UI/UX Design-All you need to know

When someone says I am a designer, it is not immediately clear what they actually do. There are a number of different responsibilities encompassed by the umbrella term designer.

With the relatively recent influx of tech companies focused on creating interfaces for screens, many new design roles have emerged. Job titles like UX or UI designer are confusing to the uninitiated and unfamiliar even to designers who come from other industries.

First things first: What do UX and UI actually mean?

UX design refers to the term User Experience Design, while UI stands for User Interface Design. Both elements are crucial to a product and work closely together. But despite their professional relationship, the roles themselves are quite different, referring to very different aspects of the product development process and the design discipline.

Let's dive in deeper...

What is User Experience (UX) design?

User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-users interaction with the company, its services, and its products.” – Don Norman

UX applies to anything that can be experienced — be it a website, a coffee machine, or a visit to the supermarket. The User Experience part refers to the interaction between the user and a product or service.

UX applies to anything that can be experienced — be it a website, a coffee machine, or a visit to the supermarket. The User Experience part refers to the interaction between the user and a product or service. User experience design, then, considers all the different elements that shape this experience.

• A UX designer thinks about how the experience makes the user feel, and how easy it is for the user to accomplish their desired tasks.
• For example: How easy is the checkout process when shopping online? How easy is it for you to grip that vegetable peeler? Does your online banking app make it easy for you to manage your money?
• The ultimate purpose of UX design is to create easy, efficient, relevant, and all-around pleasant experiences for the user.

What is User Interface (UI) design?

As for user experience design, user interface design is a multi-faceted and challenging role. It is responsible for the transference of a product’s development, research, content, and layout into an attractive, guiding, and responsive experience for users. Unlike UX, user interface design is a strictly digital term. A user interface is the point of interaction between the user and a digital device or product.

• UI designers are in charge of designing each screen or page with which a user interacts and ensuring that the UI visually communicates the path that a UX designer has laid out.
• UI designers are also typically responsible for creating a cohesive style guide and ensuring that a consistent design language is applied across the product.
• Maintaining consistency in visual elements and defining behavior such as how to display error or warning states fall under the purview of a UI designer.

Stay tuned for more information and connect with me on LinkedIn.