Inclusivity in the digital user experience has been a long overdue subject in the field of design, and Saudi Arabia is one of the major players in the region that have been pushing for tech centricity in that turf.
Hanan Al-Otaibi, a UX Researcher, states to Arab New that the user experience was the cornerstone of every online platform before designing its user interface screens, as changes could be made earlier, quicker, and easier than after a product was launched.
Al-Otaibi is a Saudi woman who earned her Master’s degree in Human Computer Interaction from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She has been in the field since 2018 and has occupied many roles in the sector.
Her professional background is quite impressive as she has worked for prestigious names such as NEOM. Currently, she is the Customer Experience Specialist in a UX/UI Management role at stc, one of the biggest telecommunications companies in Saudi Arabia.
When talking about UX design to Arab News and explaining the importance of it in customers lives, she gives the example of tech giant, Amazon. Specifically mentioning the excellent case study of how they have introduced many of their successful buttons that have enhanced their user experience and overall increased customer retention.
“By analyzing user behavior, Amazon discovered that many people abandon their shopping carts because they are too lazy to register and create an account. Using this knowledge, Amazon developed a button that allows users to make any purchases as a guest without having to register, and the tactic was a huge success,” Al-Otaibi says to Arab News.
Through purposeful research, smart design can also improve lives. As many people don’t have the same approach to digital experiences, due to certain handicaps.
Al-Otaibi elaborates on that stating: “Legal blindness, color blindness, and visual impairment are three different sorts of vision issues, and each of them has a solution, or those who design and create any program from the ground up that aids users with special needs, so they do not need someone to help them buy or pay bills online.”
