To answer this question in general, it is the development and menstruation of the industry that caused the transition from web design to UX design. But let’s get further specific and analyze some of the details that led to this transition.
Firstly, define web design and UX design. In my understanding of web design, this is a design process that is closely related to UI design, which focuses more on the visual parts of a webpage. While UX design is about the whole process of the user using the product. UX design requires a lot more consideration than just web design. UX design is about the whole process of the user using the product. UX design requires a lot more consideration than just web design.
As the design industry develops, people’s needs for product design become more and more detailed, and consequently the breakdown of the design process becomes more and more specific. UX design and web design are related, but they play different roles in the design process.
UX design is about the whole process of the user using the product. UX design requires a lot more consideration than just web design.
Web design was born much earlier than UX design. Web design came into existence with the birth of the web. It was back in the early 1990s. During this period, the internet became popular and people gradually realized that they needed a better way to present and view information. Web design was also created to optimize the experience of people using websites. It is therefore inseparable from what we now call ux design. At that time, however, most of the devices that people used were computers, cell phones and other electronic devices were not yet available and popular. The term of ux design was first coined by the cognitive psychologist and designer Don Norman when he worked at Apple Computer in 1993. So we can say that the field of UX design predates the emergence of the term itself.
Nowadays, when we talk about UX design, it mostly refers to the overall experience of the user about using the product. This includes not only UI design but also very important preliminary research, understanding of user needs, product goals and user pain points. It also requires the use of different design tools to make the design goals clear. These include wireframing, information architecture, and prototyping. after some prototyping is done, user testing is conducted to ensure the usability of the design.
Overall, as the design industry has evolved, design has become more and more segmented and detailed. The need for more specific detail in the product is driving the design industry. The advancement of hardware and the diversification of electronic products have also pushed the design of products to become more broad rather than limited to the web, and design has gradually become more user-centered, with designers taking business goals as a lighthouse, and making the entire user journey the goal of design. When it comes to design teams, UX design is also working with more roles, while web design focuses more on visual parts.
Citation
World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience. “A 100-Year View of User Experience (by Jakob Nielsen).” Nielsen Norman Group, www.nngroup.com/articles/100-years-ux/. Accessed 9 Nov. 2023.
Vieira, Tania. “A Brief History of UX Design and Its Evolution.” TNW | Syndication, 23 Jan. 2020, thenextweb.com/news/a-brief-history-of-ux-design-and-its-evolution#:~:text=The%20term%20was%20first%20coined,crucial%20to%20understanding%20this%20field.
