Artificial intelligence has absolutely revolutionized the tech sector and the field of UX/UI design is no exception: in such a creative and fast-moving field where keeping up with the customer’s needs is of the utmost importance, the next generation of UX/UI designers will need to learn what artificial intelligence tools can do for them, incorporating these tools into their daily tasks.
When it comes to using artificial intelligence in creative areas, an important question comes to mind: how can designers take advantage of what AI can do for them while maintaining that human touch that provides that personalized experience to users?
In addition, designers need to have ethical AI usage at the top of their minds throughout the entire design process; in this article, we’ll explore the top AI skills that every UX/UI designer needs and dive deeper into exactly why artificial intelligence can be so beneficial in UX/UI design.
Artificial Intelligence and UX/UI Design
Although the first wave of artificial intelligence tools in tech were geared more towards the processes that techies used, allowing them to automate processes or repetitive code, it soon advanced into the field of design, completely revolutionizing what designers could offer their users.
Let’s not skate over an important point: the main concern with the implementation of artificial intelligence is that it will one day take over the jobs of humans; however, as experts in artificial intelligence, we know one thing for sure: the future sector of UX/UI design will favor those skilled in artificial intelligence tools and their field, combining the power of human knowledge and creativity with AI to create the best possible products.
The potential of artificial intelligence in the field of UX/UI design is incredible and here’s why:
AI tools can help designers better understand the user: understanding user behavior and preferences no longer requires tons of time spent sifting through large amounts of data; thanks to AI tools that are capable of both analyzing large amounts of data and flagging trends and patterns, designers can quickly and accurately get a better picture of what their users want and need.
AI tools can improve website copy: engaging and well-functioning website designs are just one part of ensuring that a design is functional; accurate and easy to understand written copy is paramount to users actually being able to navigate a site. AI tools are now able to make copy suggestions, helping designers with that aspect of their design.
AI tools can improve accessibility: in recent years, the question of website accessibility has come to the forefront of designers' minds and there’s a good reason why: quality designs need to be accessible for all and today’s designers must keep various accommodations in mind while creating their product. AI tools can help identify potentially problematic areas and suggest accessibility improvements to designers.
AI tools can provide increased personalization: all users want to feel special and that they’re receiving a unique, personalized experience when visiting a site; thanks to AI tools, each user journey can be easily personalized so that users receive content curated exactly to their needs.
Artificial Intelligence Skills for UX Designers
As you can see from our aforementioned list, all UX designers should prioritize the inclusion of artificial intelligence skills in their toolbox; together with the skills that UX designers bring to the table on their own, these AI skills will help the next generation of UX designers stand apart from the competition, delivering higher-quality products that truly meet the needs of users.
A deeper understanding of data
As we briefly touched upon above, the more data that designers have when choosing what to focus on and what to optimize, the better suited they’ll be to create a truly functional design. And to bring this knowledge into their design, UX designers will have to familiarize themselves with the basics of data science and commit to a more data-driven design process.
Thankfully for UX designers, artificial intelligence can be of incredible assistance here and help UX designers focus on the outcomes and not so much on the actual data analyzing process. That said, a basic understanding of data science with the help of tools like Python will further the UX designer’s knowledge on the topic and therefore lead to a superior product.
Better prototyping and testing
Every UX designer knows that the prototyping and testing stage is incredibly important and done manually, it can be quite time-consuming and lead to missing important mistakes or errors, resulting in a faulty product. But with artificial intelligence comes the ability to easily and quickly test prototypes both with users and simulated AI tools, allowing designers to catch any problems early on.
In addition to better prototyping and testing, AI tools in UX design can allow designers to run constant tests without disrupting their work or progress, in addition to effective A/B testing during product development by testing different options and seeing which has the best results before the product is even launched.
Artificial Intelligence Skills for UI Designers
When it comes to the benefits gained from incorporating AI skills into their repertoire, UI designers are no exception and should prioritize the inclusion of them as soon as possible to set themselves apart from the competition and ensure they’re staying up to date with the latest industry trends.
Enhanced creativity
Even the most creative and driven UI designer will question the best way to design a website and may encounter mental blocks occasionally; even those who seem to always have the next best good idea will also benefit from the creativity of AI tools that can suggest innovative and new design trends, helping the UI designer come up with something never before seen.
Artificial intelligence can benefit creativity even when the designer has a great idea; AI tools in UI design can suggest well-functioning color combinations, page outlines, and the right images or graphs to use in a certain place.
Increased accessibility
For UI designers who are new to incorporating accessible practice in their projects or simply needing to design for a very specific audience, AI tools can provide valuable assistance in ensuring that the design is fair and inclusive and does not create user experiences that differ based on the user’s ability to access the design.
We know that diversity and inclusion on the design team itself is an essential part of ensuring that accessibility is at the forefront of designs, but in the case that a designer isn’t sure what is required to make a project accessible, AI tools can provide valuable input towards what inclusive practices need to form part of the design and make suggestions to improve the overall accessibility and inclusivity of the design. For teams that lack this diversity of accessibility, this can be an incredibly helpful tool–and one that’s essential.
