CreateApe is a full-service digital product agency in Southern California, led by tech industry experts and an award-winning UX/UI and Development team. Our strategic process is centered around the user while focusing on business goals. This approach allows us to solve various business problems through design, and we do it using a defined and transparent process.
Our passionate experts are leaders in UX, UI, developers, project managers, and communication and social media strategists. Our mission is to provide our clients with an unparalleled and personalized solution-based service. With that being said, our team has been recently recognized as one of the most-reviewed product design agencies globally by The Manifest!
The Manifest, in case you didn’t know, is a business blog website that aims to gather and verify the hard data, expert insights, and actionable advice that you need to build your brand and grow your business – to provide the practical business wisdom that manifests in your success.
The Manifest’s company lists that feature top B2B service providers are remarkable and we are proud to be included in this! It is a privilege to be recognized for our invaluable efforts and contributions to the market.
Drop us a line and start your project with our team today!
A lot of new digital products in the market today are creating waves in different markets and industries. These new technologies have been the building blocks of the digital landscape! You can also create your own creative ideas into amazing product today, you just need a little bit of help from our incredible team at Create Ape.
- Dark Patterns: Why ethical UX design matters and how we avoid manipulative techniques that compromise user trust.
- Creating Meaningful User Journeys: Our approach to designing experiences that not only meet business goals but also respect users’ time and attention.
- The Future of UX: How emerging technologies like AI are reshaping the way we think about design and user interaction.
At CreateApe, we believe that design is about more than just visuals—it’s about making life easier, solving problems, and fostering genuine connections between users and products. This interview highlights our commitment to ethical, user-centered design, and we’re excited to continue leading conversations on this topic.
You can read the full interview here!
If you’re curious about how ethical UX design can help your business grow, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love to chat about how we can help you create meaningful, lasting user experiences.
We’re thrilled to share that our recent interview with Safety Detectives has been published! In the interview, we had the opportunity to dive deep into some of the most important topics in UX design, including the ethics behind design decisions and the future of user experience.In the piece, we discussed:
In this insightful interview, Alessandro dives into the journey behind Create Ape, sharing how the agency has grown and evolved over the years. He also touched on some key topics like the challenges of running a remote UX agency, the creative philosophy that drives our jungle-themed approach, and how staying ahead in an ever-changing digital landscape is crucial to our success.
At Create Ape, we believe that great design goes beyond aesthetics—it’s about solving real problems and creating seamless, impactful experiences for our clients. This interview sheds light on the dedication and passion that Alessandro and the entire team bring to every project.
To read the full interview, click here.
We’re incredibly proud of our team and grateful for the recognition we’ve received. A big thank you to our clients, partners, and everyone who has supported us along the way!
The Create Ape Team
We’re excited to announce that our CEO and founder, Alessandro Fard, was recently interviewed by Website Planet! 🎉
Will AI replace UX designers? Short answer: Not anytime soon.
Long answer: AI is a powerful tool in digital product design. It can be used to shorten and simplify UX design processes like user research and data analysis. But it has a long way to go before it can replicate the empathy and creativity needed for UX design.
Or, if that isn’t a sufficient answer, why don’t we ask the AI? (If we wake up in the Terminator universe tomorrow, it’s not our fault 😜)
So, if you’ve been lying awake at night wondering “Will AI replace UX designers and put me out of a job?” You can breathe a sigh of relief for now.
But while we’re on the topic, let’s take a closer look at what AI is, address some concerns from creative communities, and examine how designers can use AI to ideate, iterate, and automate processes.
What Is AI?
AI (short for artificial intelligence) is a machine or software that simulates human intelligence by identifying patterns in data. It analyzes and mimics our behavior to answer questions and assist with problem-solving.
Some systems of AI you may already be familiar with include natural language processing, voice recognition, and face recognition. If you’re a smartphone user, AI is probably deeply rooted in your daily routine.
But will AI replace UX designers? Let's examine what AI does to determine if it has the same capabilities as a living, breathing designer.
How Does AI Work?
As humans, we can intake, understand, infer, and apply information. Artificial intelligence replicates organic intelligence through designated pathways designed programmatically.
AI generates results when the input of one function is determined by the output of a previous function. That output is an input of another function, and so on until a decision is made.
For example, humans can recognize the color blue by intaking light waves through objects around us (like the sky or a pair of denim jeans). Someone teaches us that this color is called “Blue”. Now, we understand what blue is and can identify things that are not the same color (for instance, a lemon is a different color than the sky).
When we see the color blue enough, we can infer that different shades are closely related to the color blue and apply that information every day.
AI works similarly. We tell the machine what the color blue looks like by showing it a bunch of colorful pictures so it can process that information through a weighted value. An AI machine built to identify the color blue has HD cameras for eyes and was already trained to know what the color blue is via its neural network.
The AI takes pictures of things in its way and decides whether or not the numerical color value is close enough to what it’s learned to be blue. If it’s shown a picture of a lemon, it’ll pass by it because its “blue value” isn’t high enough.
How Does AI Impact Creatives?
With the way AI has evolved in the past few years, accessibility and integration of this technology have reached their apex. Processing power is relatively cheap and companies have utilized it at relatively basic levels to solve problems and automate processes.
However, the systems aren’t “perfect” quite yet. The advancement of AI has been bogged down by quality control issues, privacy concerns, and especially improper utilization.
Of course, you can’t have technological advances without some ethical discourse. And it’s easy to see why! Remember how Netflix pretty much ran Blockbuster out of business? Or how about the bookstores replaced by Amazon? How many people were out of a job because of them?
For every Facebook friend that posts their AI art selfies from Lensa, you’ll see another post from an artist worried about their work being stolen and losing out on profits. So, what ethical concerns come from AI? And will AI make careers in creative fields (like UX design) obsolete?
Will AI Replace UX Designers, Graphic Designers, and Other Creatives?
We have good news for all those in creative industries! It’s very unlikely that AI will replace UX designers, writers, strategists, or UI artists.
According to The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “There are ~86 billion neurons in our brain. That's nearly impossible to replicate given our current processing power. It's difficult to put a ceiling on AI because it could eventually be better at thinking than us…or it could collapse because we can't make it any better. After all, our brains just aren't good enough.”
As we said earlier, AI saves UX/UI designers a lot of time and resources when gathering data, generating ideas, and improving features. However, machines and algorithms lack two core characteristics that make the foundation of UX designs: creativity and empathy.
AI algorithms can identify patterns in user behavior. But it can’t tell you how the user feels while navigating the digital product design.
User-friendly products will always need that “human” touch, either through behavioral design, personalization, or branding strategy. UX design requires a high level of intuition, relatability, and empathy for your user. A machine will likely never understand the complexities of the human mind (and if they did, we really WOULD be in the Terminator universe).
As far as graphic and UI design goes, the creative capabilities of AI are limited. It can mimic an art style, but it can’t create art on its own. That’s why AI art software like MidJourney or Lensa needs a prompt or a specific art style to analyze the patterns and produce results.
The same goes for UX writers. AI can capture a company’s personality and vocabulary, but it won’t understand the nuances of their communication style. You can use it to fill in some blanks (especially when writer's block hits), but it’s up to you to retrofit the suggestions to suit the brand voice and tone.
Ethical Concerns With AI
AI isn’t inherently unethical. The systems don’t create themselves, so whether they’re used for good or bad depends on the person behind the machine. AI developers need ethical frameworks to ensure safe and legal usage.
Safety Of AI
AI algorithms are usually refined and thoroughly tested, but they’re rarely foolproof. Self-driving cars are often marketed as “zero accident autopilot” modes. However, it’s difficult to validate this claim due to the sheer scale of possibilities.
The system’s algorithm can weigh potential outcomes and stop the car if someone hits the brakes in front of you. But it’s not as prepared when a kid chases a ball into the street.
Long story short, nothing is perfect (even computers). If the system is 99.999% perfect, there’s always the .001% of someone getting seriously hurt in an accident.
Bias In AI
AI’s primary strength is the collection of data, and some data used to train AI models could have hidden biases.
However, this data isn’t always set in stone. AI and ML (machine learning) systems can always be modified with more data it gathers, tipping the scales in a more balanced direction.
AI And Privacy
The collection of personal data has been a major topic of conversation for users since Facebook’s data mining scandal in 2018. The use of AI in everyday technologies has only amplified the concern. Since users are more likely to interact with personalized content, how can companies use AI to curate content without violating their user's privacy?
The trick is to remain transparent about data collection and how it’s being used to improve their experience. Take every opportunity to educate the user about the processes and benefits to build a sense of trust when interacting with AI.
Spreading Misinformation Using AI
Fake news this, fake news that. At this point, you’ve probably heard the term “fake news” more than your own name. However, AI and ML can easily replicate templates of trustworthy publications and generate factually inaccurate text, spreading misinformation across the web like wildfire.
AI can be a tool of good or evil. It’s best to create a set of guidelines and best practices for your organization and monitor usage frequently to make sure you’re adhering to the rules.
How Can AI Improve User Experiences
We’ve probably made AI sound like another cold, unfeeling technology that assists in UX processes. But there’s much more to AI than meets the eye!
AI can give UX designs more value beyond user-friendliness. From basic problem-solving to automation and personalization, we can simplify complex tasks, test designs, and generate solutions that fit any business.
Facilitate Faster Decision-Making
You’ve heard about the burden of choice before. Why not relieve some of that burden by letting an AI narrow down the user’s options?
AI models learn from the behavior of other users in the digital product's target demographic. A product they bought or a solution they took would likely benefit you as you navigate a product.
AI is a powerful business tool that can influence customer behavior or help companies predict trends with augmented analytics. Use AI to anticipate, weigh your options, and feel more confident in your decision-making.
Provide Better Assistance
Some user queries require the help of another person to solve a problem. But for more general FAQs, a chatbot saves time and energy for the user and customer service representatives.
Through ML, chatbots gather common questions asked by users so you can understand the problems they encounter while using the product. This helps you provide better, faster assistance while making the user feel like you understand them and their needs.
Human-machine interactions are becoming more life-like through the power of AI with products like Siri and Alexa. With Voice AI and speech recognition, digital assistance is more personal (and convenient) than ever!
Customize Experiences
72% of users and customers will only engage with personalized digital experiences. If you’re not working some form of personalization into your interface, you’re missing a golden opportunity to engage ¾ of your user base.
Products like Spotify, Duolingo, Amazon, and Netflix are synonymous with customized experiences. Spotify, in particular, pushes the envelope in tailoring their experience through features like Wrapped and The Only You Campaign.
Personalization is an effective UX strategy that makes it easier for your users to find what they’re looking for. And with all the AI systems available, it’s much easier to customize your interface to your user's behavior.
Automate Processes
AI and ML models organize and process data much faster than humans can. This makes it a super useful tool for businesses managing multiple tasks and workflows. You can automate anything from basic processes to complicated data integrations.
Industries from retail to IT have adopted these AI models to handle repetitive tasks and reduce human error, freeing up more time for employees to focus on more important projects.
AI automation is a no-brainer because of its speed and efficiency. You probably already use some form of AI for email marketing, customer relationship management, and business operations. Expect this to become more prevalent as AI grows in popularity.
So Will AI Replace UX Designers?
No. It will be a long time before AI models have the creative and empathetic abilities needed for UX design.
But, to quote the bot, “The future of UX design is likely to be greatly influenced by AI and other emerging technologies. It will be important for UX designers to stay informed about these developments and to consider the potential implications for their work.”
AI is a major asset in improving user experiences for a variety of digital products. And there’s no shortage of innovative features you can incorporate into your product with a simple algorithm.
Just remember that a user-friendly design needs a strong set of ethics and guiding principles to ensure your users can accomplish their goals safely and honestly. Since AI doesn’t have values on its own, it requires some experienced and principled UX designers and developers to make sure it’s used for the right reasons.
Speaking of experienced and principled UX designers…CreateApe knows how to build game-changing websites and apps that use AI to its full potential.
If you have an idea for an AI-driven product that will revolutionize your industry, we can’t wait to hear all about it. Start a project with us today!
Contributor: Ryker Frohock, Software Development Professional
Awards come in all shapes and sizes (much like apes)! But when one of our digital product designs wins a prestigious award in one of the largest industries we serve, it’s hard not to brag.
Speaking of…our Incident Management System design for Performance Health Partners just ranked #1 by Best In Klas for Healthcare Safety, Risk & Compliance Management Software! Pop some champagne, peel a banana, and soak up this victory with us.
According to PHP’s blog, “Best in KLAS is a designation given to healthcare technology and services companies that have been ranked highest by healthcare providers in the annual KLAS Research report. The KLAS Research report is a widely recognized and respected industry benchmark for healthcare technology and services, and is based on feedback from thousands of healthcare providers.”
To win this award, their software needed rave reviews from users (healthcare providers) and other stakeholders in the healthcare industry. So it’s safe to say that the CreateApe-designed Incident Management System is a big hit with hospitals around the country!
Creating an easy-to-use incident reporting tool was no small task for our team. After all, management doesn’t end after a report is made. To resolve issues quickly and promote safety, they needed detailed (yet expeditious) forms and follow-up tools to make informed decisions. A simple, streamlined design alone wasn’t going to cut it.
We worked in tandem with PHP’s creative team to conceptualize a valuable digital product that ticks all the boxes. Also, as a product for healthcare providers, we had to work around extra hurdles surrounding complex app permissions and HIPAA/ADA compliance.
But after a few brainstorming sessions, evaluations, and a refreshed UI, we finally had it — A KLAS research-approved Incident Management System. Just LOOK at those performance metrics!!!
But, as always, we’re not successful unless the client is successful. We’re super grateful for PHP’s collaboration and feedback throughout this project. Congrats PHP, We wish you lots of continued growth with your Incident Management System!
You want to win awards, right? Of course, you do! Our design team knows a thing or two about raking in industry accolades. Start your award-winning digital product project with us today!
.png)
Let’s face it…You NEED a UI/UX Design Strategy to create a digital product in this day and age. You don’t want to invest time and money on a project that didn’t have a chance.
A UI/UX design strategy is an essential bridge between your business and the end-user. Without validation from the right people, you’ll find your business caught in a loop of misguided designs, frustrated users, and disappointing results.
Our UX design strategy blog discusses the value of UX for both the business and the user. We also point out the components that make a strategy successful. But, if you’re still not sure where to start, aren’t confident in your research skills, or just too busy, we’ve got you covered.
CreateApe’s Jungle Guide is all the power of UX in a single document. Whether you’re a startup bringing a new digital product to market or an established company needing a redesign, we’ll give you all the tools and insights you need to make your project a success!
Behold The CreateApe Jungle Guide!
- Research
- User Interviews
- UX/UI Evaluation
- Product Solutions
- Development Solutions
- Full Project Estimates
Why do You Need a UI/UX Design Strategy?
We hope this isn’t news to anyone, but there’s a lot of risk in running a business—especially in the digital space where there’s a lot of competition.
An effective digital product has three things behind it: research, feasibility testing, and business strategy. Without these things, your investment is one big guessing game. You need a solid base of qualitative and quantitative metrics to create solutions that actually work.
Getting the big picture of what you’re up against will help you shape your business strategy, but how exactly do you find that out?
When you get a Jungle Guide from CreateApe, you get a team of design industry vets that’ll know what to do. We’ll know what to research, what questions to ask your users, and how to take those metrics and build a viable digital product.
What We’ll Figure Out for You
What do You Get in the Jungle Guide?
The Jungle Guide is here to protect you and your business from the pitfalls of poor planning. We’re also here to help you come up with ideas and prepare you for any curveballs we may encounter along the way.
Jungle Guide Contents
- Research:
You would never write a paper without hours of research to support your hypothesis. So why create a website without that foundation?
The Jungle Guide takes care of the preliminary research for you. Whether we’re brainstorming or reviewing analytics, we make our decisions based on evidence (either from case studies with measurable KPIs from our own past projects).
We start by establishing all the important stuff (Who is the company? What do they do? Who are their stakeholders? Who’s their biggest competition, etc.) Then, we dig a little deeper to discover business opportunities and suggest new ideas to bolster the brand.
- User Interviews:
UX is about more than just turning a profit (although it never hurts). It’s about creating long-lasting value for the business through positive experiences. Making that good first impression is everything so the brand can keep growing and improving on its digital products.
The user is at the core of everything we do, so we go straight to the source of what makes or breaks the business. Their honest feedback, good or bad, tells us everything we need to know about making the product work for them. We also talk with internal stakeholders to ensure we’re supporting the business as much as the user.
We do our most valuable research here by finding out who exactly the user is, what they want to do, and how we can help them accomplish their goals. Then we take their feedback and use it to guide us through the project and validate design decisions.
- UX/UI Evaluation:
Our research and interview findings guide our heuristic evaluation as a whole. They help us figure out what to fix on an existing product or how to fill a market gap with a new product.
With an existing digital product, our goal is to bring the major design problems to the surface. The business needs to put themselves into their user’s shoes and empathize with their frustrations related to the product. We also pick out quick fixes to improve the experience piece by piece.
With a new product, we show our clients how they can get ahead of their competition from the user’s point of view. We help them decide what features will help them stand out and how to tackle the large-scale project.
- Product/Development Solutions:
Here’s where UI/UX design strategy comes in. Our product design and development solutions in the Jungle Guide lay out specific actions for the business to take in order to improve their user experience.
This usually begins with us breaking down the project piece by piece. We take our ideas from brainstorming sessions with the client and determine what will work best based on the user’s feedback. Then, we propose our recommendations and break down how they’ll help the user.
We also take a look at the web development solutions that will make the final product function as it should. This includes evaluating the code quality, site speed, and platform integrity—or choosing the right framework for a new product.
- Full Project Estimates:
Once our UI/UX design strategy is in place, the only thing left to do is map out our timeline. We’ll break down how long it’ll take us to complete each part of the project. Since the Jungle Guide takes care of the initial research and evaluation, we show the client how long the actual design and development process will take.
We start by picking out the low-hanging fruit—or small tasks that can be fixed and implemented quickly. Then we provide a low and high-range estimate of how long each phase of the project will take. This gives our clients a good idea of when the final product will launch and how involved they’ll be throughout the project.
Is it the Same for Every Project?
Well…yes and no. We need to get the full picture of you, your brand, and your market. We look at the same things in every Jungle Guide, but on a different scale depending on the project. Every project is different, so we adjust our hours to accommodate project size.
- 1st Tier: Small-scale projects (informational sites, landing pages, etc.)
- 2nd Tier: Complex websites (e-commerce sites, web applications, etc.)
- 3rd Tier: Complex, large-scale projects (software, native applications, etc.)
How Does This Help My Business?
UI/UX design strategy might seem like a big investment of time and money, but creating an excellent experience right out the gate is more than worth it. The word about digital products gets around quickly, and a strong first impression will give you a better starting point for new services and features down the line.
You may also think that your business doesn’t need the Jungle Guide because you haven’t heard any negative feedback from your users. But in this case, what our clients don’t know could potentially hurt their business.
In fact, only 1 out of 26 customers complain about bad UX according to this blog from uxcam.com. 91% of unsatisfied users will just leave instead of leaving negative feedback.
The same blog also shows that 13% of users will tell 15 or more people about a bad experience, versus the 72% of users that will tell 6 or more people about a good experience. The user may be more reluctant to give negative feedback to the business, but they’ll be less shy talking to their friends and family about it.
We’re here to help you impress that 72% instead of unknowingly driving away the 13%. Our client’s success is our success, and our goal is to establish positive, long-term relationships. The best way we can do that is by fostering a strong client-user relationship.
What Happens After the Jungle Guide?
You have two options after we give you your Jungle Guide. You can have us take care of the rest of the project, or you can take it to your internal design team and use it to guide them throughout the project!
We have a team of 40+ designers, developers, and project managers that can turn our UX design strategy into a fully-functional product. We also have visual designers and content creators who will make the product look and sound as good as the user experience.
But if you’d rather have your internal design team, we’re happy to provide our UX insight so they can work their magic. You can call on CreateApe any time your business needs an all-in-one resource for user experience.
Get a Jungle Guide Today
Your market is a jungle, with tons of twists, turns, and hazards along the way. But with CreateApe’s Jungle Guide, you don’t have to go it alone!
Our combination of research and UI/UX design strategy will show you everything you need to know about the end-user and how to create solutions to keep them coming back for more. Bring us your idea and we’ll show you how to be the king of your jungle.
Need a Jungle Guide? Begin your expedition here!
Want to see our apes in action? Download a sample Jungle Guide below.
Let’s Work Together!
It’s a jungle out there — let the Create Ape experts help you traverse the wilds as we take your project to new heights.
