No UI is UI

Common misconceptions of a popular design trend

User interface is defined as:

the user interface (UI) is everything designed into an information device with which a human being may interact — including display screen, keyboard, mouse, light pen, the appearance of a desktop, illuminated characters, help messages, and how an application program or a Web site invites interaction and responds to it. In early computers, there was very little user interface except for a few buttons at an operator’s console. The user interface was largely in the form of punched card input and report output

Right after reading such phrases like:

everything designed into an information device with which a human being may interact

We can see that everything from the keyboard on your phone to the buttons you tap are UI elements. Thus, are apps like Operator and Magic, UI-less?

-Operator

Yes, there’s a lot of UI design in Operator, from the Iconography to the way they display prompted content at the home screen.

All of that (above) is UI, but since Operator's product designers are innovative and decided to use a message centric UI/UX flow for their modus operandi of design, and since this style of design and function is apparently new? They are UI-less. Really?

If they are UI-less then FACEBOOK messenger, kik, hell even snapchat can be considered UI-less because they like Magic and Operator have UI.

-Magic App

Why is this a misconception?

Less UI to some means no UI, once a newspaper or blog says something like “OPERATOR HAS NO UI” everyone collectively sh*ts them self because how can an app have no UI?

That’s right you and your preconceptions were right how can it? It can’t — everything that invites you to interact with an app or software is UI. No UI is no interface. No interface means no communication since in computing an interface is needed for communication between computers.

Final Thoughts

For an app like Operator to have no UI it wouldn’t be a great app because it would hinder the way you can interact with your peripheral (iPhone). Thus, instead of saying “no UI” let’s say the right thing “less UI” because really that is what is really is.

Cody is an entrepreneur and full stack designer right now he is working on an app changing the way you shop at grocery stores. www.honydo.com

Find him on the inter webs:

@c_is_for_cody (Twitter)