When done correctly, user experience design is about more than creating an intuitive, easy-to-use interface.

UX designers have the unique opportunity to see the world through their customers’ eyes—and then build their products with those users in mind.

That’s why ethnography plays such an important role in this process. Ethnography is the study of people’s behaviours and cultures, and it provides valuable insight into your customers’ world and how they navigate it on a daily basis.

What is Ethnography?

Ethnography is an approach to research that is usually done before any development work takes place. It's about spending time with your users, learning about their lives and behaviours, observing them in their natural environment, and looking for patterns. Using these insights you can create personas that serve as avatars for different types of users, which can then be used to build products people will love.

Why is Ethnography important?

Ethnography is not only one of user experience design's most important techniques, but also an art form unto itself. Ethnographic research involves immersing yourself within a target audience and attempting to replicate their experiences first-hand. This often uncovers hidden motivations, subconscious behaviour patterns, and emotional triggers that would otherwise go unnoticed if left to purely quantitative research techniques.

When Should You Use Ethnographic Techniques?

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to user experience (UX) research. When you’re deciding how to conduct your study, take a look at what goals you want to accomplish. If it’s important for you to be able to report findings with any certainty, then a quantitative approach is best—you can use surveys and experiments that yield hard data for your reports.

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