User Experience (UX) design has become a critical element for websites. A single disjointed visual element can significantly affect your customers’ reception of your brand. For this reason, it’s imperative for business owners to realize the power of each UX element, including graphic designs. In this blog, we’ll discuss how companies can utilize graphic designs to improve a website’s overall user experience.
Understanding User Experience
A website’s user experience (UX) pertains to how people feel when navigating a website, mobile application, and other digital products. The ultimate objective of a UX design is to provide a seamless, efficient, and relevant experience among users.
To further understand this, here are the five elements that determine a UX design:
- Strategy – Identifying user needs and business objectives
- Scope – Determining the functions and content to be included in the design to provide solutions to user problems
- Structure – Creating information architecture and interaction design
- Skeleton – Designing wireframes that will dictate the interface and navigation
- Surface – Executing visual design
In short, UX design is more than just creating a responsive and engaging website. It determines how customers can experience a company’s overall business objectives.
Recent surveys suggest that 24.3% of companies spend approximately $2,300 to achieve an excellent website UX design. Pricey? Not really. Similar surveys found that 94% of a company’s first impressions are due to its website design, while 48% of visitors say that a website’s UX determines a brand’s credibility.
Basics of Graphic Designs
Graphic designs have long been a vital element in marketing. Despite this, there are still numerous businesses that see graphic designs as mere decorative elements to accentuate other content of a website.
In fact, recent surveys suggest that 75% of people form their opinion of a brand due to a website’s overall aesthetics. Aside from this, a whopping 94% of consumers are likely to leave a website if it has poor graphic designs.
Marketers and business owners should understand that graphic designs have the power to optimize a website’s UX. Visual hierarchies, page layouts, typography, images, and other visual elements don’t just organize content but create a seamless integration within the elements of a website.
For example, the recent upgrade in Airbnb’s website features tiny icons to represent their accommodation offers. While it may be subtle, it improves the readability of the particular area of their website. Furthermore, it adds a fun and perky personality to its brand, which will greatly appeal to travelers.
Role of Graphic Design in Website User Experience
To further understand how graphic designs can make or break a website’s user experience, here are some of the roles of graphic designs in website UX according to experts:
Creates the first impression
Graphic designs are the first website elements noticed by users within a website. Right off the bat, they can create a first impression of your brand. Regardless of how impressive your offer is, a pixelated image or an ineligible banner can drive away potential customers.
The website of Quickbooks is a great example of this. Since the brand offers a way to organize your company’s finances, there isn’t a single visual element misplaced on their website. Simple and organized, just like their solution.
Simple but sleek homepage of Quickbooks.
Creates visual appeal
Psychology suggests that images and other forms of visualization prompt particular emotions. So, aside from first impressions, professional graphic designs can appeal to the emotions of website visitors. Wow, this website looks fun! Nice, this website looks luxurious!
For example, the homepage of Notion uses minimalist yet creative graphics. It automatically sends the message that it’s a great website to organize creative outputs.
Enticing graphics on Notion’s homepage.
For this reason, it’s best to hire professional graphic designers to encapsulate the true essence of your brand. Using stock photos or graphics from the web might not help your brand communicate your offer properly.
To learn how graphic designs can effectively drive revenue for your company, read our article The Impact of Visual Content in Marketing: A Guide for Businesses
Organizes content
As mentioned a while ago, graphics and other visual elements can help organize a website’s content. While it may sound like a simple chore, remember that a website’s content will only be effective if it can easily be understood and digested by potential clients.
For example, while Booking.com is one of the premier hospitality websites on the internet today, the company can still improve its use of graphics. The use of numerous ranking elements such as circles, thumbs up, and the score might be confusing for new users.
Sample of Booking.com listings.
Enhances readability
Graphic designs should support and improve other content of the website. It shouldn’t overpower the content and cause confusion within the UX.
Take a look at this website of a local orthodontic clinic. The use of an image of a desk as a background decreases the readability of the website. The desk doesn’t really have anything to do with its value proposition, and it somehow obscures the main call to action of the homepage. Aside from the fact that it reduces the overall aesthetic appeal of the website, it may significantly affect the business’s conversion rates.
Sample CTA from an orthodontist website.
Establishes coherence
Using consistent style across your website graphics establishes coherence within your UX design. This makes users feel like each feature and section of your website seamlessly integrates with one another. Even the slightest change in the website’s aesthetic can create a user hiccup, which may prevent a potential client from exploring other areas of the website.
Medium has some of the most impressive graphics regarding website UX. The posting features are placed within the dashboard through a quick and useful gif. This shows users that posting on their website is easy and uncomplicated.
Posting features on Medium.
Promotes brand recall
Most importantly, the excellent use of graphics within a website’s UX promotes brand recall and customer loyalty among users. And there’s no better company to show how this is done than Apple. Their brand identity on their UX is so strong that consumers who have experienced their products find other gadgets uncomfortable to use.
Apple’s impeccable use of graphic designs for their website UX.
To learn more about the relationship between brand identity and graphic design, read our article How Professional Graphic Design Enhances Brand Identity for Companies
Give your clients a seamless website user experience today.
Businesses need professional graphic designers to ensure a seamless website user experience. Fortunately, businesses could easily connect with professional graphic designers with Seter Graphic Labs.
The team of graphic designers of Seter Graphic Labs possesses the expertise to create visually appealing and engaging designs that capture users’ attention and convey the brand’s message effectively. We understand the principles of color theory, typography, and layout, ensuring a harmonious and aesthetically pleasing interface. Moreover, our team profoundly understands user experience (UX) design, enabling them to create intuitive navigation systems, logical information hierarchies, and responsive layouts that enhance usability.
Seter Graphic Labs will allow you to ensure an efficient and effective user experience on your website, so you can focus on other areas of your business. To learn more about Seter Graphic Labs, click here.
In Summary
Graphic designs play an integral part in a website’s user experience. They can be used to communicate a message, establish brand identity, organize content, seamlessly integrate elements within your UX design, and affect clients’ perceptions of your company. For this reason, business owners must be mindful of the graphic designs used on their websites. With today’s tight competition among digital brands, every visual element on your UX design counts!
