Why Is User Experience So Expensive 🤯

But do you know what is even more expensive? Bad user experience.

“Poor design creates friction.” — Jared M. Spool

User experience (UX) design can sometimes be perceived as expensive thanks to several factors. However, it is important to mention that while UX design may seem costly upfront, it leads to significant long-term benefits that overpower the initial investment. Here are some reasons why UX design can be expensive:

1. Expertise: As UX designers we need to understand human psychology, design principles, usability, and user research methodologies. Our expertise comes at a cost, as businesses need to hire or contract experienced professionals to ensure a high-quality user experience. Practice makes it better.

2. Research and Testing: UX design involves comprehensive research and testing to understand user needs, preferences, and behaviours. This includes user interviews, surveys, usability testing, and competitor analysis. Gathering and analyzing this data is time-consuming and costly.

3. Iteration: My personal favourite. Creating a seamless user experience requires multiple iterations and refinements. This iterative process involves constant testing and feedback, which can extend the project timeline and increase costs.

4. Tools and Software: UX designers use a variety of technical tools and software for prototyping, wireframing, and testing. These tools often come with subscription fees or licensing costs, adding to the overall expense.

5. User-Centered Design: UX design concentrates on designing services or products that meet the needs and expectations of users. This user-centred approach requires substantial changes to existing designs or the development of entirely new solutions, which can be expensive to implement.

It happens with daily goods and physical products as well. You buy a cheap pair of shoes, they last a season and then you need to buy a new one. Most likely because someone didn’t want to invest more in the product and prolong its longevity.

When it comes to (web) design service we have a full episode on our podcast talking about how sometimes cheap ends up being more expensive.

Design is a marvelous discipline, bringing together technology and people, business and politics, culture and commerce…On the one hand, woefully complex constraints to overcome; on the other hand, the opportunity to develop things that assist and enrich the lives of people, that bring benefits and enjoyment. — Don Norman, The design of everyday things (Revisited and Expanded Edition)

To all my colleagues: Do you even know as a generalist or specialist how much time you have spent crafting your skill(s)? I am not talking about just courses, tutorials, and books. How many hours and days have you spent applying everything you know to your life and when do you stop learning and working? Let me know in the comments!

Don’t forget to value your time, efforts and knowledge. See you next week 😊

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