Introduction
We live in a world where technology and the internet changed the way businesses operate and win in their respective markets. Zippia claims that the U.S. technology market makes up 35% of the total world market. These are astonishing numbers, and for your business to ignore the benefits of technology can be the sole reason for the downfall of the entire organization, even with the best processes and people working for you.
If we don’t mention specific implementations, the majority of businesses can benefit from the usage of different kinds of apps. According to Statista, next year, the projected revenue that mobile apps will generate is $935 billion!
What do these numbers mean for your business? Here are some numbers by Kinesis:
So, in order for the app for your business to reach its fullest potential, the design is the first critical factor. However, the looks are only making the initial impression, and the next most important part is user experience. In this guide, we will explain what user experience agency you should hire, in order to receive the necessary expertise and achieve your vision! Here are some factors that lead users to leave a website:
“Most business models have focused on self interest instead of user experience.”
– Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc.
What is user experience?
Simply put, User Experience (UX in short) is a way in which a user feels while interacting with a system. This system can be a website, mobile application, or desktop application. It is important to mention, that in a modern context it is considered to be a part of human-computer interaction. The term user experience was coined by Dr. Donald Norman, a cognitive science researcher.
Who are UX designers?
There are experts working on this, and they are called UX designers. They work on analyzing how users feel about the system, evaluating how easy it is to use, is it valuable for the end users, and how well it is performing. UX designers dive deep to analyze everything related to this process.
UX designers go as far as analyzing each element of a checkout process in a web store, for example, finding out whether the buying process is quick and easy or if there are any bottlenecks that could be eliminated in order to improve things. Your website can have a problem with input fields in forms, that you don’t even think about, and UX designers can help you solve it!
What projects and systems can benefit from the thought ought UX design?
Complex systems
You don’t need to hire a dedicated UX expert for a simple app or a website, but for a complex project with sophisticated architecture, having such an expert is a must. If done right, an efficient UX design can prevent significant revenue losses, due to users leaving an inconvenient system.
Startups
UX design is crucial for new products because the design can make or break your great product idea coming to life. There is an option to train employees that you already have for this role, however, in a startup environment speed is very important. If you are a startup owner, consider hiring an experienced UX designer to help you build a product architecture that will turn into market success after the release.
Projects that have a budget for it
It is understandable, that SMBs and medium-sized businesses with tight budgets must spend their money on the most important features and team members. Projects with a limited budget often prioritize things that they need for the launch and sometimes skip investing in research and analysis. Sometimes this can be a big mistake, so if you have even the smallest chunk of budget for some research on user experience, you should definitely invest in it.
What are the top 5 UX design companies in Seattle?
The United States of America is rich in outstanding software developers across the nation. If you look for UX consulting firm in Seattle, here are the options that definitely deserve to be considered:
- UpTop
Minimal project size: $25,000+
Number of employees: 50+
Industries: eCommerce, Healthcare, IT, Retail
Most notable partnerships: Amazon, Microsoft, CenturyLink, F5
Established in 2000, UpTop not only delivers great UI/UX design solutions for over two decades but also shines in web and mobile app development services. They have a 50+ team of passionate professionals, who are focused on solving complex problems and dealing with challenges to get maximum revenue for their clients.
- Blink
Minimal project size: $25,000+
Number of employees: 50-249
Industries: IT, Hospitality and leisure, Consumer products and services
Most notable partnerships: Amazon, NASA, Apple, Disney
Another great UX design agency in Seattle with a proven track record of the completed project for leaders in their respective industries. Just like UpTop, it was founded in 2000 and has 22 years of experience in the IT industry. In addition to UX/UI services, Blink offers mobile and web development services, as well as research, design, and strategy consulting.
- Black Antelope
Minimal project size: $10,000+
Number of employees: 10
Industries: Arts and entertainment, eCommerce, Healthcare, Education, Government, Legal, Media, Non-profit, Retail
Most notable partnerships: UC Berkeley, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Fujitsu Laboratories Of America
This company was founded in 2009, and while being younger compared to the previous two entries in our customer experience agencies in Washington area list, it has expanded to additional locations, such as Sacramento, California and even London, England. Their services also include custom software development from scratch, as well as web development and web design.
- projekt202
Minimal project size: Undisclosed
Number of employees: 285
Industries: Undisclosed
Most notable partnerships: Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Capital One, Samsung Electronics, The Container Store
This company was founded in 2003, and they have a proficient team of almost 285 employees that are able to deliver high-quality custom software development, UX/UI design and mobile app development services.
- Smashing ideas
Minimal project size: Undisclosed
Number of employees: 50+
Industries: Undisclosed
Most notable partnerships: ReachNow, Philips, Johnson Controls, Sony Pictures Television
The final Seattle UX company in our list was created in 1995, and since then has grown to the size of 50+ full-time employees who are ready to take over the most daring projects. The company also delivers such services as web design, data strategy, data analytics, quality assurance, and testing.
Before choosing your Seattle UX agency, make sure that it aligns with your goals and vision. Make some research and read the reviews about the agency you are interested in. Find out whether the size of the company will be enough for your case. After that, conduct an interview with the vendor’s representative to make the final decision and ensure that you had picked the right option of UX design consulting in Seattle!
Conclusion
Let’s conclude with some more thoughts on user experience. The same user experience design can’t work the same way with different websites. We, as humans, behave different in different environments, so the UX must be adjusted in each individual case.
Another thing that should be mentioned is that UX can’t be measured by traditional metrics such as conversion rates or page views. All the tools we have here are assumptions and user interviews to help us make the right decisions.
Finally, it is important to understand that the user experience is not the same thing as usability. User experience focuses on how the visitor is feeling while browsing the website, while usability is all about the efficiency of the interface.
| Things to know about user experience | |
| The same design does not fit all project | You can’t copy and paste the same user experience strategy from one project to the other |
| UX is hard to measure | The standard metrics does not really say much in this case |
| It is not the same as usability | Usability is more about design, and not about actual experience |
FAQ
Is UX design in demand in 2022?
Yes, it is probably needed more than ever, as the number of apps in 2022 is enormous. Currently, there are over 5 million apps combined on Google Play and the Apple App Store. To stand out in such tough competition, you need to have an application that offers not only functionality but also great visuals and superb experience. According to research by Forbes, every dollar invested in UX nets an ROI of 9,900%!
What is the best user experience?
The best user experience is probably the one that the user doesn’t even notice. It must help the visitor of the website or a mobile application to use a product in the most convenient and intuitive way, and be able to leverage all of its functions, wasting little to no time figuring out menus.
Is customer experience and user experience the same?
These are two entirely different things. User experience focuses on the person using the particular product, service, or application, while customer experience focuses on the customer. While customers are also using the product, they may be buying it for someone else. So, customer experience is more about marketing.
Is user experience only digital?
No, it’s not! While user experience is commonly discussed in a digital context, it can be just as easily applied to physical experiences.
