Mobile App UI and UX: The Balance between Beauty and Functionality

In short, UI stands for User Interface, and UX stands for User EXperience.

In my opinion, UI is the how beautifully a mobile app looks, and UX defines the overall experience a user has with the app. In order to build a successful mobile app, one should have a nice balance between the UI and UX.

Only concentrating on either one of them would deem disastrous for the user. With too much emphasis on the app UI, the user may be fascinated by the design of the graphics and icons, but once he/she start to use it, they will soon be pulling their hair out to figure out how the app works.

On the other hand, concentrating too much on the latter will allow the user to use the mobile app with ease, but they will soon be sick of the monotonous or badly designed interface. With the rapid-moving mobile app market, users will simply give up and look for better alternatives.

So how do we actually strike a balance between the two?

Look at the Big Picture

Well unfortunately there are no short-cuts to this. You simply have to keep researching and test out on the good and popular mobile apps, as well as the bad ones out there. You will then notice the trends that they have. A good app not only looks good, but also takes the user’s experience into serious consideration, like any potential disruptions (long loading time, crashes, bugs, etc…).

A good mobile app also has a fantastic app flow, creating a unique, seamless experience between the user and the app. It should not complicate the functions of what the users want from the app. Navigation should be easy, and interface should be pleasing to the eyes too. A great site to visit for examples will be: http://uxarchive.com/

Another nicely designed app would be 500px. Here are some of the screenshots:

This mobile app utilizes monotone colours and very little graphics in their layout and design. The functions and flow of the app is also kept at a minimalist level. However, it is through the simple yet pleasing design of this mobile app that allows users to place their main focus on the main selling point of the app: the photos.

In conclusion, we have to learn to look at the “Bigger picture” when developing an app. We should understand how the user would interact with the app, how the UX flow should be like, and then consider the kind of UI that the app needs. With that in mind, accompanied with lots of research and effort, you will be developing a good app in no time!