UI vs UX Design

(reading time approximately 3 minutes 15 seconds)

UI vs UX

So is it UI vs UX, or UI and UX?

Do you know these current hottest buzz words in the design world? Right now, it’s hands down UI and UX… and with good reason! But how do these terms play into the world of web design? And what are some of the ways you utilize them for your business? And even more, what do these concepts even mean?

User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) are largely codependent terms, however these two terms are often used incorrectly. As they are wrongly interchanged and inadvertently combined, it can be hard to grasp the exact purpose of these next generation design elements. To be helpful, our development team felt it was necessary to clarify the difference between UI and UX for up-and-coming designers and also business owners looking to grow customer engagement. As a disclaimer, we’ve found out a lot of conflicting info while researching this subject. And frequently UI and UX seem to be reversed, depending on who you’re reading. This article is our attempt to help define these terms.

 “User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) are some of the most confused and misused terms in our field. A UI without UX is like a painter slapping paint onto canvas without thought; while UX without UI is like the frame of a sculpture with no papier-mache on it. A great product experience starts with UX followed by UI. Both are essential for the product’s success.”

Postulated by the Co-creator of Foster.fm Rahul Varshney, this statement helps draw a more tangible image of how UI/UX is utilized. Still, we’ve discovered that it’s almost impossible to explain to those who are not in the field of design. Ultimately, as a business looking for a high-end marketing option, you should be looking for both of these elements in your internet marketing conversations. Your products and services will be overlooked without a solid UI and your brand will be forgotten without an engaging UX design.

WHAT IS UI:

UI or User Interface, is the sensory by-product for the user. More often than not, this takes the form of visuals and touch. This is the virtual playground for the entire User Experience to take precedence. Most devices or platforms are integrated with an interface that utilizes basic human interactions, yet also require some unique skills and knowledge. This is where the interaction between the system and the user is tested, focusing on the goals of the UX design.

Confused yet? Basically UI Design is closer to what is typically referred to as “graphic design”, though it can be a bit more complex than that.

WHAT IS UX:

UX or User Experience, is the comprehensive system that unites user research, content strategy, visual design, information architecture, interaction design, and usability. Interestingly, UX doesn’t seem to have a commonly accepted definition. It’s frequently easier to talk around the idea of UX than to try to strictly definite it. First, to achieve the fullest experience, UX has to have a strong UI, however some UI’s are created with a poor UX. Just having a responsive layout is not enough for a website or application to claim having UX design aspects. This portion requires more research and time for testing to ensure the best ROI is achieved. UX Design, as compared to UI Design, is much more about analytics and is technical in nature.

We promise, this gets a bit easier as we talk about it. As seen in the graphic below, taken from Devsaran.com ‘s blog, these are some great thoughts that they accentuated to help define UX vs UI differences.

So since I’m a list person… this might help to figure out the whole UI vs UX question:

UX Design – A List of Examples

• Interaction Design
• Information Architecture
• Usability Testing
• Wireframes + Prototyping
• User Research + Personas
• Scenarios
• Analytical and Technical

UI Design – A List of Examples

• Visual Design
• Branding
• Graphic Design
• Colors
• Layouts
• Typography

GOALS OF UI and UX DESIGN

UI and UX intersect at the ultimate goal of User Engagement. And above all, the goal of good UI and UX are to improve both customer satisfaction and loyalty. Because, if it doesn’t help build your brand, what good is it?

When developing a system (website, application, etc.) or communicating brand messaging, the more complicated systems become less enjoyable for the customer. An efficient execution of these elements will make the customer happy in a culmination between psychology, social behavior and marketing. In a nutshell, both UI and UX work towards the realization of one common goal: brand influence on a user’s mind and heart.

Developing an efficient website, begins with implementing a focused UI/UX process. It takes time and testing to achieve all of your objectives, but your products and services are worth it.

Get to Know UZU

For those looking for marketing help, we’re here for you. Back to the whole question of UI vs UX… It’s not an end to itself. Part of the goal of great UI and UX is to take your online marketing to the next level and help your customers fall in love with your brand as well as your products. At UZU we get to focus on high-end UI and UX design, which is one of the things that we really love about our jobs. Look for our next blog on this soon, but in the meantime, look around UZU’s blog for other great info or check out some of UZU’s work in our portfolio.

UZU Media is located in Colorado Springs, CO, but has clients all over. Get in touch! We’d love to hear from you.