Biggest Challenges Faced by UX Designers

UX designers create user experiences that push businesses to growth peaks. Businesses rely on the ability of these designers to make products or services usable, accessible, and enjoyable. To achieve that, designers implement techniques such as competitive audits and cultural probes to create an effective UX design.

This job may seem like a walk in the park, especially since the demand grows daily. And its high pay and promising future remain on the remarkable side. On the flip side, it has some challenges that you might not be aware of.

In order for you to better understand what this profession entails, find out some of the biggest challenges UX designers face below.

1. Lengthy Problem Investigation Process

Developed products usually face challenges that need immediate rectification. So, UX designers identify user problems and solve them.

But, the process isn’t always as easy as it sounds. First, you have to acknowledge the right problem.

Proper problem-solving enhances top-notch user experience, but the process requires enough resources, including time and money.

Problem investigation is more than quick research and asking users about common issues that require immediate attention. Instead, it involves investigating issues that users aren’t consciously aware of.

For instance, the numerous platforms companies use, such as Figma, Canva, and Dia, may confuse users in choosing a favorite. Each platform has its superior feature, and users end up with more than one favorite, making it difficult for a designer to identify an effective platform for the company.

Looking at it in terms of resources, you’ll find that companies have limited money and time to allocate to problem investigation. In this case, UX designers fail to get to the root of the problem. And since companies need to solve these problems and add value to their products, they would put the investigation on hold to accumulate more resources.

Set small goals to achieve in collaboration with your team to overcome this challenge. In the end, you’ll solve a bigger problem.

Read Also: 10 Must-Have Skills for UI/UX Designers in 2023

2. Feeling Undervalued

UX designers feeling undervalued may seem like a simple issue, but it derails performance, so it is a big challenge.

Since an effective UX design depends on the users, companies must understand people’s needs. However, more often, companies only focus on the final designs. As a designer, you’ll be obligated to meet the user’s needs, but it becomes challenging with limited resources.

In some cases, designers embark on a lengthy process of convincing senior company executives to recognize the need for proper product research. 

This issue occurs as a result of the misconceptions associated with UX designing. Most people underestimate the UX multidisciplinary nature. It is easy to assume user experience primarily involves making a product look good.

So, first, set your expectations and outline your techniques to inform stakeholders of the reasons behind every action. This way, they’ll understand that a UX design is more than just whipping up a prototype or stretching wireframes.

3. Limited Resources for Research

Research is a powerful tool for all UX designers since you need enough information from users to create a good user experience. Companies may not have enough resources for quality research, but the following ways should boost your abilities to get the information you need:

Online Surveys

These surveys are quick and inexpensive ways to get the user information you need. You can design questionnaires and send them to users or use the following tools:

• SurveyPlanet
• Zoho Survey
• SurveyMonkey
• Typeform
• Jotform
• Crowdsignal
• SoGoSurvey
• Google Forms

These online survey tools are free and should gather feedback on user-paid plans and their noteworthy free features.

Focus Groups

This method involves creating informal groups for user experience discussions. Your groups should follow a specific demographic diversity to gain wholesome feedback.

The following steps should help you recruit effective focus group participants:

1. Find where the target participants spend most of their time.
2. Design a recruitment screener.
3. Program the recruitment screener.
4. Send invites to the target focus group participants.
5. Place confirmation emails, calls, or texts.

Parallel Design

Parallel requires the concurrent availability of a design team. These teams create parallel alternative designs that incorporate the best features of each design to generate ideas.

Guerilla UX Research

This method applies where researchers require validation of the initial ideas. So, they approach users in comfortable places such as cafes and parks. In addition, colleagues can also provide the needed feedback while at work.

The above methods should alleviate your worry about chasing deadlines set by companies. However, you can easily apply any of them to get your needed feedback. This way, you’ll meet deadlines and develop a user-friendly product.

4. The Artificial Intelligence Threat

Whereas manufacturing industries celebrate Artificial Intelligence because of robotic practices, the design industry views it as a threat to UX designers.

The AI cognitive abilities dread futurists because AI integrates human-like abilities and can think like an experienced UX designer.

These AI devices can receive auditory, visual, and sensual information. Furthermore, they can store the information for future reference. In addition, AI devices can comprehend any information.

So their algorithms can make independent decisions. They can integrate user research and suggest viable ideas for any UX design.

Not to forget the AI devices’ ability to identify personalized contexts. For instance, they identify the provided content and show different template images to users. So they can quickly identify users’ interests and present them with related ads or content.

Identification of personalized content improves user experience and adds more value to it. In other words, the users are presented with relevant and satisfactory content and ads.

In addition, AI devices can identify different structures. So they can quickly identify the tiniest differences in image or object structure that most humans miss. This feature evolves UX designing because of the ability to judge the design and layout suitable for particular users.

Furthermore, websites will gain redesigning features effective for when users shift likings and interests.

The voice recognition and search optimization feature in AI also threatens UX designers. Since this technology can understand and respond to different languages, it applies to any country and culture.

Some UX designers may become concerned about whether their work value will remain the same in the future with all these incredible AI design system features. With some work lifted off the UX designers’ shoulders, it is uncertain whether their pay will remain lucrative.

5. Balancing Businesses and Design Solutions

Design solutions and product development strategies must align with the company’s business goals. So experienced UX designers have to compromise to maintain the balance.

Conversely, UX designers have use-centric mindsets that dictate the need to deliver user-satisfactory products. And since business run on profits, balancing design solutions and company goals becomes challenging.

But since business also understands the need for user experience, UX designers and stakeholders have to reach a consensus.

So, the designers need to develop a product that maintains or improves user experience. As a result, the company gains customer loyalty. Thus, a positive impact on the revenues.

6. Navigating the Constantly Changing UX Design Job Titles

The list of UX job titles never seems to end. This issue stems from the broad user experience field, which makes UX designing branch into several areas of specialization. As a result, companies hire design specialists to focus on various areas, such as:

• Architecture
• UX writing
• Usability analysis
• UX analysis

In addition, the general UX designer job title has several confusing new terms. For instance, the famous full stack designer job title.

Some people fail to settle on the right UX designer to handle start-up or large company user experience needs. So, designers find it challenging to establish a specific position within the company.

Furthermore, it’s still unclear whether to generalize or specialize since UX designers conduct various tasks. These tasks include user research, creating wireframes, and facilitating ideation workshops. With all these responsibilities on your shoulders, it’s challenging to establish your title as a UX analyst, writer, or usability analyst.

7. Negative Feedback

UX designers don’t always work independently. They need approval from design managers, CEOs, and other peer designers. Sometimes the approval occurs smoothly, but it is possible to get rather subjective feedback from some design professionals.

It can be frustrating for such professionals not to alter anything on your designs but instead give intuition-based feedback. In other cases, it would be easy to initiate a professional conversation upon inquiry of the reasons behind the feedback.

However, it’s crucial to base your designs on strong cases and engage in relevant talks before approval. This way, you’ll present your mindset and help design professionals better understand your UX designs.

8. UX Designs and Consumer Psychology

Product users have several options, making it difficult for designers to understand their interests. So to focus on user experience, designers employ consumer psychology.

Since consumer psychology involves contours, colors, and spatial structures, designers are constantly forced to change their techniques of user experience analysis. Sometimes, companies will only go for UX designers who already understand the business side of the product.

Conclusion

Designers may face these challenges, but the upside of their work makes the design industry thrive. The underrated elements of the job, including clear communication, reduction of overheads, and branding, are a few things that require immediate attention.