Audience research is essential for user experience design, particularly in understanding user behaviors and motivations that inform product development. It differs from usability and market research by focusing on the problems users seek to solve rather than product usage metrics. Insightful questioning, especially the 'why?' approach, is crucial for uncovering the underlying motivations of users, leading to better design outcomes.

1. How can
audience research help us
design better products?
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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Introduction

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Introduction
Understanding audiences is fundamental
to user experience design and to any
user-centred design process.

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Introduction
But how do we put this
into practice?

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
For an existing product or service there
may be a wealth of user insights and
feedback, but for a new product, formal
audience research is invaluable.
Introduction

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Audience research is different from
usability research in that it examines users’
behaviours and motivations rather than
their usage of a particular product, although
both are necessary for a user-centred
design process.
Introduction

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Audience research for UX is also different
from market research - it is not concerned
with market size, pricing or how to market a
particular product idea.
Introduction

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Instead it helps us identify the problems
that users are trying to solve in their lives
in order that we might use design to solve
them in new, better ways.
Introduction

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
‘Why?’ is the golden question

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Asking ‘why?’ is the key to gaining
meaningful insights. It’s not easy or
comfortable to ask or be asked.
‘Why?’ is the golden question

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
We don’t typically enjoy dissecting our own
behaviour because it makes us question
whether we’re normal.
‘Why?’ is the golden question

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
‘Why?’ is inherently
accusational - it reminds
us of being at school.
‘Why?’ is the golden question

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
But, asking ‘why?’ is essential to understand
the motivations that lie behind behaviour
patterns, and there are ways to make it
friendlier.
‘Why?’ is the golden question

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Phrases like ‘How come you like...?’ or
‘What is it that makes you do...?’ are more
reflective and less confrontational.
‘Why?’ is the golden question

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Audience focused design

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Audience focused design
If you already have a product and existing
relationship with your audience, you may
already have valuable insights that can be
applied directly as design improvements.

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Analytical thinking
A solid appreciation of the audience’s
behaviours - and crucially, their goals and
motivations - is the best possible basis for
successful product design.

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
Thinking about embarking on a digital
product design piece? Talk to us about
how audience research can help to make
it a success.

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
+44 (0) 203 7738175
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hello@100shapes.com

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100 Shapes — UX & design for broadcast and media brands
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