Nicole McGuire and Gene Koopman contributed to this post.

In today’s customer economy, design is a powerful tool as it can either empower or interfere with your employees’ work. Bad design is one of the top reasons that initiatives fail because a poorly designed, difficult to use tool will do nothing but create frustration and discourage adoption by its users. When employees are unable to do their jobs well, that experience often translates into a bad customer experience. Bad customer experiences ultimately result in decreased engagement with your brand. In short, the ripple effects of poor design extend far beyond an unappealing page layout. Tools such as Salesforce’s Lightning Design System (SLDS) now make it easy to leverage the power of good design to encourage adoption and efficiency. To get the most out of these tools here are some key considerations.

User Interface

The term user interface (UI) refers to what the user sees on their screen. The visual appearance of a tool affects how easy the application is to use. The top priority in UI design is to make sure everything on the screen has a purpose and flows well together. A good UI facilitates efficiency in completing tasks because the user can easily locate and execute the functions that they need. A beautiful user interface is also a great place to represent your brand. SLDS is helpful in UI design because it allows for custom development of components so all of the tools connected to Salesforce have a consistent look and feel. The SLDS has to be applied to each Salesforce control individually. While at first this may seem like an impediment, it actually provides for a greater degree of flexibility in styling interfaces. It also allows for the interface to be completely customized, while reaping the benefits of the Lightning development technology. This is especially important for those customers who wish to use Lightning components in their Community implementations while providing consistent branding across channels.

User Experience

The visual design of a user interface is important, but there is another aspect of design to consider - the user experience (UX). UX design addresses the functional aspects of a product, i.e. how a user interacts with the interface. Key questions to ask when designing for good user experience are: Is it easy to use? Does it facilitate quick completion of a user’s daily tasks? To test for good UX, perform a basic “click count” test. See how many clicks it takes for a user to get through a process. Does it take three clicks to make a purchase or eight? That count will give you an indication of which processes could be streamlined and help you narrow your focus on what to improve for your users.

Development

It used to be that only highly trained developers could create applications with good UI and UX. Now, Salesforce is enabling application development that doesn’t require code with Lightning App Builder. They release updates three times a year to stay in sync with changes to browsers and operating systems. This ensures that the UI work users create with the SLDS tool continues to function across various platforms with ease. Plus, when applications are built on the Lightning Experience framework, they transition seamlessly between desktop, tablet, or mobile.

UI/ UX Design in Practice

Our recent work on recreating the UI and UX of T-Mobile’s Salesforce tools exemplifies the difference good design can make. Our team streamlined T-Mobile’s sales process, enhanced the UI/UX, and made sure that users were eager to use the new tools by walking through their experience with them. When changing the interface, we considered why and when the information would be presented to the user. By breaking down each of the UI elements across the entire process, our team was able to map and order the data entry in an experience would make sense for the user. Additionally, cleaning up the user interface improved the quality of their data because the users understood the context of the fields.

Good design means building beyond the visual and creating an enjoyable experience. Consider functionality in addition to the visual elements and how each piece helps employees or customers complete their task. Following these design best practices will improve employee experience, increase brand engagement, and drive business outcomes.

To learn how to create beautiful user interfaces with Salesforce Lightning, register for this Dreamforce session. Not attending Dreamforce? Learn more about the ROI of investing in good UI and UX in this year’s The State of Salesforce Report.