Getting started with Web 3.0 as UI/UX Designer?

What is UI/UX?

Simply stated, user interface (UI) refers to any aspect of a digital product or service that a user interacts with. Everything from displays and touch devices to keyboards, audio, and even lighting fall under this category. However, learning more about UI's history and how it has grown into quality standards and a profession is helpful in understanding its progress. The UI designer's job has evolved as systems, preferences, expectations, and accessibility have required more and more from devices, as it does with any expanding technology. UI designers now work on a variety of platforms, including smartphones, augmented and virtual reality, and even "invisible" or screenless interfaces (also known as zero UI) such as speech, gesture, and light. Working on webpages, mobile applications, wearable electronics, and smart home gadgets, to mention a few, is practically unlimited for today's UI designer. As long as technology is a part of daily life, interfaces must be designed to allow users of diverse ages, backgrounds, and technical skills to effectively utilize them.

Similarly, as a result of the advancements in UI, the user experience, or UX, has progressed. Users' experiences, whether favorable, bad, or neutral, affect how they feel about those encounters once there is anything for them to interact with. UX designers are in charge of ensuring that the organization produces a product or service that fulfills the customer's demands and helps them accomplish their intended outcome smoothly. Through study and testing, UX designers collaborate with UI designers, UX researchers, marketers, and product teams to better understand their consumers. Based on both quantitative and qualitative user research, they use the insights gathered to develop and enhance experiences on a continuous basis.

How Do They Collaborate?

Thus, a UX designer decides how the UI functions, while a UI designer decides how the UI appears. This is a cooperative cycle, and the two design groups ordinarily work together intently. The UI group works on how these interface elements will appear on screen, while the UX group deals with the application's flow, how buttons guide you through tasks, and how the interface quickly conveys the information users need. Let's assume it is decided during the planning cycle that more buttons should be added to a specific screen. This will require an adjustment in the manner the buttons are organized and their structure or size. The UX group would settle on the ideal arrangement for the buttons, while the UI groups would change their designs to meet the new format. Steady correspondence and coordinated effort among UI and UX designers guarantee that the final UI looks as impressive as possible while performing effectively and intuitively.

When UX design initially became popular, it was met with a lot of criticism. People believed that their user experience would be insignificant. However, they weren't wholly wrong at the time. The majority of older web apps were basic and static. As a result, concentrating on user experience did not appear to be a priority. Web apps, on the other hand, have come a long way since then. Web applications have progressed in recent years, becoming more dynamic and complex. For users, this adds to the complexity. As a result, there's a pressing necessity to consider user experience.

As of March 2020, 62 percent of the world's population utilizes the internet, according to Internet World statistics. This equates to a population of 4.8 billion people! Organizations are using this to their advantage in order to reach out to a larger audience via the internet. Today, almost every business has a presence on the internet. Because of the internet's reach, traditional firms are also looking to get online. This is why UI/UX design is so important nowadays.

However, handcrafted UI and UX design will most likely be replaced by curation and product management. In my opinion, the future of UX is likely to change – AI may soon be able to iterate 1000 times faster and generate considerably more variations than ever before in human history.

Web 3.0: An Overview

Web 3.0 is fundamentally concerned with data and its management. The volume of information is multiplying in this age of data, requiring it to be handled appropriately and securely. Industry specialists have been discussing Blockchain and the requirement for a decentralized web that eliminates centralized data hosting services for years. Likewise, there has been much conversation about recovering control from web behemoths like Facebook and Google, involved as of late in privacy-related issues. Moreover, as the desire for creating a more open Web where clients can have individualized user experiences grows, advancements like Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are becoming more predominant. Take, for instance, Amazon's Alexa application. An AI device learns Amazon's advertising algorithms, gives customized suggestions, and informs Amazon regarding which items or services are highly demanded based on shopper search. Assuming the pattern of progress can be followed from Web 1.0, a static data supplier where individuals read sites but seldom communicated with them, to Web 2.0, an interactive and social web that permits users to collaborate, Web 3.0 is expected to change both how sites are built and how individuals interface with them.

A Brief History of Web Transformation

Sites used to come with a few interactive and visual elements. Users just took in the information that was given to them. Maybe you could share that data with others in a limited manner. At the time, that was the extent of the capabilities. This is the reason why, after a few years, Web 1.0 was no longer adequate. Users demanded a simpler method for making content and sharing it with the rest of the world. The Internet was swept up in a frenzy of interest for expanded connection, personalization, and interactivity. Thus, Web 2.0, otherwise called the social Web, was formed during the 2000s, and it was significantly more visually engaging and gave consumers more content consumption options. While Web 2.0 had maintained its ground for more than twenty years, the world was advancing toward Web 3.0. Indeed, even Web 3.0 was coined by John Markoff in a New York Times story in 2006. This signaled the start of another age, which has finally arrived. Web 3.0 leverages P2P networks and is dominated by the concept of AI and ML. This is essential to provide a transparent, decentralized, and customized user experience. Today, AR/VR, 3D effects, neomorphism, and other elements give clients a richer Internet-based experience. It is an AI/ML-driven Web that provides users with engaging, meaningful, and relevant search results based on the context of their inquiry rather than simply the keywords. Besides, this new Web vows to eliminate data monopolies by integrating decentralized innovations like Blockchain to protect client information from abuse.

Web 3.0 versus Web 2.0

The incorporation of innovative elements is the main change. For instance, UI/UX designers become skilled at enforcing a specific navigation path using backgrounds like curves and shapes. When used effectively, forms and shapes might underline crucial material while providing an incredible User Interface (UI). In addition, Web 3.0 designs utilize visual data and illustrations to enhance pages and promote specific causes, products, or services. To enhance and gamify the user experience, creators use a lot of animation and iconography.

What role does UX design play in Web 3.0?

Designers are not the only ones that utilize this pattern; new WordPress frameworks and themes are likewise made with it in mind. Due to simplicity and aesthetics, shapes and other design elements impact the site/application design. Design elements also integrate everything while ensuring a predictable user experience and a consistent flow.

The following are some of the reasons why UX design and the use of graphics are fundamental:

1. Capturing the attention of visitors.

Visitors' attention is drawn to visual aspects, empowering them to explore a site or application. Users are attracted to colors, patterns, and structures.

2. Complex aspects are simplified.

Previously, UX architects depended on text to communicate the products and services offered by a site or application. However, illustrations now do most of the heavy lifting. Therefore, a graphic collection might be based on product features and services.

3. The portrayal of a particular visual character

Since no two brands are similar, it is essential to communicate their uniqueness. This is where UI/UX design comes in. Brands might create a distinct personality through illustrations that separate them from the competition. They achieve it by keeping the colors, geometric shapes, navigation buttons, and designs consistent.

4. Brand Image

Brands might utilize illustration styles to establish a strong image among their target audience. Illustrations may likewise be used to highlight an organization's assets, values, and qualities. Brand image is not just about copywriting. Instead, design and content work together to establish a site or application's brand image.

Is Web 3.0 Here?

Web 3.0 has arrived, as per industry insiders, application/site engineers, UI/UX creators, and even web developers. Nonetheless, it is in its early stages and has much room to grow. Some of its functionalities are available in standard or conventional web/applications.

Web 3.0 is characterized by the evolution of web use, which includes converting the Web into a database. In this new period of online planning, the decentralization of the Web's back-end is happening. 'Web 3.0' refers to a broad scope of interactions and advancements, and this pivotal version permits services to exchange information. Moreover, it guarantees that the data is organized much more logically than Google's current search engine schema. This is overwhelmingly from the perspective of machine understanding rather than human comprehension.

Web 3.0's features

Web 3.0 delivers and presents relevant search results closely related to the search keywords entered by the users. It provides a continuous search environment with an emphasis on keywords for users. The search results also take the search intent of the users into account.

Web 3.0 is primarily defined by five critical aspects that explain how this revolutionary version functions. Artificial intelligence (AI) has improved the search engine structure, promising to deliver closely connected results to your search queries. The following are the characteristics:

Web 3.0 includes the Semantic Web, an upgraded and much more advanced form of the Web. It allows data to be exchanged across several platforms, systems, and communities. The Semantic Web complements Web technology by allowing users to produce, exchange, and link material.

Designs in three dimensions (graphics). 3D designs and settings are used in complex websites, applications, and particular web services. 3D visuals are employed in HD games, museum tours, roller coaster simulations, horror simulations, and eCommerce apps/websites, to name a few.

Web 3.0 AI blends AI with NLP (natural language processing), allowing computers and even smartphones to discern information in the same manner that people do. This knowledge enables computers to respond to consumers' search queries faster and more relevantly. Furthermore, computers have evolved to the point where they can now adapt to human search criteria and meet user expectations.

Connectivity. Today's information is considerably more linked because of semantic metadata. The user experience is developing to a new level thanks to web design 3.0. Thanks to improved connection, users may now get all accessible information at their fingertips.

Ubiquity is another key feature. As a result, content is readily available through various applications, and every device has Internet connectivity. Users will be able to get better services regardless of their location. While the semantic Web, one of Web 3.0's elements, and its influence on web design have previously been discussed, using chatbots to create a seamless semantic experience is another option. Chatbots are already being used in apps and websites, and more are underway. AI-driven chatbots are far more complex and provide a wealth of information, allowing users to be pleased without the need for human engagement. This is because AI chatbots can learn and even produce content as they go. Using such technologies in development and design will get your project closer to being ready for web design 3.0.

What Impact Does Web 3.0 Have on People's Lives?

Web 3.0 design examples range from decentralized exchanges like IDEX to social networks like Sapien. The design of these applications has been kept simple, focusing on user experience and the usage of blockchain AI to obtain high-quality, relevant information without putting their data at risk. Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa are also significant instances of Web 3.0 design, with simple interfaces and technology like speech recognition and pre-programmed algorithms to make consumers' lives more straightforward.

Here is how Web 3.0 is affecting people's lives:

1. Smarter Apps

Web 3.0 is a comprehensive platform that powers web pages and provides enhanced app experiences. Take, for example, Google's mapping services. This software may now combine basic location search functionality with real-time traffic information, route directions, and lodging recommendations. During the Web 2.0 era, this was less feasible.

2. Personalized browsing experience

While ads can be intrusive, people cannot resist the ease of swiftly browsing exceptional deals for items they require. Web design 3.0 allows websites and applications to modify themselves automatically.

3. Improved data security

The focus is on enhanced security and privacy because the internet platforms and apps are decentralized.

Web 3.0 Apps

Here are a few examples of web 3.0 apps:

Bitcoin — The first cryptocurrency has been around for almost ten years, and the protocol is decentralized, albeit not the entire ecosystem.

Diaspora is a decentralized, non-profit social network.

Steemit is a blockchain-based social media and blogging platform.

Augur is a decentralized prediction market.

OpenSea — A platform for buying and selling NFTs built on the Ethereum blockchain.

Sapien is a decentralized social network based on Ethereum's Blockchain.

Uniswap is a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange.

Everledger is a supply chain, provenance, and authenticity platform built on the Blockchain.

What role does the metaverse play in web3?

The metaverse is the final critical web3 topic that we must discuss. The word "metaverse" refers to the next version of the Internet's front-end – the user interface through which we interact with the online world, connect with other users, and alter data – and it is used in the context of Web3. If you missed the hype, the metaverse is envisioned as a far more immersive, social, and permanent version of the Internet that we all know and love. It will use virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies to entice us in, allowing us to interact with the digital domain in more natural and immersive ways – for example, by using virtual hands to pick up and manipulate objects and our voices to give instructions to machines or converse with other people. The metaverse may be viewed as the interface through which people will interact with web3 tools and apps in numerous ways. It is possible to construct web3 apps without using the metaverse – Bitcoin is an example – but metaverse technology and experiences are expected to play a significant role in how many of these applications interact with our lives.

Are you prepared for the change?

The use of modern technologies such as AI, machine learning, and Blockchain is at the heart of Web 3.0. Furthermore, Web 3.0 offers users better content based on their search queries. This is the start of a new era in online and app development. It is all about making the Web brighter so you can have a better user experience.

What is the current state of affairs? It has been a rollercoaster ride for web 3.0, and it feels like this piece scratches the surface. Whether it is a phase or not, the potential of Blockchain has us reconsidering traditional methods of doing things, which users think is always a good thing.