Summary
UX design identifies and solves user problems; UI design is about building intuitive, aesthetically satisfying, interactive interfaces.
UX design comes first in the product-development process, followed by UI. The UX designer maps out the bare bones of the user journey; the UI designer then packs it with visual and interactive elements.
UX can apply to any product, service, or experience; UI is specific to digital products and experiences.
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The terms “user interface (UI) design” and “user experience (UX) design” are the most confused and conflated terms in web and app design. These terms were thought to describe the same thing. It is hard to find descriptions of the two because these elements work closely together. However, despite their relationship, they have quite different roles regarding product development processes and the design disciplines.
What Does Each Term Mean Individually?
The Meaning of UI
UI stands for “user interface;” user interface design is a digital term. The user interface is the graphical layout of an application. A user interface is present throughout the duration of interaction between the user and a digital device or product. It includes screen layout, transitions, interface animation—any visual element, interaction, or animation that need to be designed.
UI designers must maintain consistency in visual elements and define behaviour. UI designers are graphic designers who decide what to choose for an application interface design, like colour schemes, button shapes, and text fonts. They create the look and feel of an application or a product. They need to make sure that the application interface is attractive. UI designers are also responsible for creating a cohesive style model and guaranteeing that a consistent design language is applied across the product.
UI designer job description:
- UI design is an entirely digital process. It considers interactive elements of a product interface, all the visuals, including icons, buttons, spacing, typography, colour schemes, and responsive design.
- The goal of UI design is to guide the user through a product interface visually. It is all about designing a spontaneous experience that doesn’t expect the user to overthink!
- UI design carries the brand’s strengths and visual assets to a product interface, making sure the design is consistent, coherent, and aesthetically pleasing.
The Meaning of UX
UX stands for “user experience,” and it determines how easy or difficult it is to interact with the user interface elements the UI designers created. UX evolved as an improvement to UI.
The UX designers conduct research experience, learn the positive and negative points and take those to create improvements that positively influence the user’s experiences, whether the UX is positive, negative, or neutral changes how users interact with the products or services.
The UX designers’ responsibility is to ensure that the company delivers the products or services to meet the customers’ needs and achieve their desired outcomes seamlessly. The purpose of UX design is to create accessible, efficient, relevant, and engaging experiences for the user.
UX designer job description:
- UX design is the method of developing and enhancing the quality of interaction between a user and all aspects of a company.
- UX design is a non-digital process, although it is used and defined mostly by digital industries.
- UX design concentrates on the overall feel of the experience and not just visuals.
UI and UX Similarities
UX and UI work together hand-in-hand. You can’t have one without the other. UX and UI establish separate roles with separate processes and tasks!
UX designers consider the user’s journey to solve a specific product or service problem. They need to focus on the issues and find solutions to those problems. They’ll conduct extensive user research to determine the target users and their needs concerning a specific product. Then they will map out the user’s journey and create wireframes that set out a prototype of the product or service.
After the map-out, the UI designer brings it to life. The UI designer examines all the visual aspects of the user’s journey; the UI designer focuses on all the details that make the mission possible.
UX is what the individual interacting with that product or service takes from the entire experience. UI is the delivery of all the elements that allow someone to interact with a product or service.
Conclusion:
- UX design identifies and solves user problems; UI design is about building intuitive, aesthetically satisfying, interactive interfaces.
- UX design comes first in the product-development process, followed by UI. The UX designer maps out the bare bones of the user journey; the UI designer then packs it with visual and interactive elements.
- UX can apply to any product, service, or experience; UI is specific to digital products and experiences.
Learn all about the history of UX design here
Learn more about UI design for accessibility here