UX design and psychology: is there anything that connects these two fields? At first it might seem they are two completely different things that have nothing in common, but in fact, psychology plays a huge role in building a user-oriented design. Since any software product is used by humans, and any human mind acts according to the rules and principles of psychology, the latter serves as a great tool for UX designers to create the best user experience for their audience. Here are a few psychology-related hacks that can be applied in UX design:

The UX design process, though very creative and interesting, is often also very unpredictable in nature and might be very hard to manage. Every designer or project manager has come across issues like misunderstanding with clients, freezed or unfinished projects, rejected ideas, deadlines violation or even conflict with stakeholders. Obviously, each of these problems might have its own reasons and require separate solutions, but overall, having not enough control over a UX project is a common problem of its own. Let's discuss a few tips that can help organize UX projects more smoothly and retain control over them more effectively. 

Design thinking is a customer‑focused, non‑linear iterative approach to solving problems and finding creative solutions in the process of creating a human‑centered intuitive design for a product. It involves cross‑functional teams working together to study their users, address complex problems and think outside the box to drive innovation. Let's discuss the stages, principles and goals of this important process, as well as the positive impact it has on the design teams. 

Stages of design thinking

Design thinking is a non‑linear process, which means each team can organize it in the way most suitable for their current workflow. Nevertheless, experts define 5 stages that design thinking should include, not necessarily in the following order. 

UX research is an essential part of UX design. It implies a thorough study of a digital product's target audience by collecting and analyzing data about users, their needs and expectations, their ways of interaction with the product, and the ways the product can be improved and refined to provide the best user experience possible. All these tasks lay on the shoulders of UX researchers – professionals who systematically investigate user behavior and conduct data analysis. Let's discuss which skills are required to become a UX researcher and what responsibilities this job carries, as well as how to start a career as a researcher if you’ve just graduated and don’t have much experience.

Soft and hard skills a UX researcher should have

Since UX researchers' work includes dealing both with user emotions and numerical data, they are required to have a set of soft and hard skills to perform their job effectively. 

Soft skills for UX researchers include:

A lot of articles and guides on how to create an effective UX design for a software product mention “sticking to a user persona” in order not to waste efforts and resources on a non-target audience. What is a user persona, how to define it, and how can it help the UX team in finding the best design solutions for a product? 

With the rising popularity of AI, chatbots are rapidly becoming an essential part of any customer-oriented platform. More and more companies now integrate them into apps and websites, providing a space for their clients to interact with the business itself while taking load off human employees and reducing expenses on the customer support team. At first glance, chatbots might seem pretty uncomplicated in their design and functionality, but creating UI/UX design for chatbots requires a deep understanding of this technology and the way they can serve both business and its users. Here are some useful tips for creating a successful user experience in AI chatbot:

Training is one of the most essential factors for growth, evolution and effective collaboration for any UX design team. Design is an ever-changing industry, and there is always something new to learn even for the most experienced professionals. The reality is, not all companies take training seriously, whether the reason is a low budget, lack of time or just not realising its necessity. Meanwhile, investing in training not only boosts the quality of work, but also helps find ways to find easier solutions, work faster and optimize the whole process. Let’s discuss some tips that might help you provide effective and fruitful training for your design team without spending extra budget or wasting time on some questionable training methods. 

When creating an app or any other software product for children, one of the hardest parts of the process is conducting user research correctly. Although working with kids might seem fun and entertaining, it takes certain skills to get them engaged in testing your product and voicing their opinion so you could gather all the necessary information. It’s important to understand that mentally kids function differently than adults, so working with a young target audience requires a different approach. Treating children like adults in the UX research process can lead to serious mistakes: they might not get a proper understanding of your product and you might end up getting wrong results, only wasting your time and budget. In order to avoid that, we’ve collected a few tips below that might help you communicate with kids more effectively for a productive and fruitful research session.

Microinteractions play a huge role in UX design despite being labelled “micro”. They include all the small details you can find in a software product, i.e. animations, emotive reactions, clicks, vibrations, etc. Not only do they make it more interesting and joyful for users to interact with a product, they also help ease the navigation process and make it more intuitive by providing important information. Which types of microinteractions can be used in apps, what makes them a vital part of software products, how to implement them correctly and which common mistakes to avoid when designing small details? 

Types of microinteractions

Portfolio is one of the most important things a UX designer should have - it plays a defining role during the job application process. In professional circles it is even called a designer’s “calling card”. Portfolio is not just a collection of your work - it’s your way to present yourself, your problem-solving skills and your talent. No matter whether you’re a freelance designer who posts their portfolio online to attract clients, or if you prepare a portfolio for the HR team at a job interview, you should try to make it look both serious and interesting, while not overloading it with too much information. In this article we’ve collected a list of components that a good portfolio should contain and mistakes that should be avoided when compiling it - let’s discuss them.

Trends change rapidly in UI/UX, and new year means quite a few new emerging innovations that designers should be aware of in order to create relevant and engaging designs. Some trends stay on from previous years, some are completely new, and some might end up being the fleeting ones, so it’s important to pearl off those that truly elevate user experience and make a better impact on your product. Let’s discuss some of the most anticipated UI/UX trends of the coming year.

In today's digital world, where applications process increasing amounts of sensitive data, ensuring reliable user authentication is critical. Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of a user who is trying to access a system. A properly chosen authentication method protects data from unauthorized access, prevents fraud, and increases user confidence.

However, with the development of technology, new authentication methods are emerging, and choosing the optimal solution can be difficult. This article will help developers and business owners understand the variety of authentication approaches and make informed choices.

Gen Z – a generation of young people born between the last few years of the 20th century and the first ten years of the 21st, are the primary users of a modern-day Internet. They started using technology since their early childhood, being almost constantly glued to their smartphones and tablets, which led to them being very demanding users that have their own requirements in UX. At the same time, they are known for their sense of humor and straightforwardness – which means they love using products that are both easy to navigate but full of interactive elements. Below we’ve collected a few things you should consider when creating a UX design aimed at a young audience.

In the last couple years Artificial Intelligence has taken the world by storm, starting to revolutionize the tech industry in many aspects, including UX. AI can help UX designers to automate some routine tasks that take a lot of time, providing more space for creativity and product quality improvement. It’s not likely that AI might replace human designers in the near future, but it can definitely ease the work of designers in some ways. 

Let’s discuss how AI can be applied in UX Design these days:

In today's world, where businesses increasingly rely on effective communication, cloud technologies offer a wide range of solutions to optimize interactions both within the company and with customers. Three of the most popular options are UCaaS, CCaaS, and CPaaS. While they all fall under the umbrella of cloud communications, their functionality and applications differ significantly. Let's delve into the details.

UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service)

UCaaS unifies various communication channels, such as voice calls, video conferencing, messaging, and email, into a single platform. This allows employees to easily communicate and collaborate with each other, regardless of their location.

Benefits of UCaaS:

UX design is the backbone of any digital product like an app or a website. It’s like a “dark horse” of a product: it’s something that is not always visible to a naked eye, but without it a product would be very hard or even impossible to use. In the meantime, it’s very easy to tell apart an optimized, well-done UX from a poorly implemented one. The latter can not only turn users away from a product, but also make a negative impact on the brand perception as a whole, as it plays a great role in customer satisfaction. Of course, each product has its own UX quality criteria, as it depends on different factors like the theme of a product, age of the target audience and so on. But there are also a few general indicators of a well-done UX that are applicable to any product no matter what. Let’s discuss them:

Creation of a UX design for a software product is an ongoing process: it doesn’t stop after the product is released. In order for an app or a website to always remain comfortable to use while corresponding to the constantly changing trends, its UX design must be improved from time to time, and in some cases even rethinked and radically changed. An outdated, old-fashioned design with unimproved bugs will definitely spoil user experience and lead to loss of audience. Design improvements include not only bug fixing and “brushing up” the facade of a product, but also constant research and implementation of new ideas that can contribute to its growth. Let’s discuss a few simple steps that can improve the UX design of any product. 

According to the Oxford Dictionary, empathy is “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another”. In UX, there is a special term “user empathy”. It refers to the ability of UX designers to fully understand what users need from a particular software product. Having user empathy and basing design solutions around users” comfort is one of the most true indicators of a designer”s professionalism. Without that, any product a designer works on has a high chance of turning out to be pointless. Apart from having empathy as a soft skill in general, there are several ways a designer can practice user empathy through different UX methods and techniques. In this article we would like to talk on how a UX designer can treat users with empathy and make the product more accessible for different groups of target audience.

We are the Arcane Gaming development team, developing games since 2021. As of now, we have two major projects: Fanbattle and Suetologia. The time has come for us to take part in the Ludum Dare gaming hackathon for the first time.

If you are at the beginning of your educational path in IT, or contemplating about making changes in your career and starting learning UX design, you might have some doubts and uncertainties on whether UX design is something worth studying and working in right now. We can dispel your doubts: UX designers are very required in the majority of companies, since they help to make products appealing to users, thus raising the companies income and enhancing their reputation. Professionals in this sphere are in high demand right now, and