User Psychology
UX designers want to give users the best possible experience by providing the most efficient and enjoyable designs. To do this, UX designers need first to study human behavior -- more specifically, the users and their needs.
Designing for the User
When you understand your target users’ needs, you can hone in on how they will feel when you fulfill those needs. Concentrating on those emotions gives the designer tremendous leverage in connecting with the consumer. “Feel and need” statements help you identify what needs will provoke which emotions. User-centric customizations make consumers feel content and energetic because you fulfill their need to be known and heard.
Wheel of Needs
With “feel and need” statements, you can focus on the emotional motivators that will manipulate your consumers’ behaviors. Connecting with consumers’ emotions is an invaluable asset to any company and should be perceived as a strategic investment, not a whim. This company-customer bond becomes even more beneficial as customers grow more loyal to the brand.
There’s more to designing than aesthetics. It’s not about the most appealing composition but rather the most inherent format. Humans are incredibly perceptive creatures but can’t fully distinguish emotions from consequent behaviors. Thus, User Experience design caters to how behaviors are perceived. The most proactive designs analyze the users’ behavioral patterns to serve consumers better.
Essentially, UX designers need to be mind-readers. Today, consumers are busy with the hustle-and-bustle of daily life -- they don’t want to worry about making more choices. But, of course, the real balancing act is finding the fine line between taking away all choices and offering too many choices. An interface with too many options can be overwhelming and stressful. Anticipatory designs take away excessive choices by interpreting users’ needs and desires.
Website Analysis
Like many other services, competing platforms will try to gain the upper hand with their unique edge. Here, I’ll compare two of the top streaming services available: Netflix and Hulu.
It seems like these two platforms have been neck-and-neck with each other since their inception. Granted, Netflix is a year older and technically the big brother. Both operate on a nearly identical interface, except for a few small differences. For example, Netflix uses a “New and Popular” page, whereas Hulu has “News” and ”Hubs” pages.
The “Hubs” page makes me feel satisfied because it fulfills my need for flow.
I remember when Netflix didn’t have a “Search by Genre” function, which was indescribably antagonizing. Luckily, the designers have since added the option to search by genre. Comparatively, Hulu has a feature to browse by genre, but only once you click over to the genre you want to browse.
Hulu also has the newest content, with some titles available to stream the day after their network premieres. On Netflix, shows are only available after the network airs the season finale (and sometimes, until the next season premieres). Conversely, Netflix possesses a greater number of available titles, offering more overall variety for streaming shows.
Recent and next-day content makes me feel refreshed and engrossed because it fulfills my need for stimulation and excitement.
The highest Netflix plan allows users to stream on four devices simultaneously, while Hulu plans only allow streaming on two devices. However, users with the lowest Netflix plan can only play on a single device.
Being able to stream on two devices makes me feel perplexed and pessimistic because my needs for independence and freedom are not met.
For more in-depth comparisons, you can download my website analysis document below.
Buchi, C. (2022, January 13). Hulu vs. netflix 2022: Which service is best? Reviews.org. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://www.reviews.org/tv-service/hulu-vs-netflix/
Goyal, M. (2021, December 20). Combining UX design and psychology to change user behaviour. Medium. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://uxdesign.cc/combining-ux-design-and-psychology-to-change-user-behaviour-39d27730434a
Han, C. (2019, March 15). 7 principal psychological phenomena in UX Design. Medium. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://blog.prototypr.io/7-principal-psychological-phenomena-in-ux-design-1104e09fc974
Magids, S., Zorfas, A., & Leemon, D. (2019, September 23). The new science of customer emotions. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2015/11/the-new-science-of-customer-emotions