UX and UI are two terms used in digital design. While they both relate to each other, they are slightly different disciplines. In this post, we’ll decode exactly what each one means and how they work together.
What is UX?
UX stands for ‘user experience’. It focuses on the feel and functionality of an app or website.
When designing UX, you’re likely to consider some of the following aspects:
- User demographics and intentions: Market research is a big part of UX. Who is using an app or website and what are their needs and preferences? This is key to understanding how to approach the design stage and may include conducting surveys and interviews.
- Structuring and navigation: Another major aspect of UX is mapping out the user journey and deciding how pages will link together and what information will be placed where. This includes deciding what menus to use and how to structure task flows like checkout processes.
- Loading speed: How fast pages on a website or app load can greatly affect quality of user experience. Those working on UX will plan ways to optimize loading speed by reducing code, optimizing images and reducing redirects.
- Security and compliance: Another vital part of UX is security and compliance. This includes factoring in things like SSL certificates, biometric authentication and secure payment gateways.
- Prompts and shortcuts: UX also factors in prompts and shortcuts to help out users such as including pop-up messages, auto-fill information or remembering certain user settings.
UX focuses a lot on what’s going on behind the scenes. It’s about how all the moving parts under the exterior work to create a smooth experience.
What is UI?
UI stands for ‘user interface’. It focuses on the look and layout of an app or website.
Aspects involved in UI include:
- Color and typography: Visual elements like color schemes and fonts are a crucial part of UI. These must be legible and relevant to the brand.
- Images and graphics: UI also includes how images are incorporated into a site or app. It also factors in graphics – which includes everything from charts to animations.
- Interactive elements: UI also factors in the design of buttons, sliders, menus, search bars and forms. While UX determines how these operate, UI determines how they look.
- Responsive design: The layout of an app or site needs to be able to adjust to different screen sizes and device inputs. This is known as ‘responsive design’.
- Visual consistency: UI also considers how visually consistent a site or app is – as well as how similar it may feel to other platforms (a company app and website should ideally use similar colors and fonts).
UI focuses very much on the exterior of a site. If UX is the engine and suspension of a car, then UI is the bodywork and dashboard.
Some design companies focus on one or the other, while others carry out UX and UI design & SEO services on top of this.
UX vs UI: A summary
UX focuses on functionality and feel and involves mainly the structure, speed and ease of use of a platform. UI focuses on look and layout and focuses more on aesthetics, branding and visual consistency.
