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What Qualities to Look for in a UI/UX Design Agency

Things to Know about UX Designs Agency

Competition in business is stiff. It is hard to one-up the other and there are so many ways to be more competitive. But first, one has to attract a client’s attention in order to be successful in the business. That’s where user experience design firms come in. They make businesses more competitive.

In this day and age, businesses—whether they have something to do with software development or technology—should have a website. Even old businesses which enjoy the comfort of tradition, loyalty and name-recall should never be complacent. Websites just make businesses more accessible and more available. And when the business has a website, it is essential that it is attractive—that’s where user interface (UI) design comes in—and user-friendly—that’s where user experience (UX) becomes essential.

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So what qualities should a business look for when hiring UI or UX design firms?

The UX design agency should have beautiful and functional designs

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Obviously, a business needs to look for a design agency that makes great design work. But a great design is not just about a beautiful website layout. When it comes to a website or a mobile app, a great design refers to the overall functionality of the application. If the business is eyeing a design company, it should research about the firm’s past and current projects. See how functional the designs are and determine if these are in tune with the business’s overall theme.

One important thing that a business should look out for is how user-centered the design is. A business cannot get clients if web users cannot navigate the site properly. That is why it is called a user experience design because the application design should make a customer’s web exploration effortless—one could even throw in the fun if that is possible and what the business is about.

Values open communication and open collaboration

Communication is important. The business should know what the customers want, and the design firm should know how to target these customers based on what they want. A business should find a firm that can engage the whole company through its design. When shopping for a user experience design agency, the business should not depend on the repertoire of the firm on paper. A meeting should be set and the business should be wowed by the design agency’s presentation. The digital presentation should be engaging and the business’s goal should be loud and clear based on the design work—no verbal communication needed. Of course, the development team should also be able to articulate the story behind the work, but that will have to be after the website design presentation.

While the design firms are considered experts in the realm of digital design, the design process is a two-way course. The agency should be open to ideas and even criticisms. Moreover, the firm should be able to integrate the business’s ideas into the output. At the same time, the design firm should also be able to make a stand if it considers the business’s idea as off-putting.

Find a UX agency with an innovative mind

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It is a good idea for a business to quiz the digital agency about various problems that may come up during software development or with the actual website design. It is best to keep the firm on its toes and know if it has what it takes to solve problems. An innovative character also means that there is always space for an upgrade. Just like every other part of technology, the design is continuously evolving and being innovative means keeping ahead of the changes.

When hiring a design agency, it is very important that the business asks questions. Not only that, it should be able to present possible scenarios to ensure that the design agency knows how to solve a problem if it arises.

Passion for design

Most successful entrepreneurs would say that their business did not succeed without passion. Passion is an important value for whatever business it is. That goes for design. There are so many graphic design ideas out there, but without the passion to learn new things, designers could find themselves stuck. Passion should be ingrained among UX and UI companies to give their designs soul. Also, with passion, work becomes easy. So from the point of view of the business, hiring a firm that is passionate with its work makes it easy to interact and collaborate.

Now that the requirements are set for what kind of Design Company the business sets out to work with, how should the hiring process go? Here are three steps in ensuring one hires the best agency out there.

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  • Research the best user experience design firms which have the core values that could deliver your business’s goals.

The business could make a list of the top three (or top five if it has the time and resources to meet all these design firms) design firms that could meet the business’s goals. It is not even about having the same core values, it is about the agency’s attitude to conform, collaborate and implement. One may check out each of the firm’s repertoire to have an idea on how they do their work.

  • Meet with the top agencies in your list, which was based on research.

The business’s management team should develop a scorecard that would indicate the qualities and specific criteria on what to look for in a design agency. The specifics may include the location of the firm (San Francisco and Los Angeles have among the best UI and UX design agencies), clientele, work environment, number of designers, technology and software being used, etc. Each employee of the business that will attend the meeting should answer the scorecard as pedantically as possible. Aside from the scorecard, the business should be armed with questions to throw to the design company. The ability to answer the questions should also be part of the scorecard.

  • The business’s management team should deliberate on which among the top UX/UI design companies to hire.

Tally the scorecard and see which design firm comes out the best. But this should not be the basis for hiring. It should only be the basis for the deliberation. It may be impossible to achieve, but a unanimous decision among members of the management team is the best manifestation that the business has found its design agency. If not, then the business could go for the next favored UI/UX design agency.

Peter is a freelance writer with more than eight years of experience covering topics in politics. He was one of the guys that were here when the foreignspolicyi.org started.