Curious to know about the issue of ‘UX vs UI’? If you are new in the field of design to the world of technology, you must’ve heard these two terms- UX and UI design of a website.
If you are keen to know about these two terms deeply, you have come to the right place. In this article, we are going to discuss UX and UI, the difference between them, and related information for you.
You may have heard people talk about the ‘bad UX’ of a product or the ‘impressive UI’ of a website.
What do they mean? There are a few well-known debates not quite settled, among them the UX design and the UI design are notable.
Keep reading to know more about this issue.
Let’s start!
First things first. Before we dive deep into the debate, we have to get a clear concept of UX design and UI design.
What is UX design?
UX design means user experience design. It is a human-first way of designing products that give the end-user all the aspects of the feel or experience of interaction with the products, services, and company.
UX is compared to the taste of the cake that you experience when you bite into it.
Note that UX design can be applied not only to digital but also to non-digital products i.e: a coffee machine, a visit to the supermarket, cars, lamps, architecture, and so on.
The usage of UX in the digital world
The use of UX since its inception entirely in the digital world is undeniable. The reason behind it is, that the field of the tech industry started to enrich by the time of the invention of this term.
As for a website, UX is the total experience of the journey of a user throughout the site, including how easily he can browse the menus, how smoothly he surfs, how easily he passes the checkout page, and so on.
What is UX design all about?
The UX design covers the experience of a user i.e.: what he feels using a website, how easily he accomplishes his desired tasks, the level of his satisfaction using the menus of the website, what is his feels about using the buttons, how easily he uses his online banking app to manage his money, and so on.
UX design is about creating an easy, relevant, efficient, and overall pleasant experience for the user.
We can shortly say:
- UX design is theoretically a non-digital practice but is mainly defined and used by digital industries.
- UX design relates a user with all facets of a company by developing and improving the quality of interaction between them.
- UX design focuses on the total feel of the experience.
What is UI design?
UI design means user interface design. It is a human-first way of designing the aesthetic experience of a digital product.
We can simply say, UI design is the interface design of a digital product or service that a user may interact with when using an app, a website, or other electronic devices.
Note that, UI design is only for digital products.
The usage of UI
UI design includes everything i.e.: screens, buttons, toggles, icons, touchscreens, keyboards, sounds, lights, and other visual elements.
UI design is the process to transform wireframes into an attractive visual user interface. It both enhances the usability of a product and joins the end-user with a product by creating an emotional connection between them.
What is UI design all about?
The UI design covers the points of interaction of a website that helps beautify its aesthetic view which lures the users to the site.
You have to ensure good UI. Suppose, your app offers something that your target audience needs and wants.
But, when they start using the app, they find that the text on each screen is barely legible, the buttons are too close together and they keep hitting the wrong button by mistake. This is an example of bad UI that makes a website down though it has good UX.
We can shortly say:
- UI design forms the user interface of a product regarding a website and apps.
- UI design includes icons, buttons, typography and color schemes, spacing, imagery, and responsive design.
- UI design considers the look, feel, and interactivity of the product.
- UI design makes the user interface intuitive, and smooth interaction a user might encounter while surfing a website.
What is the difference between UX and UI?
UX and UI are two distinct things of a website. Here are some differences given below:
|
Point
|
UX
|
UI
|
|---|---|---|
|
Definition
|
Human-first approach to product design
|
Human-first approach to designing the aesthetic experience of a product
|
|
Applicable to
|
Physical and digital products
|
Only digital products
|
|
Focus on
|
The full experience of a user from the first contact to the last
|
Visual touchpoints that allow users to interact with a product
|
|
Creates
|
Structural design solutions for pain points that users encounter anywhere along their journey with a product
|
Combinations of typography, color palettes, buttons, animations, and imagery
|
|
Results in
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Products that delight users with their effectiveness
|
Products that delight users aesthetically
|
Though the roles of UX and UI are different, they both are essential for a website and they work together closely for the development process and design discipline of a product.
We can explain it like this-
A user experience (UX) is made up of many user interfaces (UI), which come together in a (hopefully) seamless flow to form a product.
The relation between UX and UI is simply like-
Think about a cake. The decoration and presentation of the cake are the UI, and the taste of the cake when you bite into it is the UX.
So, it is clear to us that the effectiveness and acceptance of a website depend on both good UX and good UI.
A website is unacceptable to a user in both cases, whether it has-
(i) a good UX and a bad UI, or
(ii) a bad UX and a good UI.
It’s like a beautifully decorated cake that tastes awful (good UI, bad UX), or a badly decorated cake that tastes delicious (bad UI, good UX)- both are the same.
Now, let’s focus on their collaboration.
How do UX and UI work together?
You have to understand that UX and UI go hand-in-hand on a website, one is worthless without another. Let’s discuss this:
- UX focuses on finding out the problems and pain points of a user and how to solve them. Extensive user research is conducted by UX designers to find out who the target users are and what their needs are relating to a certain product. Then, they map out the journey of a user across a product, considering information architecture i.e.: how the content is organized and labeled across a product, and what kinds of features the user might need. Finally, they create wireframes to set out the bare-bones blueprints for a product.
- UI steps in at this point. With the skeleton of the product mapped out, the UI designer brings it to life. He considers all the visual aspects of the journey of a user including all individual screens and touchpoints that the user might encounter i.e.: tapping a button, scrolling down a page, or swiping through an image gallery. In fact, UI is not all about the view, it has a huge impact on whether a product is accessible and inclusive or not.
Conclusion
We have discussed the issue of ‘UX vs UI’ and focused on the importance of good UX and UI for you. We hope that you will be careful to maintain this for your website if you want to make a position online and rank higher.
Remember that, you have to make sure to make the UX and UI good which works together to rank a website higher online and grow business. Ignoring one of them, you can never rank higher online. Good UX and good UI are a must for a website to rank.
