Demystifying UI Design
Very often, I come across people who, after looking at my Instagram profile, ask me, “What is this Specifically?” and I answer them by saying, “I design User Interfaces,” and they go all blank.
So now I am writing this to answer them all.
User Interface designing is a vast topic, so consider this article to be a concise explanation of what it is — I’ll provide some suggested reading for better understanding.
What is User Interface (UI) Design?
UI designing is the process of making interfaces for computerized devices (Basically, your phone, Tablets, Laptops, TVs, Watches, etc.) with a primary focus on how it looks and feels. It refers to not only Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs), but it also includes others such as voice-controlled flow or gesture-based control systems.
How is UI Design different from UX Design
Before we get into the differentiation of UI Design and UX Design, let me explain to you what UX is:
UX Design, also referred to as User Experience Design is a Human-Centered way of designing products. Don Norman, the author of the famous book ‘The Design of Everyday Things,’ is credited for coining the term ‘User Experience’ in the late 1990s, He describes it as:
“User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-users interaction with the company, its services, and its products.”
Let me clear it for you: Remember unboxing your last apple product? That is User experience, UX designing comprises of any interaction between an active customer and a company.
Primarily, UX can be applied to anything — be it an application or a juicer. A UX designer thinks about how the user feels
Summarizing that: UX designing is all about the overall feel of the experience, while UI designing is all about how the product looks and functions
Designing User Interfaces for User’s Pleasure
The primary goal of UI designing is to make the user feel that they are not interacting with the device but are trying to attain goals with negligible effort.
User Interface designing is an essential part of User Experience (UX), which is a very vast topic. Designers focus on designing efficient and flawless interfaces that look pleasant to use.
Common Misconception about UI Design
UI and UX Are the Same.
This is one of the most common misconceptions. Many people tend to use these terms interchangeably UX does not deal with interfaces, UI does not deal with experiences.
It is easy
Many people think that designing a webpage is an effortless task; I’ve dealt with clients who’ve said: “I could’ve made that in 5 minutes.”
and I have responded with, “Sure you could have, but I am pretty sure you couldn’t have guessed why I’ve used this layout.” When I explain to them the reason behind everything and why I’ve chosen this layout over any other design those are available on the internet, it blows their mind.
Hiding Less critical information will make the designs cleaner and the product easier to understand.
Just because some information is used less often does not mean it is not essential.
Let’s understand this with an example:
How often do you check the seller’s rating on an e-commerce website?
a. All the time
b. Sometimes
c. Never
this answer varies from person to person.
A piece of information which is very important for you might not be that important to me.
A UI designer needs to understand this aspect and design UI to consider all such things.
Crucial UI Design Fundamentals or Things you should learn before designing your first ever UI
https://www.getcloudapp.com/blog/ui-design
- Define your user
- Familiar UI Patterns
- Effective Communication
- Consistency
- Visual Hierarchy
- Making the user feel that ‘they are controlling this.’
- Keep it simple and to the point.
References
- What is User Interface Designing:
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/ui-design - Difference Between UX and UI:
https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/the-difference-between-ux-and-ui-design-a-laymans-guide/ - A comprehensive guide to UI:
https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2018/02/comprehensive-guide-ui-design/ - User Interface Design basics:
https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2018/02/comprehensive-guide-ui-design/
