UX design

In my last blog entry I talked about learning design. Today I want to talk about a related concept called UX. A part of me thinks that UX is and should be considered as a part of learning design but having talked to a number of people about this, I have arrived at the conclusion that these two concepts are thought of as related but separate so will happily leave it at that.

UX refers to user experience and is how a person (user) feels when they use a product or service or interface with a system. The key word here being experience. UXD refers to user experience design and encompasses factors such as:
  • how usable (and useful) the product is
  • how will the user interact with the product 
  • how accessible the product is 
  • how visually pleasing it is 
  • how easily and intuitively it can be used by the customer.                                                                  
The overall focus with UXD seems to be to address all areas of a product that will be used by a customer and ensure that the customer is pleased with how and when they use the product. User experience is a very important consideration because user experience focused products and services aim to address each and every need that a user can have regarding that product. The result being a product or service that works very well for the user and leads to a happy and satisfied user (customer).

Like learning design UX is a concept that has increasingly become popular in the last few years. More importantly it has also made the transition from something that was only thought as being in the domain of IT departments and website designers to something that teachers and L&D practitioners also have to know about and be involved with. Like learning design, user experience design also starts with understanding the user and their needs and then developing a product after several iterations and rounds of testing. On the other hand, it appears, UX differs from learning design in a number of aspects such as ensuring the learner is assessed in a relevant manner and they are provided external support by teachers/trainers etc.


There is growing convergence between providing the most relevant and results oriented learning experience and the need to ensure that an online interaction gives a very good experience to the user in terms of aesthetics, navigation, relatability, utility and accessibility. User experience design is fast gaining prominence as a focus area when it comes to developing a bond between the user and the product. This logic can be extended to learning in both corporate and educational setting as well. The best course of action seems to be to ensure that learning designers are aware of the importance and benefits of UX design and provide them with the right tools so they can make learning and its associated environment the best possible combination for ensuring the success of learning.

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