Low-effort and high-impact UX improvements sound far-fetched when simplifying an end-to-end experience. But the truth is that minor tweaks can make your product more enjoyable without doing a complete redesign!

You may see many of these simple design elements across websites and apps you use daily. That’s because they enhance what’s already there by helping users orient themselves in the navigation, presenting relevant content, or grabbing their attention with dynamic visuals.

So whether you’re happy with your product’s experience or don’t want to wait until a redesign to start making upgrades, here are just a few low-effort and high-impact UX Improvements that won’t soak up all your budget!

• Populate empty states
• Implement progress bars
• Incorporate localization
• Group users into segments
• Create push notifications
• Customize 404 pages

The Impact-Effort Matrix

Have you ever prioritized your daily to-dos by how easy or difficult each task is? You’re not the only one, which explains why the impact-effort matrix exists.

The impact-effort matrix is a top-down view of all the work your product team has to do to improve the user experience. By breaking this chart down into four different categories (kind of like a political compass test), you can create a scatter plot that helps your team understand how much work each task requires and the effect it will have on the product.

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This model from the Nielson Norman Group illustrates the varying levels of investment and efficiency each task has in the broader scope of the project. When you capture each requirement and place them into their respective category, you and your team can quickly prioritize the best action plan.

Or as some would put it, “Work smarter, not harder.”

The idea behind low-effort, high-impact UX improvements are design elements and strategic effort that fall under quick wins. It’s about creating a win-win scenario for the users and your team: cost-effective, minimally involved features that still engage the target audience.

6 Low-Effort and High-Impact UX Improvements

Let’s face it…building a new platform, improving a user flow, or redesigning an existing product requires a TON of work from both the client and internal team. With as many moving parts as UX has, win-win scenarios are pretty rare. 

But quick fixes aren’t unrealistic, especially if you want to keep optimizing the product post-launch. Iterations and improvements are always possible in the UX design process!

So before you release a new feature or MVP, try implementing these elements to enhance the experience between versions.

Populate Empty States

White space is an easy way to make your product’s interface look clean, sophisticated, and organized…in moderation.

The downside of too much white space is that it can make a design look incomplete. Have you ever seen a website with too much space between elements and thought something was missing? It’s incredibly distracting and breaks up the flow of a scrolling experience.

If you notice too much white space between sections, think of ways to close that visual gap with helpful content for your users. Video tutorials, blog links, infographics, everything’s on the table (as long as it’s relevant to the rest of the page’s content).

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Implement Progress Bars

Whether it’s a kind word from a coworker or a notification from an app you’re using, we all love a little positive reinforcement. But it doesn’t have to stay relegated to email or SMS.

Progress bars serve two purposes in UX: They let us orient ourselves in the user journey and show us how far we are from achieving our goal. They also give the user that little extra reassurance we need to keep pressing forward to the final conversion point.

If your digital platform has an onboarding process or some other multi-step flow, progress bars are a great way to help users gauge how much work they have to do and encourage them to complete their goals. Use this quick fix to give your users the subtle nudge they need through screens.

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Incorporate Localization

Have you ever wondered why some websites have different versions for different countries? That’s localization at work!

Localization is more than just translating your website copy to a different language. It's about adapting your interface to reflect the culture of your users. This is an absolute must if your platform reaches users outside your native country.

If your digital product expands to a foreign location (which is ultimately the goal) or if you’re noticing a spike in users located abroad, think about what’s causing that influx and decide if it’s time to create a new version that represents your international audience.

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Group Users Into Segments

If you’re a frequent reader of our blogs, you don’t need us to go on another tangent about how impactful personalization is (the 75% engagement rate speaks for itself). But grouping users into segments based on their behavior helps you personalize their experience smarter, not harder.

Pretend you’re watching a movie or TV show on a streaming service and you add it to your “Favorites” list. Chances are that the platform will recommend a bunch of new content under a “Because you liked (blank)” heading. That’s because the platform captured your behavior and put you into a segment with other users that took the same actions.

Segmenting your audience saves your users time by finding content that’s relevant to their tastes. Plus, digital marketing platforms use audience segments to help businesses be more strategic with their campaigns, rewarding engaged users and incentivizing casual users.

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Create Push Notifications

Some digital products don’t warrant everyday use (appointment booking platforms, travel apps, and online shopping are a few examples). So it’s on you to remind the user of your existence and alert them to new products or deals they wouldn’t see if they’re not a daily visitor.

Push notifications are super simple to set up and are extremely effective in customer engagement (about 88% of mobile users are likely to interact with them). With some good timing and clever copy, you can grab your user’s attention whenever and encourage them to revisit your product.

Whether you're using them to provide real-time updates about your product or retain your customer base, push notifications should always have a home in your marketing strategy.

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Customize 404 Pages

No one likes running into an error page, but they’re a fact of life. Links break, pages disappear or move to new addresses, and users type the wrong URL all the time. But that doesn’t mean your 404 page should look as bad as it makes the user feel.

Instead, think of your 404 page as an opportunity to lead your user somewhere else. You can use them to provide helpful links, display your products, or redirect them to your support portal. Couple those elements with some fun graphics or animation, and you can make more tolerable errors.

There’s a world of possibilities with your 404 page. If you need some ideas, check out our Creative 404 Page Designs blog for some inspiration!

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Hitting The Sweet Spot Between Low-Effort & High-Impact

Low-effort and high-impact UX improvements don't have to be daunting (heck, that defeats the purpose if they are). It’s all about being strategic, examining your product, identifying pain points and opportunity areas, and finding quick improvements that don’t sacrifice the user experience.

With a few tweaks here and there, you can enhance your product without a complete redesign. These simple design elements can help users navigate the platform, find relevant content, and engage in a more meaningful way.

These improvements offer cost-effective solutions for optimizing your product after its launch. So why not start implementing these elements today? Your design team will thank you (and so will your users)!

Speaking of your design team...Our apes love optimizing products to their absolute peak. If you want us to find low-effort and high-impact UX improvements, start a project with us today!

We’ve explored AI in UX design from technological capabilities to helpful tools, but we haven’t touched on workflow impact and best practices yet.

If you’re a frequent reader of our blog, you already know we’re pro-AI because of its potential to streamline our work. However, there’s still growing concern among creatives regarding the quality and ethicality of its output.

Listen, we’re just a small, award-winning UX firm. We know we’re not going to single-handedly shift the global perception of AI in a few simple blogs. But we can share tips and tricks to help designers embrace these new technologies without disregarding creativity or innovation!

How To Use AI In UX Design Workflows

• Divergent Thinking
• Expanding Services
• Idea Evaluation
• Challenging Biases
• Team & Stakeholder Collaboration
• Data Analyzation
• Quality Control

How Is AI Evolving In The UX World?

With all its speed and convenience, it’s fair to say that AI is more efficient than the average human. It can process vast amounts of data within seconds from relatively simple commands, helping us automate tasks, identify patterns, expand on ideas, and even predict behaviors.

Still, AI is far from flawless. Need some evidence? Well…take a look at this uncanny horror courtesy of Adobe Firefly.

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This is why AI won’t replace UX designers anytime soon — it’s not a cut-and-paste solution. Many designers use it as a jumping-off point, letting the algorithms connect the dots so we can get those strategic and creative wheels turning.

That being said, it’s still an uneasy feeling when products like Relume or Uizard come along and automate a process that normally takes you hours. It’s on us to master these systems, utilizing the algorithms to boost our quality and productivity (instead of relying on the machines and turning in sub-par products).

It’s a fine line to balance, especially when caught between multiple projects and tight deadlines. However, a strategic approach to AI in UX design guided by ethical best practices will help you find seamless ways to integrate it into your workflow and enhance your creative output.

7 Tips For Working AI Into Your UX Design Process

With every new AI-driven platform, there’s always a bit of a learning curve before you get comfortable with the system. Some will also prove more useful to your process than others. The most important thing to do is play around with a few different products and features until you find the ones that benefit you most.

By following these strategic AI methods and keeping an open mind around new technologies, you can quickly adopt these game-changing solutions to become a more productive and indispensable UX designer.

Embrace Divergent Thinking

Brands typically start with lots of ideas and assets. It's difficult to narrow things down into one viable idea in a few brainstorming sessions. This is where AI visualization and iteration come in handy, providing multiple proofs of concepts, giving your clients more options, and inspiring confidence for the project going forward.

Divergent thinking (in this context) is how AI pulls together remote (and sometimes discordant) ideas into one entity. Art generators with text-to-image algorithms have the power to detect resemblances between objects or images, combining them into one concept or elaborating further.

Think about when AI art tools first gained popularity. Maybe you had a friend on social media creating or sharing the most outlandish mash-ups they could think of (stuff like Shrek dressed up as Thor or Garfield hacking the CIA). That’s divergent thinking at work.

But it goes beyond generating low-tier memes. These divergent capabilities are instrumental when creating logos, color palettes, stylescapes, and page templates. By spotting similarities between objects utilizing AI, you can create a foundation for your design efforts and flesh out some details before you start working.

Looking at this example from the Harvard Business Review, there are no physical similarities between an elephant and a butterfly. But by recognizing the patterns between the wings and the ears, Midjourney grouped them to create a stunning image (which we think would make an awesome logo, by the way)!

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Consider Expanding Your Services

We discussed using AI in UX design to fill in skill gaps in the blog about our favorite AI tools. But they can also be leveraged to your business’ advantage (or your own if you’re a freelancer).

Between product design, animations, written content, and development, UX projects are hectic by nature. We don’t recommend going over a specialist’s head and trying to do something out of your skill set. However, you can significantly streamline the process by using AI to create an example of your vision, leading to a clear and accurate execution.

AI’s collaborative benefits are readily apparent, but they’re also an excellent professional development tool. With all the new platforms and plug-ins being introduced, you can train yourself in a whole new UX discipline.

Let’s say you’re a UX designer who’s not a skilled copywriter. You’ve spent plenty of time interfacing with your client’s brand and familiarized yourself with their voice and tone. You can enter a prompt into Jasper.ai or ChatGPT to cover all the crucial points you’re trying to convey, then tweak the AI’s output to reflect their brand identity from there.

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As you’re familiarizing yourself with the AI’s suggestion and expanding your writing style, you’re nurturing a whole new skill set that helps you deliver a cohesive product that’s true to your vision. 

Just don’t forget that practice makes perfect. Always do a few trials before charging your clients for additional services.

Evaluate Your Ideas

Whether you’re narrowing down an artistic direction or measuring KPIs post-launch, there are a plethora of AI tools that gather relevant data insights to streamline decision-making.

Through automated user testing, A/B testing, and heatmapping, we can reduce the time it takes to set up user trials and process data — giving us a clear-cut path to our goals and eliminating personal biases.

Of course, these tools are more helpful when evaluating an existing digital product or testing a new flow. There’s no way it could give you insights into the viability of your proposed solution, right?

WRONG! There are a ton of systems that can gauge the feasibility of ideas and help you weigh the pros and cons. In fact, the authors of the Harvard Business Review article we mentioned earlier did a short experiment with ChatGPT to explore different solutions for eliminating food waste.

Beyond ChatGPT, tools like Checkmyidea-ia and Test & Start can perform foundational market research, provide technical MVP proposals, and generate recommendations from technology stacks to startup names. These tools are a lifesaver for research teams with limited timelines and resources!

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Challenge Your Biases

While AI’s output can be skewed depending on user entries, it’s still valuable in evaluating high-quality data for objective insights.

Designers can utilize AI systems that incorporate ethical guidelines and principles, helping them avoid inadvertently reinforcing biases within their designs. AI can flag potential bias issues and suggest alternatives to maintain fairness and inclusivity.

If used correctly, the algorithms can identify bias in data, content, or design elements — highlighting areas of concern and prompting designers to address biases proactively.

Think the benefits of AI in bias evaluation stop there? Nope, there’s also a significant advantage in the large pool of diverse data the system gathers. 

Algorithms can access vast datasets from various sources, including user feedback, demographics, and behavior. This diverse data provides a more comprehensive understanding of user needs, preferences, and behaviors.

HOWEVER (and it’s a big however), it's essential to research and utilize AI systems that are developed and trained with ethical considerations to prevent bias propagation. By actively seeking out and leveraging tools that promote fairness, diversity, and inclusivity, we can work towards creating more equitable user experiences.

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Collaborate With Teams & Stakeholders

If you’re a remote team of international UX wizards (like us), you know how difficult communication can be. Even though collaboration tools like Figma and Slack help us keep in touch throughout the day, AI tools can help us close gaps and enhance productivity.

Beyond automated testing and data insights, AI in UX design enables team members and stakeholders to work together on projects in real time. This reduces communication barriers and ensures visibility throughout the design process.

It also helps you make quick fixes to a design (CTA color or text alignment adjustments) when you’re presenting your work to a client, expediting approvals and minimizing back-and-forth emails for edits.

Plus, if interpersonal communication isn’t your strong suit, there are plenty of presentation and note-taking tools that can read your tone and detect filler words (like Poised) or produce transcripts and sum up key takeaways (like Fireflies.ai). These systems can help you passively improve your communication skills on the fly and gain the trust of your clients and colleagues.

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Analyze Data Accurately

UX is primarily a creative field, but the numbers matter if we want to create impactful user experiences. We rely on validated and accurate data to hypothesize, innovate, and execute our solutions — and AI can assist us in making connections with the numbers!

While we just discussed the potential biases of AI in UX design, it still processes numbers faster and with fewer errors. By identifying patterns, trends, and anomalies within the data, AI helps designers make more informed decisions based on objective insights.

By automating data collection, the algorithms can spot abstract or incomplete feedback, prioritizing high-quality, relevant information for analysis. This automation saves designers time and minimizes the inaccuracies of manual data handling.

Additionally, AI can perform complex statistical analyses and predictive modeling tasks beyond the average designer’s capabilities. With these advanced analytics, we can uncover hidden insights, anticipate behaviors, and make adjustments throughout the design process.

So, even if you're blessed with both creativity and an AP understanding of math, the speed and precision of AI algorithms can help any designer double-check their work and expand their ideas with validated data.

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Enhance Quality Control

User testing is our main quality control strategy, but once our prototypes are assembled and coded, we still need to guarantee everything’s bug-free and behaves as intended before launch. Enter the QA stage — an absolute must before users interact with the MVP.

Luckily, AI algorithms are useful throughout the entire design process (both pre- and post-launch). They can significantly enhance quality control efforts by processing functions and providing data-driven insights to meet our high standards.

There are automated tools for AI user testing that can simulate design interactions and provide objective feedback. However, we'll accept biased feedback from our users to understand why something doesn’t work for them. So we don’t recommend using them to replace testing with real users.

Instead, AI-driven testing tools for accessibility, cross-device performance, security, and bug detection help us evaluate our work and pay close attention to the details.

Along with content and SEO optimization platforms, there are also tools designed to spot inconsistencies in visual designs — giving us a chance to fine-tune branding elements and ensure the consistency our users want. Whether you’re a designer, developer, or a little bit of both, the benefits of AI in UX design processes are unignorable.

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Best Practices For AI In UX Design

To some, AI is a magical solution for all their design shortcomings. To others, it’s the boogeyman coming to take their job. Whatever your viewpoint is, it’s important to approach your AI uses with some ethical best practices (whether you’re using it enthusiastically or begrudgingly).

• Understand the Problem Before Implementing AI: Thoroughly comprehend the problems you’re trying to solve before consulting the algorithm. AI should complement your design process, not be a solution in search of a problem.
  
• The User is the Focal Point: Keep users at the center of your design process. Continuously gather and incorporate user feedback to stay focused on user needs.
  
• Lead with Ethics: Follow the news and updates associated with AI to remain aware of ethical concerns as they arise. Always use your best judgment and weigh your options before utilizing a system.
  
• Test, Test, Test!: Regularly conduct usability testing, even when AI is involved. Test how users interact with AI-driven features and assess whether they enhance or hinder the user experience. Use the feedback to make improvements.
  
• Prioritize Safety & Security: Safeguard user data and adhere to relevant regulations, such as GDPR or CCPA, when implementing AI-driven data.
  
• Evolve with the Technology: Stay updated with AI advancements and emerging technologies in the UX field. Keeping your knowledge current ensures you can leverage the latest tools and techniques.
  
• Be Prepared to Pivot: Don’t despair if your AI system encounters issues. Instead, explore different platforms or provide feedback to improve the algorithm.

Put Your Creativity Front-and-Center!

We know AI is the future of design, and the future can be scary! But it’s neither a cure-all solution to your work woes nor the decline of human creativity as we know it. Instead, we see it as the helping hand all designers need every now and then.

Whether working solo or collaborating with a trusted team, AI can be your secret weapon to enhance quality control, analyze data accurately, and take your designs to new heights. Or it can help you through a dreaded brain block or tight timeline.

With the right balance of technology and human-powered ingenuity, you’ll become a more productive and well-rounded asset to your design team.

Remember, AI isn't here to replace your creativity; it's here to supercharge it! So embrace these AI-powered strategies, experiment with new tools, and let your UX skills shine.

If you’re looking for a UX job where you can explore this new AI frontier, we may have an opening for you. Check out our positions and apply today!

So, you’ve just begun your startup. You have an innovative new B2B platform, SaaS (software-as-a-service) system, or E-commerce product, and you’re ready to take the market by storm. It should be an exciting time for you!

Startups have the potential to change industries for the better. Like with any business venture, there are also plenty of risks. It’s incredibly competitive with new startups seemingly springing up from the ground overnight.

Don’t let this discourage you. The failure rate for startups is high, but most fail because there simply isn’t a market for their product. Market research and understanding the needs of your future customers are just as important as the product.

Most people think UX only exists in the digital space, but its best practices apply in multiple aspects of running a business. Following the fundamentals of UX may benefit your startup in more ways than you think.

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We’ve mentioned how important research is, right?

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UX research gives us insight into what we don’t know and validates what we do know. It helps to navigate uncharted territory and is incredibly valuable when starting a new business.

90% of startups fail. That’s an unfortunate statistic, but knowing what you’re getting into will save you time and money in the long run. The research will help you gauge the overall interest in your product, so spend plenty of time with it and make sure it’s an ongoing process. The more research you can gather, the more polished the final product will be.

When you fully understand the space you’re operating in, you’ll be more prepared for the unexpected. Study your market, competitors, and future users:

• Who is your product for?
• Who would be your biggest competition?
• Why have they been so successful?
• What features have been most helpful to their users?
• Why is your product better?
• How will your product change the industry going forward?

Solidify your UX approach

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UX best practices serve as a guide for designers, and they heavily influence your approach to projects — especially with digital products. Once you know your idea is viable, spend plenty of time planning your UX approach.

We built our UX process at CreateApe around the idea of user empathy. We decided that the best way to improve the user’s experience was to put ourselves in their shoes to create solutions that answer their needs. We spend much of our time with research and analytics, and by creating user personas, we put a “face” to our data to make a more human-focused space.

Establishing your UX approach will give you a sense of organization for the often hectic startup world. When figuring out your approach, consider how much focus you need on each aspect of UX:

• How much time are you spending on research?
• How are you getting to know your potential users?
• How will you incorporate your findings into the product?
• How will you validate your creative choices for the design and branding?
• What will you do for quality control?
• How are you going to generate excitement for your startup?

Learn to love iteration

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No one gets a design right on the first try, and that’s not a bad thing! The nice thing about UX is that you can go back to the drawing board and tweak everything until it works as it should. Negative feedback is still usable feedback because it shows what needs fixing to improve the overall experience.

You will likely need to do multiple rounds of iteration and testing until you reach an MVP, so don’t be afraid of failure. Your users will tell you everything you need to know about the success of your product, so their feedback is the most valuable to the UX process.

Consider how the user feels in every aspect of testing. If you answered no to any of these, revise until you get it right:

• Do your digital solutions help users easily accomplish their goals?
• Do your branding elements speak to them?
• Does your communication style inspire loyalty?
• Do they feel good when they use your product?

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel too much

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Your ideas are cutting-edge and innovative, but your product should not be complicated. Iron out all the details and don’t try to get too fancy with the design or features. At the end of the day, if it distracts the user from completing their goal, you can probably live without it. Your MVP doesn’t have to be the final version of your product, so don’t be afraid to simplify things as you go.

Think about the startups that changed the game in their industry. PayPal makes safe online purchasing a breeze. Uber makes finding a ride convenient. And how easy is it to book a cheap room for the weekend on Airbnb? They’re groundbreaking ideas with relatively simple processes.

The user doesn’t want to jump through a million hoops to complete their goals. Find the best way you can help your user solve a problem in just a few quick steps.

The value of collaboration

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Starting a business is a big investment and quite intimidating! The good news is that you don’t have to do it all by yourself.

UX is best when it’s a collaborative effort. Open your mind to suggestions from your target audience or sessions of brainstorming with other UX professionals. Getting help from an agency is worth the investment because you’ll have an expert in every area to help you fully realize your vision. They will already have a solid approach to UX and an understanding of what makes a startup successful.

In the ideation phase, there is no such thing as a bad idea or a stupid question. An agency will take your ideas and refine them into a solution that works. From concepts to execution and user testing, you’ll get a fully functional final product ready for the market!

So why is this important?

Some of the most creative and original products have come from startups, but many of them struggle to get off the ground. Use UX best practices to develop a solid plan of attack before you invest your time and money. Spend plenty of time exploring ideas and refining your choices, then don’t stop testing until your product is the best it can be!

Do you have an idea for a startup and need someone to bring it to life? CreateApe helps companies big and small grow with UX. Contact us today!

We’re not going to sugarcoat it…the market for a junior UX design job is ROUGH! Between stiff competition and unrealistic experience requirements for entry-level gigs, saying that landing your first junior designer job will be difficult is like saying water is wet.

But, that’s not to say there’s NO hope. Many budding designers have landed junior positions after finishing college or a Bootcamp. 

And no, we’re not talking about the guy on LinkedIn that did it by pulling himself up by his “bootstraps.” Don’t listen to him when he tells you to send thousands of unsolicited emails or show up at the office uninvited (P.S. DEFINITELY don’t do that).

The good news is that while the pool of new designers is saturated, the demand for UX designers is still high. In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that the UX design field would grow by 27%. And that number is still increasing in 2023.

On top of the high demand, UX design jobs usually come with job security and solid starting salaries. Entry-level gigs can start anywhere around $65,000 a year, with more senior positions entering the six-figure territory.

It’s easy to see why UX newbies want a slice of that pie. But how do you get your foot in the door in such a competitive market when most entry-level jobs require 3-5 years of experience?

Luckily, our design team has plenty of experience in the job market. And now, we’re sharing our tips on landing a junior UX design job with you!

How To Land Your First Junior UX Design Job:

• Choose your “niche”
• Create a sample project
• Take a volunteer job
• Cruise freelance job boards
• Practice different design software
• Find an internship/mentor
• Build your professional network
• Master common interview questions

Choose Your “Niche”

We’re not just talking about choosing a specific industry to specialize in (although learning the ins and outs of B2B, healthcare, or e-commerce is never a bad idea).

The saying “It takes a village” definitely applies to UX design. A fully realized, user-friendly digital product involves multiple creative, strategic minds: UX designers, researchers, marketing specialists, and so on.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the fields you can specialize in under the UX design umbrella:

UX Research:

If you’re a numbers person, then UX research may be right up your alley.

Outside of interviewing users, customers, and stakeholders, UX research requires a lot of data gathering and analysis. Your metrics and user feedback will show clients exactly what they need to do to give their users the best experience possible.

Branding and Marketing:

You’re probably familiar with these terms, but identities and campaigns built around robust user research take them to the next level.

Helping companies understand their core audience and what inspires them to act gives layers and complexity to their marketing efforts. This UX-focused strategy for branding and sales adds a much-needed personal touch to something that’s primarily profit-driven.

UX Design:

Obviously.

A UX designer takes complicated digital product ideas and makes them make sense. This means constructing an information architecture that flows logically and a navigational experience that eliminates friction in achieving a user’s goals.

UI Design:

Nailing down the product story is paramount, but who makes that design “pop” in the eyes of the user?

UI designers take the branding defined by internal creative teams and work it into the design to amp up the visuals. The goal is to create a unique look and feel that represents the company and supports the user through conversion.

Product Development:

Creating an easy-to-use product with an inspired visual design is only half the battle. The product has to work the way it was intended with quick loading speeds, functioning buttons and links, and smooth interactions and animations.

Developers are the final puzzle piece that brings the product to life. They’re the ones who create the codes that link everything together and make sure every component functions as it should. 

In short, a game-changing digital product is NOTHING without a web development team putting all the nuts and bolts in place.

And Much, Much More!:

This isn’t the definitive list, of course. As the UX design industry grows, so will the need for experts in engineering, writing, interaction design, video production, editing, QA, and much, much more!

So if you want to get involved in the user experience field but aren’t sure if design is right for you, keep your eyes peeled. You never know just how many ways you can get involved.

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Create a Sample Project

We’ve all seen a post on LinkedIn for an entry-level position where you could get some great hands-on experience and really flex your design chops. The only problem is that they’re asking for a Master's degree in UX/UI design with 7-10 years of experience designing websites for Fortune 500 companies.

(We’re exaggerating for dramatic effect, but you get the picture.)

It’s extremely discouraging when the majority of open positions have the same experience requirements. How do you get involved when seemingly no one wants to take a chance on a hungry newcomer?

Truthfully, the quality of your portfolio matters more than any educational qualifications. But it doesn’t have to be full of client projects. Recruiters just want to evaluate your design chops and awareness of UX best practices.

If you don’t have any official client projects, you can always start by redesigning a digital product of your choice!

Look at a digital product from a brand you know and like. It could be a clothing store you frequently shop at, an app you use daily, an online banking portal, etc. What would you do differently?

Ask yourself:

• “What draws me to this product specifically?”
• “Why do I use this product every day?”
• “What problems do I run into when using this product?”
• “What are the users' goals for this product?”
• “How can I improve the experience of using this product?”

“What draws me to this product specifically?”

“What problems do I run into when using this product?”

“What are the users' goals for this product?”

“How can I improve the experience of using this product?”

Once you thoughtfully answer these questions and conduct some solo research, you can create your version and make suggestions to improve the user experience.

The best thing about a sample project is that you don’t have to get approval from the client every step of the way. It’s your vision, through and through.

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Take a Volunteer Job

Alternatively, if you don’t want to create a website or app that won’t go live, you could always offer your expertise on a volunteer job.

This is a great option if you have a friend or family member with a small business or a personal website. You get the hands-on experience creating a product for a client while supporting a friend in their business ventures!

The added benefit of creating a product for someone you know is that you already understand the brand’s story and their business goals. If their users or customers are also in your personal circle or local community, then you have extra insight into their lifestyles and behaviors.

If you go down this route, take some before and after pictures to show how you improved the design. You’ll also want to take note of some performance metrics. Did the new design help increase sales or account creation? Did it decrease conversion drop-offs? You’ll want to showcase measurable success in creating or redesigning digital products.

Cruise Freelance Job Boards

Once you have a few design examples under your belt, freelance job boards like Dribbble, Behance, and Upwork are a great way to find paying clients and build your professional network.

Most of the listings on job boards are temporary, meaning the company needs to bring on an extra person to fill a gap on their team or take care of a one-off project. 

These aren’t going to be the cushy $60k salaried positions we mentioned earlier. However, these short freelance jobs are a great way to pad out your portfolio with the real client work recruiters want.

In the worst-case scenario, you get to work on a client project and get to know some people in the industry. In the best case, the client is SO impressed with your work that they want to bring you on full-time!

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Practice Different Design Software

About 42% of recruiters agree that the knowledge of UX tools is a major factor in their hiring decisions.

Let’s put it this way: If a company primarily designs products on Figma, they’re more likely to hire you if you have a working knowledge of Figma. If you’ve already mastered Adobe, find employers that mostly design using Adobe.

Try to learn your way around as many design tools as you can while looking for a job and building your portfolio. You can also work on a sample project using a design system for the first time so you can figure out where all the tools, plugins, and keyboard shortcuts are.

Test out a few different tools and software to see which one you feel the most comfortable using. Plus, it’s more work you can add to your portfolio later on!

Find an Internship/Mentor

If the company you’re applying to wants you to have work experience in a specific industry or agency setting, then an internship may be your best bet.

Think of an internship as a rehearsal for your junior UX design job. You’ll probably have to interview with and present your portfolio to a recruiter, but they won’t expect you to have 3-5 years of experience and proven success metrics under your belt.

The whole point of an internship is to learn from the big dogs (or apes, in our case). You get to see a day in the life of a UX designer and understand how your priorities shift throughout the project first-hand.

For example, at an agency, you could build wireframes for an app at the beginning of the day and conduct user interviews for a new SaaS system at the end. Or you could incorporate client feedback to finalize a product and hand it off to the dev team.

At an internship, you’ll learn to be adaptable and flexible to meet the needs of users, stakeholders, and your other team members. You’ll also understand what it’s like to work within timeline and budget constraints to meet deadlines.

When you finish your shadowing period, you’ll have some work experience to list on your resume (as well as some paying clients). And who knows, just like with freelance projects, you could impress them so much that you might score your first salaried gig! Or just get some good references for your resume.
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Build Your Professional Network

We’ve dunked on LinkedIn a little bit in this article, but we don’t hate it at all! It’s a pretty neat platform for showing off your work, finding jobs, and getting to know people in the UX field.

Your LinkedIn profile shouldn’t be a place to flex or brag about your work ethic. Instead, use it to give potential employers a glimpse into your professional life. Post about your work experience (projects, clients, success stories, skills, the works).

You can also join groups for user experience professionals to share your work and digitally mingle with UX designers. Comment on posts, share your insights about best practices, offer feedback, and send a few personalized connection requests while you’re at it.

And, of course, there are job opportunities. On the date of writing this blog (05/16/23), there are 6,000+ open positions for junior UX designers on LinkedIn. That’s not even touching other platforms like Glassdoor and ZipRecruiter!

You can narrow down your choices by preferences like location, remote, etc. When you find a job you’d be a perfect fit for, start sending in your applications! Attach your resume and portfolio pieces so recruiters can quickly evaluate your skills and qualifications.

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Master Common Interview Questions

Congrats! You landed your first interview for a junior UX design job! Pat yourself on the back.

When it comes to prepping for interviews, it helps to practice with a friend or family member to shake off some pre-meeting jitters. But will they ask you the right questions to help you ace your interview?

It’s hard to know exactly what they will ask you, especially if you’re interviewing for a position in a specific industry. We’re not psychic apes, but we can predict some basic questions they might ask you.

Common Interview Questions:

• “Tell me about yourself.”
• Translation: “Do you have the experience needed for this position?”
• “What is UX design?”
• Translation: “Do you understand the value of UX design?”
• “What is the difference between UX and UI?”
• Translation: “Do you know that these terms aren’t interchangeable?”
• “What are some of your favorite digital products?”
• Translation: “Do you understand what makes a good user experience?”
• “What is your process for creating a UX design?”
• Translation: “Do you have an organized, strategic approach to projects?”
• “Tell me about a time you got some negative feedback on a project.”
• Translation: “Can you take criticism and learn from your mistakes?”
• “What are your strengths and weaknesses as a UX designer?”
• Translation: “Will you be successful in this role? How will you continue improving?”
• “How would you improve the UX of (product name)?”
• Translation: “Have you researched the company? Are you thinking ahead?”
• “Do you have any questions for us?”
• Translation: “How interested are you? Do you want to learn more?”

They may have some more questions, but it’s on you to do your due diligence and research the company. Come armed with the knowledge you need to ace your interview.

And above all, BREATHE! You got this!

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Start Your UX Career Off Right

Looking for a junior UX design job is stressful no matter what. Between the competitive market and outlandish experience requirements, it all feels like a little much.

It’s important to remember that recruiters are looking for someone teachable, not someone they’ll have to hand-hold every step of the way. If you come in with some successful project experience, awareness of best practices, and knowledge of design systems, you’ll be a much more attractive candidate.

Finding the right junior UX design job takes time and effort. But with a few solid portfolio pieces and client names for your resume, you can show potential employers that you have the right stuff to make their projects successful.

Think you’ve got what it takes to make it in the jungle? We’re always on the hunt for UX designers to join our shrewdness of apes.

Check out our open positions and apply now!

With recent news coming in about the potential Facebook data hacks (overshares, breach of trust, etc.) we thought it was a good time to start talking about the safety of our individual (and business) footprints.

A person’s digital footprint is all of the things they do online, from posting a blog to commenting on social media to buying something from an online business. Your digital footprint can say a lot about you.

It can be used to gather information, compromise your identity and either make or break your reputation. Here are 8 different tips that will help you manage your digital footprint to make certain the tracks you’re leaving aren’t later used against you.

1. Know what’s out there

You can’t effectively manage your digital footprint if you don’t know what it looks like. Take the time to Google yourself and see what comes up, because you know potential employers, creditors, and even love interests certainly are! See what they can find. Do you see mostly neutral or positive results? If so, your digital footprint is pretty good. But do you see anything negative? If so, take steps to have it removed if you possibly can or, if you control it (such as with social media), remove it yourself or restrict it from public viewing.

2. Make sure your private posts are private

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Make sure any posts you wouldn’t want your employer, a lender, or your mother to see are locked down. Some social media sites change their privacy controls from time to time, and when they do, some things slip through. That drunken selfie that was only available to a few close friends may suddenly have become public, so be sure to always double-check the settings. But remember, these settings may not always protect you. What’s private on a social media site may still be accessible to search engines, and once it’s out there, anyone can take that photo, video, or other content and repost it to sites that you have no control over.

3. Keep your software up to date

Nothing can destroy your digital footprint more than having a virus steal all of your information and using it to spam others. That’s why it’s so important to make sure your antivirus protection software, VPNS (virtual private networks), malware scanners, and other important programs are up to date. This includes your operating system. Make sure you have downloaded and installed the most recent security patches.

4. Use strong passwords

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Likewise, you need to make sure your online accounts are secure by using the strongest passwords you can. A good password has the following:

• Capital letters
• Numbers
• Symbols

You want a password that isn’t easy to guess, so avoid common things like family members’ names or birthdates, etc. A good program to use to create and store strong passwords is 1Password.

5. Split your footprint

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Some people are very hesitant to shop online, so they have one dedicated credit card that they only use on the internet. That way, if that card is compromised, it’s the only one they have to cancel. This helps split your digital footprint and make it more manageable. You can do the same with emails—create an email that you only use when you have to sign up for a mailing list, one you only use for work, and one you use for social media. Yes, it might be a pain keeping up with all of these emails, but in the end, it can also make things more compartmentalized and easier to control.

6. Are you using that app?

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Most apps on your smartphone are collecting information about you. While theoretically you can control what these apps have access to, who really knows what an app does once it’s installed? That’s why it’s a good idea to go through your apps and delete any of them that you don’t really use. This way, you know they’re not collecting any information about you, plus it frees up space on your phone for other apps, pictures, etc.

7. Check your cookies

Did you know you can see what sites your browsers have accepted cookies from? You should check this regularly to see if any strange sites are sending you cookies. If so, you may be able to block them in your browser’s settings. If you can’t, there are a number of different plug-ins available that will help you control cookies better.

8. Know that whatever you put out there is out there

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Even if you delete something from the internet, realize that it’s still stored in databases and archives and is likely to be forever. In many cases, even if you’ve deleted it, it can still be accessed. There’s no taking something back once it’s online, so think twice before you click on submit!These are just a few different tips you can use to manage your digital footprint and make sure it doesn’t get out of control. Do you have any tips we’ve forgotten?

We often discuss how pivotal user insights are to the UX process. Heck, it’s called USER experience for a reason. You can’t conduct the UX process without their input.

To create a game-changing digital product, it needs to be two things: usable and viable. What do we mean by viable? We mean that it needs to “work” for the target audience while being intuitive and easy to use.

In short, UX designs can’t exist without users expressing interest in the product and validating its solutions. However, there’s no one-size-fits-all digital product that every computer, smartphone, or iPad user finds value in.

The best products on the market are tailored to their target demographics. But how do you figure out who’s in your target demographic? And when you do, how do you get the information you need out of them?

The success of your digital product begins and ends with the people you interview, the questions you ask, and the qualitative and quantitative research you gather from their feedback. We’ll show you how to find the right user research participants to make discovery a breeze!

How To Find the Right User Research Participants

• Clearly define your research goals
• Select criteria for participants
• Decide how many participants you need
• Develop a recruitment strategy
• Offer incentives
• Screen participants
• Keep communication open

Start By Segmenting Your Research

Let’s begin by defining what qualitative and quantitative data are. Before you scoff at us and call us nerds, just know that you need these two to understand how to find the right user research participants.

Qualitative data: Non-numerical data that is descriptive and conceptual.

Quantitative data: Data that can be quantified and measured with a numerical value.

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So, while UX/UI design is primarily a creative field, it’s still a numbers game. But this numbers game helps you better understand and empathize with the people you’re creating for.

Gathering quantitative data requires a larger pool of participants to get the most accurate results. For this type of research, it’s best to gather plenty of subjects and create smaller sample groups within that population to produce more ample data.

On the other side of the coin, qualitative data doesn’t require as many participants. But the usefulness of the data relies on how much feedback the participant offers and how informed their opinions are.  

Qualitative data isn’t about gathering too much or too little information, it’s about getting just the right amount of information to make strategic decisions.

Recruiting Your Participants

Now that you know what kind of data you need to gather and how much of it, it’s time to start searching for answers. Recruiting the right participants can feel like finding a needle in a haystack — but when you know what to look for, it’s much easier to sift through the straws.

Clearly Define Your Research Goals

It’s not enough to know what you want to do with your digital product. To turn a profit, you need to know if it will succeed with your intended audience. You need to define the purpose of your research and let that statement inform the questions you’ll ask the participants. 

As we’ve discussed in our “What is Lean UX” blog, the UX process and the scientific method overlap quite a bit. User research is your chance to form a hypothesis, test out possible solutions, and gather information to guide your “experiment.” (Okay, now you can call us nerds).

You don’t have to stick to one hypothesis. The goal is to feel out your future audience and gauge their reaction to your theories. You’re going to ask them plenty of questions during the actual research process, so you can define multiple goals and see how the participants respond.

Select Criteria For Participants

It seems so much easier to cast a wide net when it comes to recruitment. But imagine you’re posting a job with no information about qualifications. You’ll get a lot of applicants, but very few of them will be the right fit for your company.

During your research phase, defining the criteria for your ideal participant is a must. Getting as detailed as possible will lead to more fruitful discussions around your product and user needs.

So, if you’re looking for college students aged 18-25, get granular so you can better tailor your product and features. Are they undergraduate students or in a graduate program? Do they live on-campus or off? Are they active on social media? Are they single, dating, or married? And so on.

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Decide How Many Participants You Need

Narrowing down your participant criteria means that it might take a little longer to find qualified subjects. It becomes more time-consuming when you’re looking for a large group of people to test with. 

But Rome wasn’t built in a day. Like all good things, user research takes time. It’s best to find as many willing participants as possible to gather more qualitative and quantitative data.

Plus, when you’re working with a large group of participants, you can divide them into smaller sample groups to test different hypotheses. This makes your research more focused, so when you’re building your product, you can build it piece by piece before incorporating everything into the whole project.

Develop a Recruitment Strategy

Once you understand who you need to research and how many, it’s time to figure out how you’re going to recruit them. Developing a recruitment strategy will guide your efforts and make it easier to find participants that match your criteria.

If you already have an established digital product and want to research your existing users for a new feature, your social media followers may already match your criteria. You can put a feeler on your pages to see if your followers are willing to answer your questions and offer opinions.

But if you’re building a product from scratch, this is a golden opportunity to network with your target demographic. You may need some extra help finding them with a recruitment agency or analytics software. You should also offer some kind of reward for their time. Speaking of…

Offer Incentives

When you’re asking someone to help with user research, you’re essentially asking them a favor. And when you ask someone a favor, there’s always a “What’s in it for me?” aspect. Offering incentives shows them you care about their opinion and respect their time.

Incentives can be monetary or not. Gift cards are always a good go-to, but think about how incentives could relate to your product. If the user has an account with your product, you can offer a free month of premium membership or 100 free credits (however your membership model works).

Screen Participants

The success of your research begins and ends with the quality of your feedback. You could find a participant that meets all your qualifications and agrees to give you their time. But if they’re hesitant to give their honest opinions, how does that help your research?

After you’ve gathered a group of participants, it’s time to separate the wheat from the chaff. You can give your participants a short survey to gauge their demographics and level of interest in the research process.

Now, just because they’re not as talkative doesn’t mean they’re useless. Opinionated users are great for qualitative data, but you can always have your soft-spoken users perform a few small tasks to gather quantitative data.

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Keep Communication Open

No-shows will happen, that’s just a fact of life. Maybe your participant lost interest and didn’t want to show up, or maybe they forgot the date and time of your research session. Finding your participants is half the battle. You should be openly communicating with them during and outside of your meetings.

The key is to increase the visibility of your research session and availability to make your participants feel supported. Sending them a confirmation helps them save the date, but a reminder of your upcoming session never hurts.

It’s also completely okay (and even expected) to follow up after your session. Thank the person for their time and reassure them that their feedback is valuable. Keep this line of communication open if you need to ask them follow-up questions or re-recruit them for user testing.

Finding Your Research “Unicorns”

Building the perfect product requires time, strategy, and (of course) lots of research. Finding the right participants for user research seems like a daunting task at first glance, but when you know what to look for and how to find them, the process becomes much more manageable.

Remember, the quality of your final digital product rests on your user’s input. Everything you design needs to be tested and validated by your target audience. If Joe Schmoe isn’t who you’re designing for, his feedback isn’t going to be super helpful in creating/improving the user experience.

Take your time, define your goals, and ask the right questions to find the right participants. Who knows, they could become your most loyal future users!

User research is our bread and butter here at CreateApe. Whether you have an existing product or just an idea, we can help you identify your target audience and find solutions that help them get the job done. Start a project with us today!