To lots of people in the business of communication and reputation, UX is a really, really big deal. And it’s going to get bigger. Is it some form of microscopic fire and brimstone akin to the porky pandemic we’ve been so obsessed with of late? Or the latest revolution in skincare for those tired of Pentapeptides or Rejuvinium? Well, UX, or user experience as rather snappily signposts, is something that designers have been crowing about for some time (some say 1988, some say since we first learned to scribble in caves). In fact, every time a firm asks their agency for a website that ‘just looks cooler than than our rivals’ or has ‘lots of red, because that’s MY FAVOURITE colour. Not pink. Or blue.’, there’ll be a digital professional wringing a hanky, mumbling expletives.
Information design and the user experience are central drivers behind good online communication. When I tell a client that the website gets ‘skinned’ at the end, it’s often baffling. Surely the ‘look’ of things comes first? Then we worry about ‘what it does’? Nope. Never. And with good reason.
UX is a term used to describe the overarching experience a person has as a result of their interactions with a particular product or service, its delivery, and related artifacts, according to their design. When we think about how law firms manage their brands, their are some interesting things we could learn from understanding the user experience.
Most service brands create identity through consistency, which creates trust. Consistency of delivery is at the very heart of most firms’ agendas. That’s the logic. But brands forge emotional attachments. The brand experience is a personal experience and it’s why a brand’s interface is becoming just as valuable as it’s logo. One could argue that the iPod’s popularity is down to its intuitive controls. There’s no doubt that it’s easy to use. It just makes sense. The interface delivers the Apple brand way more memorably than the teeny-tiny logo hidden on the back. The same goes for car insurance comparison site confused.com. An advertising campaign that rarely mentions cars, insurance, accidents or premiums. Instead, it features real(istic) video from genuine(esque) punters talking about the user interface and how wonderfully intuitive there experience was. Hell, we even relegate the cash saving to the position of interesting and barely-notable side-effect.
How would a law firm think about its user experience? Start with understanding how the brand is experienced. Principally, it’s embodied in the environment and services. Your brand is experienced right here, right now by everybody in the building. Or in a national office or a global outpost. The ambience of front desk, the design of a corridor, the temperature in a client meeting room. Secondly, it’s enacted by people at contact points. Your brand is experienced in a handshake, a ‘thank-you’. In a breakfast meeting. With an insight. Your brand also is activated by deeds and behaviours. Regardless of content, an email at 19.48 pm means something quite different to an email at 9.48 am. As does a genuine promise or an enterprising collaboration. Finally, your brand is officially communicated and distributed. Your brand is experienced in a discovery session, a home page, an invitation or an invoice.
Thinking about the user experience that runs through these elements of your business might just provide you with an interesting perspective on client care. Or new business. Or indeed the candidate experience for recruitment. Either way, we’re all moving towards a world where the journey is just as important as the destination.
