From your television to your smartphone, more and more of the devices you use talk to you. The popularity of voice interfaces is increasing, and these devices need UX/UI Designers to create them. Marketsandmarkets.com reports that the market for devices with speech and voice capabilities will be worth $22.0 billion by 2026, so the job prospects for Voice Designers are good.
What is a Voice Interface?
Voice interfaces are the speaking part of devices that users interact with. When you ask Siri to find a Mexican restaurant or tell Alexa to turn up the heat, you are interacting with a voice interface. There are two types of voice interfaces, Interactive Voice Response and Voice User Interfaces.
Interactive Voice Response
One of the first types of voice interfaces most people used was the automated phone system, also known as interactive voice response (IVR). These early systems were often frustrating because voice recognition often failed. IVR systems continue to improve thanks to UX/UI design and more sensitive software.
Voice User Interfaces
Voice user interfaces (VUI) are the devices we talk to that talk to us. One example is the voice assistant. Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Google’s Assistant are examples of VUIs. Users ask voice assistants to perform web searches, buy items, call friends and family, give directions, set alarms and timers, and provide weather and traffic updates. Devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home connect to smart appliances allowing users to run appliances like smart TVs, home security systems, heating and cooling, and lighting. Automobiles also have VUIs for information and entertainment systems.
What Role Does UX/UI Design Have in VUIs?
UX and UI stand for user experience and user interface design. UX design focuses on what users need, what they value, and their abilities and limitations. It stands at the intersection between the experiences of users and the desires of businesses. UX comprises many related disciplines like psychology, visual design, programming, interactive design, and accessibility and accommodation. UI design focuses on the visual aspects of product design such as typography, color, balance, and consistency.
When designing VUIs, UX/UI Designers need to consider the special circumstances of human speech and communication and how this impacts the user experience. The traditional UX design process is based on the questions of why, how, and what. The process starts with research to discover why the user experience is what it is. This phase aims to understand what the user wants from the experience. The Designer conducts surveys and interviews to discover the motivation and goals of users.
The definition phase involves using the data collected along with analytics to create a detailed description of the user experience. This phase involves creating user personas, flowcharts, and mapping to uncover patterns and trends.
Once the patterns emerge, design enters the third phase, where team members generate ideas about how to solve problems and improve the experience. A rough sketch of the product is developed, and from that come wireframes and prototypes.
The next phase is testing the product or website to see if the user experience works. Depending upon the test results, there may be a redesign phase to improve the experience further.
UX VUI Design Considerations
There are some differences between the traditional UX/UI design process and the VUI design process. The VUI process can be composed of three stages: Understand, Explore, and Materialize.
In the understand phase, the Designer creates personas, as in the definition phase of the traditional process, but the personas are different for VUIs. When creating VUI personas, the Designer needs to consider the change in experience from one type of device to another and be sure to make a note of what devices the person uses. Another difference is that VUI Designers need to create a second persona, the system persona. This represents the system speaking to the user and describes its identity, personality, and behavior.
In the explore phase, the Designer looks at the journey of the user and the voice system. This is often called “The Happy Path” because it focuses on getting to a positive outcome. For example, if you ask your car’s GPS to find a business but you have the name wrong, the system won’t say, “I can’t find that.” It will ask if you want directions to a business with the closest name. During the explore phase, the Designer may set up a table reading, which involves using two voice actors, one to read the user’s part and one to read the system’s. The Designer may also conduct what is called Wizard of Oz testing by putting a user in a room with the product. In contrast, the researcher in another room triggers what the system says and then observes and records user behavior.
The Designer creates user flow charts to map out the entire experience in the materialize phase. These are similar to wireframes in UX/UI design. From these wireframes, designers create a spreadsheet of every possible thing the VUI can say. This is called a voice script. At this point, the Designer can sign off and send the design to a developer for coding or use a program like voiceflow that will code a voice script automatically.
VUIs and Communication
Designers working on VUIs need an understanding of how human communication works. People treat devices with a voice interface like people or sometimes like pets. They are looking for an emotional connection, but that isn’t how these devices work at this point. One thing that VUIs are good at is helping people with some disabilities accomplish tasks. VUIs increase accessibility for people with visual impairments and motor difficulties. They can control lights, television, and audio equipment with a voice command and call family and friends without relying on a human caregiver.
How to Become a VUI Designer
If you would like to learn more about UX/UI design to switch to a new career and work on new products like VUIs, one of the best ways is to sign up for classes. You can choose courses that meet in-person or online to learn design software and other applications. Some people prefer to attend brick-and-mortar sessions when learning new information, but that isn’t always available. Live online classes have a similar set-up with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and take control of your monitor—with permission—to show you how to do things. Training is part or full-time and available weekdays, weeknights, or weekends.
The best way to prepare for a career shift to a field like UX design is to enroll in a bootcamp or certificate program. These intensive training courses run from a few weeks to a few months. Another plus of training is leaving the class with a professional-quality portfolio that you can show to prospective employers.
Conclusion
It’s easy to learn UX design and start a new career. Check out Noble Desktop’s UX design classes. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online UX design courses and attend from anywhere. Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other UX design bootcamps in your area.