A Human-Centric Experience: What Is It and Why Is It Important? 

The digital industry is now used to the term UX (User Experience), and the fact that when a business is looking at a website project, a straightforward redesign is no longer going to cut the mustard.   

 There is recognition that a new logo, colours, and fonts might make the board feel better (in the short term), but fundamentally changing these things alone doesn’t help with tackling the business’ challenges – for example, how can you: 

• Get more leads 
• Generate more revenue 
• Increase brand awareness  
• Communicate your unique selling point 

To be successful with any or all of the above challenges, businesses need to involve a UX professional or agency in their projects.  

But what does UX mean, and is it even enough anymore?  I’m hearing the phrase ‘human-centred design’ more often, and the digital user experiences we create need to move from being merely user-centric to being human-centric – read on to find out more. 

What is a human-centric experience?  

Focusing on providing the user with an easy and enjoyable experience isn’t always conducive to a sustainable experience, or one which has long-term benefits to the end user (or the company providing the experience). 

If we take Social Media platforms for example, they are meticulously crafted experiences designed to keep users engaged, happy, and encourage them to stay on the platform – they do this through clever design, messaging, and curated content. This might be a “good user experience”, but it can lead to negative effects on the user.  

A human-centric experience is tailored to understanding the needs of an individual, and forward-thinking companies are adapting to create these more holistic experiences.  Apple is one such example; their Screen Time feature allows users to monitor and limit their time on certain apps or websites. This type of design helps users to be more aware of their behaviours, in turn, helping them make healthier choices.  

Don’t get me wrong, great UX is still fundamental – but if we can take it a step further, we should. 

Putting UX at the heart of what you do 

At Coast, we believe that businesses shouldn’t rest on great UX for several reasons: 

• Your competitors won’t rest – they will copy you; they’ll innovate and raise the bar if you don’t 
• Things change – so what worked well at launch is likely to diminish over time 
• As I’ve mentioned above, we can further enhance your UX and create human-centred experiences 

For these reasons, we support many clients with CRO (conversion rate optimisation). Not only do we have all of the traditional data-driven and A/B split testing capabilities that you’d expect, but we have also invested in top-of-the-range biometric technology – this allows us to tap into emotional responses to your digital experiences. 

In a short summary, UX is still an absolute must for any new website project. However, businesses will go a lot further in the future (if they aren’t already) to ensure they stay competitive with their competition.   

Do you have any digital projects planned in 2023? Get in touch with our friendly sales team to find out how our experts can help.