User Experience (UX) Design and User Interface (UI) Design are often used interchangeably in the tech industry. While they work together, they are two practices focusing on different aspects of the product development process.
User experience design focuses on functionality, accessibility, and the overall user experience with a product. User interface design focuses on the visual elements and the user's interactivity with a product.
In this article, we will examine the following points to understand UI/UX design and how they complement each other.
- Understanding UX vs. UI Design
- How UX & UI Design Work Together
- UX/UI Tasks & Responsibilities
Understanding the Key Differences of UX vs. UI Design
User Experience Highlights
User experience encompasses breaking down each step in a user’s journey to understand how the interaction with a product or service may make them feel.
The term ‘User Experience’ was coined in the late ’90s by Don Norman. He described UX as a way to observe the end-user’s interaction with a company’s services and products. This is important because many people today associate UX with only digital products. But that’s not accurate.
While UX is most often associated with digital products like websites and apps, it can actually be applied to any interaction with a physical product, like using a shovel or opening a car door. How does the shovel handle feel in your hand? How easy is it to press the button to open the car door? These questions help us understand a product's interactivity and overall functionality.
UX entails conducting user research, determining a product's information architecture (IA), creating wireframes and prototypes, and bridging the gap between the user's desires and a business's needs or objectives. While UX does entail a good amount of creativity, it’s actually a very analytic role.
User Interface Highlights
User Interface encompasses understanding how a user will flow through a product journey so each step can be designed appropriately for the best user interaction.
User Interface design is solely based on the visual aspects of digital products. It considers page layout, color schemes, typography selections, animated and interactive elements, product responsiveness, and creating high-fidelity prototypes for testing.
UI design also entails ensuring the product is accessible and inclusive to its users. Color contrast, white spacing, font selection, scroll and keyboard ease, and the like are all pertinent to ensuring the product works well for everyone, including individuals with physical disabilities. A beautiful, aesthetically pleasing website that does not cater to accessibility isn’t really good UI. So, a UI designer really needs to take a detailed approach to each element that is created.
How UX & UI Design Work Together
User Experience and User Interface are both human-first approaches to design. They work together to create a seamless user interaction experience with a product. UX/UI looks beyond how a product looks and functions to how a product makes a user feel.
It’s ubiquitous to explain how UX and UI work together by looking at the two individually. For example, if you have a banking app with stunning visual design but it takes you on a loop to get to the mobile deposits tab, or if when you click on a statement, it brings you to another page to click a button before you can even view it, you have great UI with bad UX.
On the contrary, let’s say it’s easy to find where to make mobile deposits, and it processes quickly once you submit it. But, before even getting to that point, the fields are so tiny that it’s a challenge to enter the amounts, and the button to submit the deposit is hard to decipher because of the color contrast; you have good UX with lousy UI.
You can also think of it like a freshly baked croissant on display at a bakery (because yes, please!). Imagine ordering your croissant that looks decadent (UI) but then taking a bite to find out it was stale or unflavorful (UX).
A good user interface with a bad user experience or vice versa is why the two must blend and be thought of together when creating a product. A good designer will understand these principles and take them into significant consideration.
Defining the Tasks & Responsibilities of UX/UI Designers
As we dove in above, while we see many designers taking on the title of ‘UX/UI Designer,’ we now understand how the two are different. By understanding their tasks and responsibilities, you should have a better idea of which path you’d prefer to pursue.
UX Tasks & Responsibilities
In the beginning stages of product development, a User Experience designer will take the initial lead on design conception and planning. It does involve a more analytical and research-driven mindset. UX designers are responsible for having an in-depth understanding of the consumer’s needs and desires in order to translate that to their team.
Once they have thoroughly researched the consumer, including starting with competitive research, a UX designer can then focus on the product's information architecture, along with content development and wireframes/prototypes.
Developing the information architecture of a product is a crucial component to the success of a digital product. It includes creating flow charts and blueprints that break down the navigation, content hierarchy, and interactive features. This translates into essentially understanding how fluidly a user will get from point A → to point B.
In summary, here are some of the key responsibilities of a UX designer:
- Competitive research & analysis
- User research and/or consumer research
- Information Architecture (IA)
- Product research & conception
- Content development
- Low-fidelity wireframes prototypes
- Testing & Troubleshooting
- Coordinating with Developer
Once a UX Designer finalizes the product outline, it is presented and discussed with their team and ready to be passed on to the UI designer to bring it all together.
UI Tasks & Responsibilities
A User Interface designer’s primary role is to ultimately translate the product to the end user in a visually appealing and interactive way. They have the challenge of breaking down each of the product elements into a manner that will be digestible to its users. So, it’s not just all about making it look good but also making it feel good, where there is a lasting effect of how the product resonates with the user.
The UI designer will begin creating all the visual elements of the product, including the color scheme, typography, button styles, and animations, before proceeding to create high-fidelity wireframes and prototypes to pass off to the developer.
One of the essential roles of a UI designer is responsive design and testing a product. They must consider all the devices from which a user will interact with the product to ensure it’s optimized at all points. While this aspect can be time-consuming, it’s critical to the overall success and experience of the user.
In summary, here are some of the key responsibilities of a UI designer:
- Consumer analysis & considerations
- Design research & conceptualization
- Branding & graphic design
- High-fidelity wireframes & prototypes
- Animations & interactive elements dev
- Responsive product testing
- Implementation with Developer
Once the product has been designed and tested in the prototype stage, it’s sent to a developer to officially bring it to life. At this stage, the UX and UI designers will work and communicate with the developer to finalize and test the product.
Key Takeaways
User Interface (UI) Design and User Experience (UX) Design are often used in accordance with each other. While they have similarities and cross-points, their differences make them each uniquely essential to product design. They both have crucial roles in the conception, implementation, and user experience of a company’s product.
User experience design focuses on a product's information architecture, product structure, and overall functionality. User interface design focuses on the visual aspects and, animations & interactivity that help translate the product to the end user.
Both UX and UI have different responsibilities that play a key role in a product's success. Ultimately, they both take a human-centered approach to design, focusing on every micro-detail and touchpoint a user may experience when interacting with a product.
If you're looking to take your UI or UX career to the next level, checkout Career Foundry or Google UX Design Certificate.
