How to create a better UX design for the users of younger generations

Gen Z – a generation of young people born between the last few years of the 20th century and the first ten years of the 21st, are the primary users of a modern-day Internet. They started using technology since their early childhood, being almost constantly glued to their smartphones and tablets, which led to them being very demanding users that have their own requirements in UX. At the same time, they are known for their sense of humor and straightforwardness – which means they love using products that are both easy to navigate but full of interactive elements. Below we’ve collected a few things you should consider when creating a UX design aimed at a young audience.

1. Smartphones are a priority

While older generations need their old-fashioned computers to “browse the Internet”, young people prefer smartphones to any other forms of digital interaction. That’s why in any software product you create for Gen Z you should pay the utmost attention to its mobile version design. Make it optimized both for Android and iOS, conduct a research to find out what type of smartphone exactly you TA is most likely to use. 

2. Sharing content is a must

Gen Z can’t imagine their life without social media and love sharing content on their accounts. That’s why it’s extremely important to include social media integration features in the product. 

3. Content should be concise

Younger generation is used to receiving information in shorter forms than before: with the rise of Reels, Shorts and other types of easy-to-digest content users’ attention span worldwide has become significantly shorter. That means that software products that offer large amounts of information will most likely not capture young users’ attention. Be sure to break the content into small parts and use attractive visuals – for example, one of the most popular ways to present news in an app now is in the form of Stories that are easy to scroll through. 

4. Visual interaction is a good bonus

While older generations prefer minimalistic and static design, it’s only natural for younger people to love a brighter, more cheerful and visually engaging one. A well-done UX for a young target audience can contain animations, bright colors, playful features and other similar elements – but it’s very important to keep it moderate and not overload the product with everything at one, making its design gaudy and tasteless. Any interactive features should enhance user navigation, not make it harder and more confusing. 

5. VR/AR can also be useful

Since VR/AR technologies have been on the rise for the past few years, young audience is already used to interacting with it in games, entertainment or even educational platforms. Adding a few VR/AR elements in the UX design can be useful and fun – for example, it can be an animated in-app assistant that a user can vocally interact with on demand. Again, it shouldn’t be something that distracts users from seamless navigation – but rather a helpful and/or fun feature. 

6. Personalization is important

Customization and personalization have long become an integral part of many software products, and Gen Z is used to this – which means they won’t appreciate a UX design without these features. Personal recommendations, customized content and other ways to make users feel connected to the platform are what makes the UX truly valuable.

7. Feedback options should be provided 

Clear and easy options to ask for help or provide feedback is something that is required and appreciated by the audience of any age. In-app chat support, feedback forms are among the most popular ways to let users report bugs, solve various issues or generally voice their opinion on the product. It’s better not to offer old-fashioned ways for such communication, e.g. asking users to e-mail for feedback, since it might push younger audience away.

8. Don’t forget about accessibility 

No matter which age group the app is designed for, it should be accessible for any types of users, especially  those with visual/hearing impairments. That means accessibility should be taking into account when creating UX design – an app should offer a few font sizes and a light/dark mode at least.

Apart from Gen-Z, another category of young users are junior kids, the so-called Gen A. 

The times when technology was used primarily by adults have already gone forever — in the modern world, children have also become confident users of smartphones, wearable gadgets and smart devices. Therefore, the creation of apps and web platforms for children has already become a separate industry. Children’s minds and perception work differently than in adults — which means digital products with a junior target audience need a specific UX. Some designers think that incorporating bright colors and large buttons in a product is enough to make it kids-friendly, but in reality it takes much more than that. Here are few simple rules that a designer should stick to when creating a UX for kids’ products. 

1. Design should correspond to the age group

Сhildhood is that span of life when a little human’s cognitive abilities change with each passing year. For example, the way a three-year-old and a seven-year-old perceive the world differs dramatically. Therefore, when creating a UX design for children, it’s important to understand what age group the product is aimed at. Conventionally, children can be divided into the following age groups: 0-2 yrs, 2-6 yrs, 7-9 yrs and 10-12 yrs. Each group has its own peculiarities — for example, younger kids mostly need symbols and visual effects for perception, while older kids have the ability to understand textual content and comprehend more complicated design patterns. 

2. Use brighter colors and playful fonts

Unlike adult users, who mostly prefer minimalism and calm colors, children need bright and exciting design, otherwise you simply won’t be able to retain the young audience. But be careful not to over-try: this doesn’t mean the product should be dazzled with all colors at once. Make sure colors match each other and are not “eye-burning”. It’s also important to use fonts that are playful and easily readable at the same time.

3. Provide constant encouragement

Children are not able to constantly be in focus due to their age, so they get distracted very quickly and lose motivation to do what they were just doing. That’s why you have to constantly encourage them in order to keep them interested in using the product. This involves breaking the content into small parts, incorporating gamified elements, adding process tracking and giving out encouraging virtual gifts.

4. Include storytelling to make the process easier

Another way to help children focus is storytelling. Since kids’ understanding is limited due to their young age and lack of experience, it may be hard for them to get the plot of your product on their own. Storytelling helps bridge the gaps and make the process logical and complete from a child’s perspective.

5. Make intuitiveness #1 priority

The number one rule of any kids-oriented product is that it should be easy to use, otherwise your little audience will quickly lose interest. This means that intuitiveness should be number one priority in the UX design of such products. А good idea is to integrate a digital helper in a product: for example, it can be a small animated character that will help kids navigate through with hints and pop-up notifications. 

Conclusion 

When working on a UX design for an app aimed at a younger audience, it’s important to keep balance between trends that capture Gen Z’s & Gen A’s attention and usability that contributes to a seamless navigation through the product. It’s important to thoroughly study and understand your target audience to learn what they’re expecting from the product and how you can make it more appealing for their age without making it look either old-fashioned or funny.