WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UX AND UI DESIGN?

In the digital world, User Experience Design (UX) and User Interface Design (UI) are terms that are often used interchangeably. They both relate to the design of software, websites and applications, so the distinction can be blurry.

User Experience Design is about understanding your users. It’s figuring out who they are, what they are trying to achieve and what is the best way for them to do that. It answers the question of ‘what value are we providing to the user?’ and ‘what’s the best way to do that?’ UX concentrates on how a product feels and whether it solves the problem for the user.

A User Interface is often the final product of going through the UX process. It’s the actual screens, the set of combined elements on page that users directly interact with. UI design concentrates on how the product looks and is laid out.

WHY DO YOU NEED BOTH?

UX and UI are part of the same process to create the best possible experience for the users.

It’s often tempting to concentrate solely on creating a sexy interface, to make something flashy and assume that good usability is the same as looking good, but UX is needed to build the foundation for a good UI. Alternately, UI is often the end deliverable of the UX process. Without a good interface the usefulness of great function won’t have a place to shine through.

Users want engaging experiences that save them time and frustration. The quality of the experience reflects on the trust that users put in a company and their overall perception of it.