As user-centered design continues to grow, so does the confusion around its subfields: User Experience and User Interface design. It is easy to use these terms interchangeably, although they are quite different in definition. User Experience design refers to a human-first approach to design whereas User Interface design is about the human-first approach towards designing a product’s aesthetic experience. While these simplistic definitions imply overlap, these fields address varying aspects within the process of product design with their scope and mediums.
The term User Experience (UX) design was coined in the late 1990s by Don Norman, a cognitive scientist and co-founder of the research-based UX group Nielsen Norman Group Design Consultancy. He describes UX as a field that“‘encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products.’” This means that UX designers are responsible for the customers’ impressions, takeaways and general engagement with the product that they are designing for. It certainly is a powerful role that can make or break a user’s experience, given how much influence a UX designer has over the products (Lamprecht).
One of the largest misconceptions about UX is that it only happens in a digital or in a technical format, but it actually affects every medium because it covers “any and all interactions between a potential or active customer and a company;” this is not limited to a purely digital format because all products involve interactions between customers and the company creating said product to some degree. Since UX covers every aspect of interaction between potential or active customers and a company, it usually focuses on how the experience makes the user feel as well as how easy or difficult their desired task is to complete. Ultimately, the main goal of UX design is to make the experience as efficient, relevant, comprehensible and as pleasant as possible for the user (Lamprecht).
User Interface (UI) design is a compliment to UX. UI encompasses a product’s presentation, functionality, and interactivity--which is quite different from how UX aims to optimize an experience through effective and enjoyable usage. It’s often misinterpreted to be an extension of graphic design with the inclusion of branding and front-end design mixed into it. While this may be true for some roles, UI design does not necessarily need to be any one of these things because it is not just about the presentation but also the functionality and interactivity (Lamprecht and Moreno).
Prior to the invention of UX design, UI was created. In 1981, the first graphical user interface (GUI), made mostly for research at universities, was created by researchers at Xerox PARC, primarily by Douglas Engelbart and Alan Kay. This was the first UI in history and both Engelbart and Kay are attributed to the invention of UI design. Following this invention, Apple created their product Lisa, the first computer to have a GUI as well as the first computer designed for personal usage, set the precedent for the now massive and still-growing field (Moreno and Reid). This was the beginning of user-centered design and it all stemmed from GUIs, thus setting the tone for Don Norman when he eventually introduced UX design and research to the world a decade later.
Unlike UX, UI design is a completely digital practice. It can only encompass the designing of digital devices or products, which is quite different from how UX design can address anything even in the physical world. For example, if a company is selling board games, they may hire a UX designer to create the most engaging experiences with their intended audience and customers. On the other hand, a UI designer looks at the visuals and their functionality of digital products like websites and apps. They usually focus on “icons and buttons, typography and color schemes, spacing, imagery, and responsive design.” Because UI design works on the presentation and functionality while UX design looks at the overarching experience, the processes are often intermingled for these digital products. This allows for the UX designers to consider the entire journey of the user and target their needs through wireframes, the mapped out skeleton of a product based on research. These are then given to the UI designers, who ultimately flesh out these designs while keeping in mind accessibility and inclusivity. Following the creation of these designs, UX designers do user and usability testing to test the efficiency and effectiveness of the product design. Changes can be made based on this testing, but then the product can be released to the public. Like most products, it doesn’t stop here; UI and UX designers continue to improve and better these products through their processes and tests (Lamprecht).
While these fields may look incredibly similar and confusing at a first glance, they hold quite different roles in a product’s design, development, and longevity. UX design is a multifaceted field that can address any product regardless of medium that looks at the overall experience. Meanwhile, UI design addresses the visual aesthetic and functionality, through the digital field. Both UI and UX have roles that intermix with each other at times, but they hold their own value in terms of creating effective, functional and user-centered product designs.
Lamprecht, Emil. "The Difference Between UX And UI Design - A Beginner's Guide." The Difference Between UX & UI Design - A Beginner's Guide (2021 Guide). March 11, 2021. Accessed March 12, 2021. https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/the-difference-between-ux-and-ui-design-a-laymans-guide/.
Moreno, Helga. "The Gap between UI and UX Design - Know the Difference." Onextrapixel. April 23, 2014. Accessed March 18, 2021. https://onextrapixel.com/the-gap-between-ui-and-ux-design-know-the-difference/.
Reid, Danielle. "The World Is Our Interface – The Evolution of UI Design." Toptal Design Blog. October 17, 2019. Accessed March 17, 2021. https://www.toptal.com/designers/ui/touch-the-world-is-our-interface.
April 2, 2021
5 min read