Human Centered DesignUser Experience + Visual Design
Human-centered design (HCD) is the combined capability of user experience and visual design, rooted in a deep understanding of who your users are, what motivates them, and what they are trying to accomplish.
20%-30%
improvement in customer satisfaction when organizations focus on customer experience (McKinsey)
86%
of business buyers are more likely to buy if companies understand their goals, but 59% say they don’t take the time to understand them (Salesforce)
89%
of customers kept by companies with the strongest omnichannel engagement strategies (Aberdeen Group, Inc.)
Human-centered design is user-focused.
It is common for companies to become internally focused and lose sight of what customers want from them, and how they want to interact with them. The research conducted as part of the HCD process highlights the needs, motivations, and pain points of your different users.
Human-centered design is based on detailed research.
HCD starts with detailed qualitative and quantitative research into your users. Example activities include:
- Stakeholder interviews
- Surveys
- Competitive/comparative audits
- Heuristic analysis
- Persona development
- Journey mapping
- Empathy mapping
The findings from HCD research inform multiple aspects of the design process.
The findings can be used create new taxonomies to help create relationships between content items (and power better search experiences), improve navigation, create cohesive design systems that are intuitive to navigate as well as be easy to manage for content editors.
The findings also inform the visual design strategy, allowing us to create compelling user interfaces that aid in delivering a great customer experience.
Human-centered design improves omnichannel experiences.
Modern marketing experiences are more omnichannel, requiring us to think about and design the customer experience across all touchpoints, not just your website or direct customer contact points. It is also foundational to a successful personalization strategy.
Our HCD approach includes accessibility.
Designing for accessibility is our standard operating procedure, ensuring your content is navigable by all users including those with disabilities. Optimizing for accessibility can also help improve search engine optimization (SEO) and better allow your content to be accessed by AI models.
Human-Centered Design services include:
User Experience Design Services
User experience (UX) design is essential for driving engagement, conversion, and loyalty by ensuring that every digital interaction is intuitive, personalized, and aligned with customer needs.
User Experience Research Services
The most effective user experience design is born from a deep understanding of who your users are, their needs, what influences them, and the pain points they have. It’s easy for organizations to lose sight of customers’ perspective; that’s where our user research comes in.
Customer Journey Optimization Services
As customer journeys become more complex and cross multiple channels, brands must focus on personalizing key touchpoints and engaging customers wherever they are.
User Interface Design
Thoughtfully designed user interface elements guide users through tasks effortlessly, minimizing friction and frustration, in addition to looking beautiful. This translates into increased user engagement and longer session times.
Content Services
We work with our customers to ensure your content strategy enables you to deliver on your overall strategic objectives and meet users’ needs. We can support a wide array of content services, including content strategy, development, information architecture, optimization for SEO and AI.
Related Work
NIH National Center for Biotechnology Information
New Design System Streamlines Internal Processes
Implementing a design system for their website has allowed the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the National Institutes of Health to quickly launch responsive and accessible web pages that follow brand guidelines and have a consistent look and user experience.
American Society of Civil Engineers
Using Augmented Reality to See the Future
The American Society of Civil Engineers needed a new digital hub to launch Future World Vision, a bold mission to modernize the civil engineering profession. The hub, which hosted an augmented reality app, “Mega City 2070,” got more than 475 downloads within a week of launch.
UFP Industries
Sitecore Upgrade Leads to Optimal Customer Journeys
With a focus on customer personas, AgencyQ upgraded the UFP Industries website and three corresponding vertical-focused sites onto a new Sitecore platform, using Sitecore Experience Accelerator. This has resulted in optimal customer journeys across all four sites.