Whitney Hess
User experience is a commitment to developing products and services with purpose, compassion, and integrity
“User Experience is a commitment to developing products and services with purpose, compassion, and integrity. It is the never-ending process of seeing the world from the customers’ perspective and working to improve the quality of their lives.
It is the never-ending process of maintaining the health of the business and finding new ways to help it grow sustainably. It is the perfect balance between making money and making meaning.”
(Note: If you want to read more about Whitney’s take on user experience, check out this article.)
14. Cory Lebson
It’s the practice of meeting people’s needs before, during, and after product development
While I understand you’re targeting the big picture, as a user researcher I think of UX design specifically as interaction design, a piece of the UX pie along with a whole host of other UX skill sets, some which are fully design-oriented and some which are not. I’ve been in more than one situation where people referred to me as a UX designer who does research. Of course, there are people who are UX designers that do research, but not me. My UX identity is simply that of a plain old researcher. As such, I fall into another piece of the UX pie—intimately connected with UX design—but still only parallel.”
15. Reed Jones
UX design is about delighting users by anticipating their needs and giving them something they didn’t think to ask for
“Many people state that experience cannot be designed because experiences are something people have—not something that can be designed. On one hand, I completely agree.
On the other hand, UX enables us to identify what makes a good experience versus a bad one. And when done well, the designed elements of an experience become invisible and the user is delighted because we have anticipated their needs to give them something they don’t think to ask for.”
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What makes good UX design?
The 15 experts offer different definitions, but several common principles emerge. Together, they provide a useful framework for understanding what makes UX design effective.
- Start with empathy. Good design begins with understanding people's goals, frustrations, behaviors, and motivations. Rather than assuming what users need, designers use research to discover the problems worth solving.
- Prioritize usability and accessibility. An attractive interface means little if people struggle to use it. Effective UX design makes products intuitive, efficient, and accessible to people with different abilities and needs.
- Consider the entire experience. UX extends beyond individual screens or interactions. Every touchpoint, from discovering a product to getting customer support, contributes to how people perceive a brand.
- Test assumptions with real people. Designers don't always get things right the first time. Through usability testing, interviews, and customer feedback, teams can identify friction and improve their designs before and after launch.
- Balance user needs with business outcomes. Great UX design isn't simply about making people happy. It helps organizations build products that customers value, supporting outcomes such as adoption, engagement, retention, and loyalty.
Ultimately, good UX design is less about creating the perfect interface and more about continuously improving the relationship between people and the products they use.
How does the UX design process work?
Although every organization approaches design differently, most UX projects follow a similar iterative process.
- Research your users. Understand who you're designing for, what they're trying to accomplish, and where existing experiences fall short.
- Define the problem. Translate research findings into clear user needs and design opportunities.
- Explore possible solutions. Develop ideas, map user journeys, and create wireframes or early concepts.
- Build and test prototypes. Gather feedback from real users to understand which solutions work and where improvements are needed.
- Refine and iterate. Use research findings and performance data to improve the experience over time.
The process isn't necessarily linear. Designers frequently revisit earlier decisions as they learn more about their customers.
For a deeper look, explore our guide to mastering the UX design process.
Continue exploring UX design
Great UX design starts with understanding people, but putting that understanding into practice takes research, experimentation, and continuous learning. Whether you're just getting started or looking to sharpen your skills, these resources can help you turn user insights into better digital experiences.
- The ultimate guide to user-centric product design: Explore the fundamentals of product design, from understanding customer needs to creating and improving experiences through human insight.
- How to test prototypes that lead to confident, customer-centric design: Learn how to validate design ideas, uncover usability problems, and gather feedback before investing in development.
- The complete guide to user testing websites, apps, and prototypes: Discover how to plan, conduct, and analyze user tests that lead to more informed design decisions.
- The UX designer's guide to user research: Understand how UX designers can incorporate research into their workflows, choose effective methods, and recruit the right participants.
- User experience research and usability testing: When and how to test your product: Explore practical research techniques for understanding user behavior, identifying friction, and improving the overall experience.
