Design is a broad topic stream and is not limited to graphic design. When someone says, “I’m a designer”, it’s not really clear what they’re actually doing. There are numerous pillars of Decisiveness that hold the design together.
With the influx of relatively new technology companies focused on creating interfaces for displays, many new design roles have emerged.
Job titles such as UX developer or UI designer have become almost the future of design roles.
UI and UX design are two of the most commonly confused terms in web and application design. Despite the fact that they are very holistic with each other, the roles themselves are quite different and involve different processes. But don’t be afraid! At the end of this article, you will understand what distinguishes them and how they relate to each other.
UI in UI design means “user interface”. The user interface is the graphical layout of an application. It consists of the buttons that users click, the text they read, images, sliders, text input fields and all the other elements with which the user interacts. This includes the screen layout, transitions, interface animations and each micro-interaction. All kinds of visual elements, interactions or animations must be designed.
UI designers decide what the application will look like. They need to choose the color schemes and button shapes – the width of the lines and the fonts used for the text. UI designers create the look and feel of an application’s user interface.
UI designers are interested in aesthetics. It is up to them to make sure that the interface of the application is attractive, visually stimulating and themed that suits the purpose and/or personality of the application. And they need to make sure that each visual element feels unified both aesthetically and purposefully.
UX stands for ”user experience”. A user’s app experience is determined by how they interact with it. The user experience is determined by how easy or difficult it is to interact with the user interface elements that UI designers create.
Part of the confusion may also lie in the name: UX design. For many people, the word ”design” is associated with creativity, colors and graphics, while its true definition is functionality and the process behind making products that provide a seamless experience for the people who use them.
It is the responsibility of the UX design team to know who the target customers are and how you can make their experience with your product the most rewarding or enjoyable. For this reason, ‘functionality’, ‘usability’ and ‘user adaptability’ are at the top of the product priorities.
UX designers usually focus on the development of digital products, but the theory and process can be applied to almost anything.