Understanding the differences between UI design and UX design shall begin with their definitions. In general terms, UI (user interaction) is about the visual design of the product interface. It normally includes the layout, information architecture, colors, typography, animations and illustrations. And as the name suggests, UX (user experience) is about the experience. It’s about analyzing people’s intents when they use the product – what they should feel, what they need to understand and what action they should eventually take.

 

Generally speaking, UX design involves the whole service cycle of a product. UX design will usually engage in the following aspects, including user demand generation, product design, interface design, prototype verification, data collection & analysis, etc.

 

It’s like building a house. The person who is responsible for the layout of the house is UX designer, and the person in charge of the appearance is UI designer.

 

Another way of looking at it is within the context of games—the UX designer dictates the rules of the game. UX designers dictate how the player can move or interact with other elements of the game, as well as the rate that the player should progress through levels. Conversely, the UI designer focuses on the texture of the elements in the game, the colours of rewards in the game, and the readability of game instructions.

 

We can see from the definitions that UI design and UX design together ensures the smooth utilization of a product. “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.” Any successful product shall be both user-friendly and nice-looking. Together they make a product great. To know more, visit Rani Tarek Jarkas.