Designing for Generation Z

They are young. They are tech-savvy.

Designing for generation Z folks is tricky as compared to Generation X and Generation Y. These young minds are very open-minded towards a user interface. They understand new technologies pretty intuitively.

Technology product design used to be anchored around the idea of affordance and usability traditionally. This has always worked positively in creating experiential designs for Generation X & Y. However, for the young generation, they experience the digital world at a whole another level. They’re fully immersed in technology.

Let’s find out how you can design for them.

Modern Interactions

Several modern interactions come naturally to them. “Pull down to refresh” or “pinch to zoom” and various other interactions are used daily by them. These might not be very common among older generations. They usually take a longer time to learn new interactions. Their learning curve is much steeper.

But for the younger users, you can introduce these interactions without having to show detailed instructions on how to use them. They are used to them.

These teens started exploring interfaces from a very young age and they are very comfortable with these interactions.

Rich and Immersive Experiences

Times have changed. Generation Z won’t be content with just plain, boring designs. Products that are just usable won’t cut it anymore. They expect very rich and immersive experiences.

You could incorporate rich graphics, illustrations, and animations on your designs. These should be able to captivate users’ senses and impress them.

One of the methods to be employed is visual persuasion. Going a step ahead and making the designs visually enticing can result in captivating Generation Z. The simple experiences that work well with the older generations won’t be exciting enough for these kids and teens. The simple rule to capture their minds is: Interactive, immersive and visually appealing.

New Technologies

It’s easy for a teenager to get used to a VR headset than a 40-year-old. Therefore it is not surprising to know that Generation Z is pretty receptive towards new technologies.

These new technologies could be hardware related innovations like VR, AR headsets, gesture-based interfaces, electric transportation or software related innovations including new interactive elements, features or applications. Young users can learn and adopt new technologies faster than anyone. They are most flexible and are likely to try them out.

For any tech innovation company, the ideal demographics to test their new devices or features are people in Generation Z. They are the ideal ones to test all the ambitious innovations that would drive the future state of technology.

Social and Collaborative

Being social is imprinted on Generation Z’s DNA. The popularity of social media and its wide adoption by the younger demographics prove that they no longer live isolated. Being connected to one another is a part of their daily lives.

When you design for them, keep in mind their social nature. You’ll find better acceptance by these young folks when you have provisions in your app for them to share, invite or collaborate with their network. Several games have incorporated multiplayer mode or the feature to compete with their friends. This tremendously increases user engagement.

Another widely popular and accepted feature is the ability to login using any of the social accounts.

These are some of the tips that can be kept in mind while designing for the young population. Before beginning to design for them, it is important to understand how they view technology. Since they are born into a digital world, technology holds an integral part of their lives.

Technology is no longer a separate silo for them as in the case of older generations. As they become increasingly influential in society, you must gear up for designing the way they love.