The History of User Experience
User Experience as a term was coined by the famous designer Don Norman in the 1990's but there is evidence of this profession being utilized hundred of years earlier. Way back in the year 4000 B.C. an ancient Chinese philosophy called Feng Shui can be seen as being the earliest evidence of UX. This philosophy is centered around the idea of arranging your surroundings in the most optimal or user-friendly way. "The end goal is the same: to create an intuitive, user-friendly experience. In this respect, you could say that Feng Shui was one of the earliest nods to UX as we know it today" (Stevens 1). Another point of origin for UX can be traced back to Ancient Greece. Greek civilizations based the design of their tools and workplaces on ergonomic principles.
Ergonomic is relating to or designed for efficiency and comfort in the working environment. Ancient Greek creatives realized the important reality that most people don't have the patience to deal with tools that confuse them rather than helping complete a task. Another famous figure Frederick Winslow Taylor built on this foundation by conducting extensive research into the interactions between workers and their tools. Although he was criticized for viewing humans as cogs in a machine he still shaped the early vision of what interactions between laborers and their tools should be like. Toyota created a system that was much more widely accepted by the public because it focused more on respecting people and making work environments as close to perfect as possible. "While Toyota, like Ford, valued efficiency in engineering and production, it also sought its employees input. The assembly workers’ contributions were valued greatly—almost as much as the technologies used" (Tariq 1).
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The success that they experienced because of this philosophy shined a new light on the role of human interaction with technology. Henry Dreyfus is another key contributor to the field of user experience. He was an industrial engineer celebrated for his unique design philosophy. In his book Designing for People he sums up the job of a UX Designer in two sentences. “When the point of contact between the product and the people becomes a point of friction, then the [designer] has failed. On the other hand, if people are made safer, more comfortable, more eager to purchase, more efficient—or just plain happier—by contact with the product, then the designer has succeeded” (Stevens 1).
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These important events built a solid foundation for the UX field to stand on. From this point on we start to see individuals revolutionize this foundation to fit their own personal needs. One of the first people to do this on a massive scale was Walt Disney. Everyone knows that a trip to Disney World is an experience that every kid dreams of but more importantly he set the bar very high for amusement parks. "In a very early-stage announcement of what would later become Disney World, Walt Disney described the project as “always in the state of becoming, a place where the latest technology can be used to improve the lives of people” (Tariq 1). The brilliance of Disney World is something that will inspire creatives forever. There are two final entities that shaped user experience into what we know it as today. These two important companies are Xerox and unsurprisingly Apple. Xerox is responsible for major components of the personal computers we all love today such as the graphical user interface and the mouse. Apple has always been a step ahead of the game much like Disney. They have a long list of products that everyone loves but the most important in terms of innovative user experience are the iPod and iPhone. When first introducing Apple I said that it was unsurprising because of all these important building blocks in the field I believe that Apple is one of the most important. Up until 1995 all of this user experience research was happening but it didn't have the title yet. A cognitive scientist known as Donald Norman joined Apple in the 90s as a User Experience Architect. He was the first person to have UX in his job title. "He came up with the term “user experience design” as a way of encompassing all that UX is. As he explains, “I invented the term because I thought human interface and usability were too narrow: I wanted to cover all aspects of the person’s experience with a system, including industrial design, graphics, the interface, the physical interaction, and the manual” (Stevens 2). Apple was not only a major factor in innovative user experience but also came up with the term itself.
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In this modern world where people are becoming more reliant on technology along with the digital world every day, User Experience has more relevance today than it ever did. The technology industry is always evolving leading to constant competition between products. Satisfying your customer with a pleasant user experience is essential in gaining their loyalty. It is no accident that the actual Apple Store that you visit in person stands out from others. Every part of that store from the genius bar to the display pictures on the wall was meticulously designed to provide a welcoming atmosphere to make customers happy. Due to our societies shift towards everyone having a voice and every opinion being acknowledged this is a great time to venture into this field. If a bad website design makes a customer unhappy or frustrated there are so many ways they can provide their constructive criticism leading to their conflict being resolved. From customer reviews to social media every piece of information is important in providing a user experience that satisfies everyone.
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