The definitions of UX and UI have been a source of controversy for almost as long as the names have existed. UX stands for User Experience whereas User Interface is abbreviated as UI. Two terms that are often used interchangeably, but actually mean very different things. Let’s look at the definitions of UX and UI and see how they differ.
What is UI?
“A User Interface is like a joke. If you have to explain it, it’s not that good.”
Martin LeBlanc
A User Interface is a medium through which humans and machines may interact. It enables consumers to operate a machine successfully in order to perform a job or achieve a certain objective, like making a food order or commenting on your friend’s Facebook status.
UI deals with the visual aspect of a system. UI design is about the look, responsiveness and interactivity. A UI designer is in charge of converting a product’s creation, research, content, and layout into an appealing, guiding, and responsive user experience. It includes the selection of colors, the layout of various elements within the software and the interactive animations. A user interface designer helps people utilize technology in a simple and straightforward way. User interface designers focus on the portions of the product where people interact with it directly.
What is UX?
“User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products.”
Don Norman
The User Experience refers to how a person feels when interacting with a product. UX applies to anything that can be experienced. It could be a mobile application, a website, a tea maker, or simply a visit to your grocery store. The “user experience” refers to the user’s interaction with a product or service. It considers all of the aspects that go into creating this experience.
“Wait, did you say you’re a designer but you don’t make graphics?” Part of this ambiguity stems from the name: UX design. Many people identify the word “design” with creativity, colors, and graphics, but its actual meaning in this case, resides in utility, as well as the process of creating goods that give a consistent experience for their users.
UX design is mostly about the research. UX designers are in charge of understanding the demands of the target audience and ensuring that the company’s products fit those needs. UX design is a multidisciplinary discipline in which UX designers can work on a variety of product development projects, including product research, ideation, prototyping, and testing. The key responsibilities of a UX designer encompasses understanding the target audience and their needs, creating design strategy, and analyzing the design of interactions.
Something that looks great but is difficult to use is exemplary of great UI and poor UX. While something very usable but looks terrible is exemplary of great UX and poor UI.
What are the similarities?
- The ultimate goal of both UI and UX is customer satisfaction.
- It is applicable in a wide varieties of product and service.
What are the differences?
| Title | UI | UX |
| Definition | Human-first way of designing all the visual, interactive elements of a digital product | Human-first way of designing products and services considering the overall experience feels for the user |
| Focus area | Beauty and aesthetics | Usability and overall experience |
| Major roles | Build design system, typography, wireframes and prototyping, responsiveness | Conduct user research, usability tests, bridge the gap between what consumer needs and business needs |
| Designer skills | Adaptibility, creativity, branding skills, animation and interactivity | Empathy, critical thinking, problem solving, testing, analysis and iteration |
Conclusion
By now, you should have a good understanding of the subtle distinctions between UI and UX design. Yes, they complement one other, but they are vastly different. UX design is more analytical than traditional design. It’s based on human psychology and cognitive behavior. The visuals-or whether a product is visually pleasing-are more important in UI design software.
A good combination of both UI and UX is required for the long successful run of any business.