UX vs. UI
Last week we started talking about the design of websites on the blog, and we started with the anatomy of a homepage. This might seem like a strange place to start, but with the homepage being the first place that visitors land, there seemed to be no better place to highlight. We talked about how the homepage is typically organized and which elements should feature above and below the fold. This week we’re shifting gears slightly to discuss the broad topic that is web design. When you’re discussing it with designers and within tech circles, you might hear the phrases user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). So, let’s discuss what the difference is between the two and why they’re classified as two different design categories.
What is User Interface (UI) Design?
UI refers to the visual elements that you interact with when using a website, application, or electronic device. It’s at its core the presentation and interactivity of the website or application. A UI designer would need to consider things like layout, icons and buttons, typography, color schemes, spacing, imagery, and responsive design. The goal of UI design is to seamlessly guide a user through a product and make sure that everything is consistent and aesthetically pleasing.
What is User Experience (UX) Design?
If UI is focused on the visuals, then UX is focused on the interaction with the design. In fact, User Experience Design is all about the interaction a user has with a product, including how they feel about the interaction. UX focuses on making products that are functional, accessible, and easy to use. User Experience is not a solely digital term like UI is, but it has come to be associated a great deal with web design. It focuses heavily on market research, development, and prototype testing.
What are their differences?
While UI and UX work together, they are concerned with wildly different things. UI is focused on the visual side of things. Page layouts, color palettes and fonts, and interactive elements all fall within the UI framework. UX, however, doesn’t focus on those kinds of decisions. UX focuses on user research, analyzing how a customer interacts with a product, and performing user testing to validate decisions around design and identifying problems.
How do UI and UX work together?
Both are needed for a solid website design, but UX design typically comes before any UI decisions are made. UX covers user research, content development, and product strategy. All of these insights are needed to make a visually pleasing experience for users. All of the UX information informs how the entire user journey should be mapped out. It affects how web pages need to be laid out for visitors and which coloring and fonts communicate the kind of message they’ve established.
In the article The Gap Between UX and UI Design, Helga Moreno says, “Something that looks great but is difficult to use is exemplary of great UI and poor UX. While something very usable that looks terrible is exemplary of great UX and poor UI.” I’m not sure any quote can better sum up the importance of each and how they truly do work hand in hand with one another.
Have you ever considered the importance of UX and UI design? Do you have any more questions concerning the two areas? If so, leave them in the comments.
If you are interested in our web design services, we are still accepting some clients for the 2024-2025 season. You can find out more information here. Stay tuned on the blog next month for some articles on video elements.