User Experience (UX) & User Interface (UI) Design

UX design, or User Experience Design, is used to improve the way people use, access, and engage with a product. It is both an art and a science that relies on measurement and data as well as creative thinking and problem-solving.

This centres around the experience a user has with your website and digital brand in the digital world.

Poor design can have a negative impact on your retention and conversions, so getting it right is important. Poor website experiences happen when visitors can’t easily find what they need or complete an online checkout without issues.

Thoughtful web design that considers UX/UI design is a must to attract and retain online customers.

A UX design agency is a consultancy that specialises in user experience. These companies can design and build a mobile app UI, website, and even B2B software. Because there are so many different applications for UX, there are many subtypes of user experience design companies that specialise in different focuses.

A design agency that offers consulting can be a valuable asset for companies interested in innovating their business structure and marketing strategies to increase their success with customer engagement.

When engaged in a consulting agreement, a web design and development agency uses its UX/UI design expertise to help clients fully leverage the power of UX. This, in turn, helps the client create a sustainable business strategy.

If you have an in-house marketing agency or company web designers, you may discover that they are too close to a project to develop an unbiased perspective. Often, enlisting the view of an outside trained consultant can go a long way towards discovering solutions that have been hiding in plain sight.

They may spot issues in the web design, web apps, or even the business strategy.

Working with a consultant can ultimately help your business increase its efficiency and raise profit margins. Additionally, it can help ensure that your UX design reaches its ultimate potential, optimise conversion rates, boost lead generation, and increase customer loyalty and lifetime value.

UX agencies can range significantly in cost, and many have completely different pricing models. As the old adage goes, you often get what you pay for, so business owners should be wary of being promised the moon and stars for a price that seems too good to be true. That said, it's always wise to compare prices and the services being included.

Most UX agencies include some core services in their price. For example, typically, the designer with a project manager and business analyst will conduct research and study the market. During this initial stage, they'll define your target audience and gain a thorough understanding of your clients' needs.

This information will be used to develop a typical user description, commonly known as a persona. This process stage is all about mapping out the user journey, including frequent pain points encountered during the average user's interaction with the website or app.

The next stages involve strategising, testing, and finding the best ways to implement useful changes.
Typically, UX agencies use two different pricing methods to charge for these services: time-based pricing and project-based pricing.

Time-based pricing is when a company charges hourly, daily, or weekly rates. Clients pay based on the time the agency spends working for you. While time-based pricing offers flexibility in collaboration, sometimes costs can climb rapidly if a project is mismanaged and inefficiencies start to creep in.

Then there's project-based pricing which utilises a fixed price. While project-based pricing can offer budgeting benefits, it can also lead to frustrations if the project's scope isn't detailed from the very beginning. If you go this route, it's best, to begin with, a thoroughly detailed proposal and agreement that outlines what is and isn't included.

When it comes to actual dollars and cents, there can be big differences in UX agency prices. Hourly rates can vary from anywhere between $50 to several hundred dollars. Larger companies with longer track records sometimes charge more to make sure they can cover their numerous organisational and administrative expenses. That said, this extra expense may come with the benefit of a larger, more experienced team at your disposal.

Since user experience (UX) revolves around the digital experiences that users will have with a company's products and services, it is critically important to a business's success.

Effective UX design goes beyond design thinking; it incorporates business analysis, big picture thinking, and systems thinking.
Ultimately, the aim is to connect a business's goals to the user’s needs through a process of user and usability testing and refinement that satisfies both parties.

UX consultants discover user needs by doing extensive research that helps them understand their clients' target audiences. This can involve surveys, interviews, and other forms of analytics.

Website audits are another vital tool for improving user experience, and they can result in quickly identifying low-hanging fruit that will result in immediate wins.

Before simply implementing these changes, UX consultants will often build prototypes for their clients to carry out usability testing. Prototyping, testing, and continued iteration can be an involving and time-consuming process, but it can result in significant improvements for your users.

The consulting process also involves strategising and implementing changes as needed.

Because UX can have such a big impact on a business's top and bottom lines, it's an investment that can pay dividends. For example, here are just a few areas where businesses typically see increased ROI from UX improvements:

Higher conversion rate and increased overall revenue – Greater ease of use typically leads to better attachment to the brand and higher customer loyalty.

Increased customer and business-to-business satisfaction- Customers love well-designed products that give them what they need and want (and what they don’t know they need and want)

Lower support costs – Getting ahead of user issues can lower a company's costs when it comes to supporting resources.
Reduced development waste – Having a UX designer involved from the beginning of a project can increase development efficiency and save money in the development phase.

Supports SEO – Search engine rankings are often improved by UX improvements that result in increased page speed, mobile responsiveness, and user-friendly URL structures.

Customer experience is a key brand differentiator, and it could be why your customers choose your business over your competitors. That's why it is incredibly valuable to consider your users' goals and optimise their experience. Great UX is an investment that can ultimately generate a massive return.

UX centres on user behaviour and how people interact with a product or platform. On the other hand, Customer Experience (CX) is about understanding the customer's journey, expectations, and relationship with your brand.

UX is just one component of CX. By first understanding your customer's journey, you can then improve your digital experience accordingly. If you don’t offer a top-notch customer experience, your business may suffer as a result.

At Rysen, we have been producing award-winning solutions for our clients - from start-ups to large organisations - since 2006. We live and breathe user experience design.

We don’t just look at UX in isolation - we also have the capability of a full-service digital agency. Our team is organised to support you through multiple services, such as digital strategy, eCommerce, web development, web design, project management, graphic design, mobile app development, branding and digital marketing, and other marketing and design services.

At Rysen, we're passionate about getting results. As a boutique UX agency, we're agile and adaptable enough to provide bespoke digital marketing solutions for every client we work with.

At Rysen, we know that a strong interface must be intuitive, easy to use, and visually appealing. It should be designed with the user in mind, making it easy for them to interact, so they linger, explore your site, and eventually convert. But what does that mean in practice?

The navigation should be simple, straightforward, and optimised for accessibility, while buttons and icons should be clearly labelled. The layout should be clean and organised, with minimal clutter, particularly the landing page.

Text fonts should be easy on the eyes, and all elements should be sized appropriately. It’s also important to consider how users will interpret different colours and how they can be used to create a smooth, compelling and coherent experience.

In addition, an exemplary user interface must be responsive, meaning it will adapt to all screen sizes and breakpoints from Wide Desktop, to Tablet, to Mobile and everything in between. It should automatically resize or rearrange its elements to create the most comfortable and efficient experience possible.

Rysen’s award-winning UX design services lead the way in interface design and development, having worked with a vast array of clients across a spectrum of industries, brands and products.

We combine user insights, UX best practices, and a strategic data-driven approach to create customised digital experiences and develop first-class web solutions for enterprises big and small in Sydney and wider Australia.