UX is a journey: XTOPIA - Journal

UX is a journey: XTOPIA

XTOPIA Editor UI Library and Design System

It is always easy when it comes to conceptualising how user experience (UX) should be. The truth is, an actual implementation of good UX goes beyond how a button looks like or what font size you should use.

XTOPIA, a no-code web application platform, is a hyper ambitious project developed by XIMNET since year 2014. The vision is very clear: To empower non-coders to build websites and applications without a single line of code. Honestly, we do not know how to get started because we have not seen something like that in the market.

You see products which go to the extreme. They are either over-simplified to score high in ease of use (but lack of the power to go beyond), or going full force with thousands of settings, sacrificing empathy. Taking the extreme approach is always easier than balancing both power and usability. The journey has been both challenging and fulfilling for the design team.

The journey has constantly reminded us about a couple of things which we will always remember deeply.

You are not your user

As front-end developers, coders and web designers, we must always remember XTOPIA is not designed ourselves. XTOPIA is meant to empower users to produce high quality digital touchpoints, without us.

XTOPIA Smart Object is designed to keep settings minimal with the best design effects without coding

Never assume user knows

While designers (myself included) always prefer things to be subtle, it is not always the best for user who has no idea how to use your product. What we have learned in the journey is to keep things clear and recognisable to reduce the learning curve when using XTOPIA.

Start with why

This is a powerful approach we learned from Simon Sinek. We take both users' feedback and technical challenges from our fellow software developer seriously because one cannot exist without the other and the best way for us to understand the reason behind each comment made is to ask why. It often comes with a good lesson at the end of the day.

It is never going to be perfect

As the title says, user experience is a journey. We think this is true because digital platform always evolve with better features to serve your user's needs. XTOPIA has not stopped growing since day one because we believe in providing the best for our users every step of the way. So if you think your commitment to good UX has an end date, we urge to think again. Besides, if you truly care about your users, you will want to continue to make it better for them.

XTOPIA Workflow Builder allows user to build programming logic without the need to code.

When everything is important, nothing is important

― Wiley Chin

Here is one advice from our Chief Alchemist. True isn't it? If everything on an interface is equally important without hierarchy, is anything important at all?

Setting clear goals for each step or interface is the key differentiator between good and great UX.

contributor

Josephine Toh

Joe is the Agency Manager of XIMNET Malaysia since 2018. She is also the UX Lead for an web building platform, XTOPIA.IO.

XTOPIA is a cutting-edged, NO-CODE Rapid Application Development (RAD) Platform for building AI bots, web applications, design full-featured websites, program business workflows, configure and integrate forms, visualize reports and much more. XTOPIA is fully owned by XIMNET Malaysia SB.