You may have heard of the timeless question, what is the difference between UX and UI design? To be honest, I am still learning. What I do know is that they work hand in hand, but they are not the same. Just as the image above shows, UX and UI often get grouped into the same position. Many jobs will offer this position in the hopes that a designer will wear both the UX and UI hats (The Difference Between UX And UI Design – A Layman’s Guide). Although it is possible for someone to know about both these areas, in reality, they are distinguishable. UI generally stands for User Interface and UX is User Experience.
UX involves the overall experience of the user. It is the journey the user takes as they have needs, use the product, and interact with the world/company after using the product. UX encompasses a whole area of user research that attempts to understand the user’s every need (UI vs. UX: What’s the difference between user interface and user experience?). This UX process is completed through the conduction of many things, including but not limited to…
- Conducting user research
- Creating user personas
- Determining the product’s information architecture
- Designing user flows and wireframes
- Creating prototypes
- Conducting user testing
- (What Does A UX Designer Actually Do?)
A well-designed product cannot work without a proper UX background. This thought goes the same way, a well thought out user experience isn’t successful unless the product is visually seamless and easy to use.
This is where UI comes into the UX process. After UX background is put in, UI designers can design the product. This design includes visuals, elements to interact with, prototyping, and more. It is the development of the actual product that the user will interact with. The graphic below helps to depict the general process from UX to UI:
After learning this information, I was excited about my future in the UX/UI design world. I came to the understanding that I would prefer to work in a UI based role because of my creative graphic design background. I found it interesting to read about the different requirements each designer should have. UX designers must be able to use empathy and social skills to conduct interviews about the user’s needs. They must also be able to be analytical and understand how their research can be transferred over to a product. UX work is mostly conceptual and involves finding and solving problems (UI vs. UX: What’s the difference between user interface and user experience?).
UI designers must be able to be creative and create aesthetic layouts. These layouts must not only look good but also function efficiently for the user to have a seamless experience (The Difference Between UX And UI Design – A Layman’s Guide). A good example of this coming into play is with Google. The UX research behind Google meets the needs of the user in every way, answering their exact questions. However, if Google had bad UI work, being hard to use with slow result times, it would be less successful. The UI designer must incorporate the research of the UX designer and make sure the user’s needs are being met properly within the product.
References & Resources:
https://www.usertesting.com/blog/ui-vs-ux
https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/what-does-a-ux-designer-actually-do/
https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/the-difference-between-ux-and-ui-design-a-laymans-guide/
SHANNON'S DESIGN BLOG 