UX vs. UI: Breaking Down the Real Difference That Matters

A digital product, such as a website or an app, aims to capture the end-user’s attention and provide greater utility. A designer of digital products, therefore, is more concerned about how the users will experience the product and its visual appeal. 

User experience [UX] and User Interface [UI] are the two crucial components of creating a digital product that is helpful to the users. While UX focuses on the user’s experience with a website or product, UI is concerned with its visual appearance and feel. 

What is UX design?

When considering what UX design is, it is essential to understand that user experience design involves the interaction between the end-user and the company, as well as its products or services. UX design encompasses all interactions users have with a product or service. The aim here is to ensure that visitors to a website or an app have a great experience using the digital product. 

Therefore, a coffee machine and a website are both examples of user experience (UX) design. It is all about the interaction between a product or service and its user. This means the design includes elements that shape the user’s interaction with the product. UX designers do consumer research, build information architecture, and create wireframes. 

The UX designer aims to improve the interaction between a company’s products or services and the users. So, the overall feel of the UX design is crucial.

Here are some of the key questions the designers will ask to create UX designs

What problem of the end-user should this product solve?
What are the key features and functions the user looks for in the product?
How should the designer structure and map out the user journey?  
How will the product present a variety of information in an organized manner?
What will be the user experience when visiting the product?

What is UI design?

UI (User Interface) focuses on optimizing a product’s visuals to give it a distinct look and feel. It is about presenting a product. 

When considering what UI design entails, it is essential to understand that UI design encompasses the interactive visual elements of a digital product, including icons, typography, space, colour schemes, buttons, and responsive design. The UI designer will focus on creating the page layout, color and typography choices, interactive elements, and a wireframe.  

This way, the user is visually guided through the product’s interface. Therefore, the designer creates aesthetically pleasing and coherent visuals of a product. 

For example, a touchscreen on a smartphone is a form of user interface. You can touch those visuals to get work done digitally.   

A UI designer is responsible for transforming a product’s layout into a responsive, attractive, and intuitive experience for its users.  

Here are the key questions designers will ask to create UI designs: 

What elements, like images, buttons, toggles, and navigation menus, does a page need for the end-users? 

Where to position those elements? 
What should be the visual hierarchy for each page or screen? 
How do you connect individual screens? 
How to create a visually appealing interface regarding its color schemes, typography, and imagery?  

Difference between UX and UI

User Experience and User Interface differ significantly from each other. Both are essential for the optimal functioning of an app or website. But there are some key differences between the two. 

Here is how UX and UI differ from each other:

Main concern

UX and UI each have distinct areas of focus. As is clear from the term, User Experience deals with the experience of the user. The aim here is to provide a holistic experience to the user. 

User Interface, on the other hand, deals with the user’s visual touchpoints. It is about the visuals that users see to navigate and obtain information.

Design structure 

A UX design involves the structure of the design. The designer focuses on designing with a strategy. It deals with the design’s structure. It also incorporates interactive elements to support functionality. 

UI design, however, places greater emphasis on the visual aspects of the design. That means the designer will deal with the surface-level elements only.  

User journey 

UX designers focus on determining the user’s journey. It is also about designing information architecture. 

UI design involves adding tangible visual elements that enhance user interaction. The designer is concerned about how the users will interact with the elements. 

Product development 

When it comes to the product development process, UX design is about taking the first step. The UX designer will map out the basic structure of the user journey as they experience the product. 

Once the UX designer is finished mapping out the structural part of the product development process, the UI designer steps in. The UI designer will then incorporate interactive visual elements. 

In a nutshell, UX design is about ensuring that a product, such as an app or website, provides a seamless and enjoyable user experience. UI design, on the other hand, focuses on creating an aesthetically pleasing interface. 

Where do UX and UI overlap?

While UX and UI designs differ significantly, the distinction is becoming increasingly blurred. Today, UI is increasingly being seen as a subset of UX design work. 

Here are two significant areas where UX and UI overlap. 

The end-user

Both UX and UI design expertise focus on how the end-users will experience and interact with a digital site or product. So, users remain the primary focus for both. 

Close collaboration 

UX and UI teams are no longer far removed from each other. They now work together as cross-functional teams. Both categories of designers must collaborate to create products that are helpful from all angles for the end users. 

So, these are the significant differences between UX and UI designs. If you own a website or an app, review its UX and UI designs from the end-user’s perspective. 

Designhill can help you create websites, apps, and other digital products with both UX and UI principles in mind. This creative marketplace is home to talented UX and UI designers. You can access these website designers by launching a design contest or working with a designer on a one-to-one basis. 

Wrapping Up

UX and UI are both essential for creating useful digital products, such as websites and apps. While UX deals with the user’s experience with the product, UI is about the visuals that appear strategically on the site. They differ in terms of user journey, design structure, and their role in product development.