about uX & Diversity

User (U): A person who uses a product or service.

Experience (X): How a user perceives all interactions with a product or service.

Why should you care about a diverse user experience (UX) ? You should care about a diverse UX if you want a broad spectrum of people to have the best possible experience with your brand—every time they interact with it. Their experience begins the first time they are aware of you.

UX research is used to identify all possible interactions a user might have with your brand, and to determine the quality of those interactions. At UXDiversity, we take UX research further, and test the experiences of people who don’t interact with your product or learn about your product in the same way that others do. This group is large, and encounters barriers often. And, while these barriers are likely unintentional, they are costly, and often go unnoticed. UXDiversity consultants can identify these barriers and provide data-driven solutions to creating more inclusive user experiences.

The Customer’s Learning Experience

Before anyone can buy your product they need to learn about it first. Before a customer can engage with your service, they need to learn how it works, and understand how it would benefit them. Before a client can tell anyone else about your brand they need to learn about it first themselves. The key action here is learning. Users learn about your product before they purchase it, and they learn how to use your product when they engage with it. What is often missed is this: How people interact with a product is similar to how people learn about a product, and learning styles vary as much as customers vary.

Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Diversity

People are customers, and customers engage differently because they have different combinations of cognitive, social, and emotional competencies. Today, 1 in 5 people is living with learning and attention issues (National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2016). This means your business might be losing 20% of your potential customers if you are not using universal design strategies to pull them in. It could also mean that 20% of your current customers aren’t experiencing the full benefits of your services because they are unaware, or worse, can’t access the full value of what you offer.

For example, cognitive learning differences can affect how long a potential customer can engage, or their ability to follow through with an intention to purchase. Differences in social skills might make it difficult for a potential customer to work with a well-intended salesperson. Differences in emotional competencies can cause some customers to walk away frustrated while others are aware that your product is worth the wait.

At UXDiversity, we analyze what it is like to use your product from the perspective of the 20% of people with learning and attention issues. We provide insights and solutions that can increase the number and variety of users that have great experiences with your products and services.