Our philosophy at Motiv is that user experience is a big umbrella covering all user interactions consumers have with a company. It goes beyond the product experience, permeating deep into our clients’ brands. Because Motiv is uniquely a product development and brand development agency, we’re able to simultaneously design and engineer our clients’ products while building their brands. It starts with a deep understanding of consumers’ wants and needs—making sure product packaging, industrial design, and overall brand ethos inspire consumers to seek out products tailored to their lifestyle and values.
UI + UX in Product Design
The terms user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) are related but have distinct meanings. User interface refers to the visual and interactive elements of a product that users interact with—like buttons, menus, forms, and layout. On the other hand, user experience encompasses the overall experience and satisfaction that a user has while interacting with a product—like emotions, perceptions, and behavior. The user interface is a subset of the user experience.
One Goal, Many Approaches
From the moment a client’s Motiv-designed product finds its way into a consumer’s hands, the consumer experiences the result of Motiv’s expertise in product design, engineering, and branding. We make product interfaces and interaction points simple, clear, and consistent—with displays, artwork, and proprietary physical controls. All the while, we ensure the design enhances the overall look and feel of a product.
Thoughtful, Tested, and Proven
The better the user interface and user experience, the better the overall consumer experience. That’s why the team at Motiv focuses so intently on UI and UX as we design consumer products for our clients. As we see it, good UI/UX can not only make something like a small kitchen countertop device easy to use, but also a true joy to use. We thrive on giving consumers what they need when they need it (even if they didn’t know they needed it) and designing products that are effortless and intuitive to use. With thoughtful, tested, and proven UI/UX comes fewer product returns, great reviews, and consumer loyalty that keeps them coming back for more and telling anyone who will listen.
The How, The What—and The Wow
There are many questions to answer when working through UI/UX:
- How does the consumer open the box, and what do they see when they do?
- What materials should be used what do they convey?
- What does a user need to set up a product?
- How do the controls feel and are they intuitive?
- What kind of feedback does the user need?
- What text, iconography, and other artwork is needed?
- How do we focus on performance, clean-ability, and safety?
- What positive emotions will the user have along the journey?
At Motiv we work with our clients to answer these questions and more—all to create a successful product that wows their consumers.
Decoding Needs & Wants
A client may have a core value of simplicity. We probe into what simple means to their users. It could mean a button for every function—always visible and directly selectable—or it could mean one main control that does everything, like the home button on early iPhones. Pulling in brand equity and design language without sacrificing user experience (and often improving it) helps guarantee a product’s success.
The Motiv Difference
As a brand and product development company, Motiv is sensitive to your brand’s design language, identity and values and maintains these attributes across interface elements and throughout the entire user experience. The result is happier consumers, greater trust, increased recognition, and, above all, fulfillment of your brand promise. Ready to see how the Motiv team can make your products effortless to use, memorable and coveted? Get in touch!
With nearly 25 years of experience in industrial design, user research, and UI and UX for embedded systems and packaging, James McGee is the Creative Director, User Experience at Motiv. During his tenure at Motiv, James has led industrial design, interface and experience projects spanning consumer, industrial, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, and medical industries for companies including:
- Aquasana
- Blueshift
- Culligan
- Embark
- Hyde
- InSinkErator
- iRobot
- Keurig
- Nutribullet
- Thermacell
- Uncanny Brands
- Vitamix
- Zarbee’s
- And More
He thrives in Motiv’s collaborative environment and team-centric approach to product development. James has several patents, Good Design awards, IDEA Bronze and Silver awards. When he’s not designing the future, James can be found honing his taste in the kitchen and at local craft breweries, exploring the North Shore of Massachusetts with his wife and young son, and finding inspiration on cross-country road trips.