UiUx design which is an acronym for User Interface design and User Experience design deals with the various processes that project/ product team members carry out to create digital products that are visually appealing, easy to use and have a great user experience.
User Interface design deals with the graphical layout of a product that the user interacts with while User Experience design deals with the experience the user has while interacting with the digital product, it includes ease of use, psychology e.t.c
For UiUx design to be effective it has to go through some different stages which have been termed "the design thinking process". The design thinking process has five(5) stages that can be iterated i.e. the processes do not follow a linear system and they can be repeated as many times as possible. These stages are;
Ideate
Define
Empathise
Prototype
Test
In my current line of work as a health educator, these processes have also helped provide solutions to improve the preventive health of individuals in rural communities.
The Ideation stage deals with brainstorming and coming up with a solution for a particular problem that is being solved.
The Define stage deals with picking a particular idea and giving meaning to it or relating it to the problem at hand and how the solution will help improve the situation of users.
The Empathise stage is the heart of user research as it will help the team members understand the pain points of the users, it will also help them understand what will appeal to the users more and what they'll see as a solution to the identified problem.
The Prototype stage is where the team members come up with a minimum viable product (MVP) that can be used to check if the needed objectives have been met.
The Test stage is where the team members test the MVP to check if it has met the needed goals and also to get feedback from the users. This feedback will either take the team members back to the define stage, the ideate stage or the empathize stage hence it is an iterative process.