UI vs.

UX – The Vital Guide to UI Design

User interface (UI) design is one of several overlapping disciplines responsible for creating the

interfaces where users interact with digital products. UI design is found on a spectrum with user

experience (UX) design, interaction design (IXD), and visual or graphic design.

What Is UI Design?

In its broadest definition, the user interface is the space where people and machines interact.

People give instructions to machines and machines start a process, respond with information, and

provide feedback that informs human decisions and enables further interactions. The field of

human-computer interaction​ (HCI) is more specifically concerned with digital interfaces, which

have evolved from punch cards and command-line text entry to today’s sophisticated graphical

user interfaces (GUIs).

User interface design for digital products is primarily concerned with the layout, the ​hierarchy of

information​, and the appearance of interface elements on individual screens for software

programs, websites, and mobile apps, but can also include video games or ​TV interfaces​.

By following the principles of user-centered design (UCD), ​UI designers​ create interfaces that

are structured and oriented to meet user needs rather than simply facilitating technical solutions.

This often requires an element of compromise, with the UI designer balancing functional

requirements with user needs and aesthetics (dictated by ​branding and visual design​).
Good user interface design supports usability with clear, consistent visual layouts and content

structuring as well as providing clues (​signifiers​) to help users complete tasks while minimizing

interference caused by unnecessary content or design elements.

Well-designed digital user interfaces leverage common signifiers and visual metaphors that have

real-world counterparts—for example, buttons, volume sliders, calculators, disc icons for “save”

actions, etc.

User interfaces are made up of different types of elements, including:

· ​Input controls,​ which are interactive components in a UI and range from checkboxes

and radio buttons to dropdown lists and text fields: These enable users to make selections

from one of the displayed options and enter text.

· ​Navigation controls​, where users choose a destination or change the data displayed

on their screen. UI elements include dropdown menus, sliders and scrollbars,

breadcrumbs, tabs, and pagination controls.

· ​Information elements,​ which provide feedback to the user. UI elements can include

icons, text and visual content, progress bars, and other notifications.

Effective UI designers follow ​best practices​, conventions, standards, and ​basic usability

principles​ to ensure that the user interfaces they create correspond with user needs. Among the

most important principles are:

· Consistency in the use and reuse of common interface elements, so that users are

familiar and comfortable with the interface.

 · Page or screen structure with a clear hierarchy of elements, so that the highest

priority items are most prominent for users.

· Use of color and typography to emphasize higher priority elements, providing clarity

to users.

· Good communication and feedback to inform the user of state changes, errors, or

confirmation of user actions, so that the user is able to see how the system reacts to input

and make decisions more easily.

● Understanding of user preferences and priorities, so that the most common tasks or goals

are accomplished easily, with default behavior tailored to simplify common tasks.

● Reduction of the cognitive load on users by designing interfaces that make effective use

of ​whitespace​ and are as simple and intuitive as possible.

The Difference Between UI and UX

User interface design is ​often confused with user experience design​. While there can be

considerable overlap, they are distinct fields with different skills required for each role. A user

experience designer is focused on the overall structure and function of a website or application

and on how a product feels and works for the user.

UX designers​ work with (or as) information architects to organize content; they reference user

research and perform detailed task and business analysis to determine the optimum workflow for

complex operations such as an eCommerce checkout and account creation process. UX designers
then create user flows, ​customer journey maps​, lower-fidelity ​wireframe​ diagrams, and

interactive prototypes​ to test, validate, and refine their concepts via user testing.

UI vs UX

The interface is not the solution. UI design generally plays an important role in the work of a UX

designer, but it is not the only part. Think of it this way: UX design is the ​consumable​ and the

UI is the ​tool​ (with which to consume it).

UX design​ is a multi-step ​strategic design process​ that aims to create a product or site that

customers/users are drawn to, find easy to use, and quickly understand. And through the UX

design process, we arrive at the right ​user interface​ solution.

What Do UI Designers Do?

User interface designers​ build on the framework provided by UX design to bring digital products

closer to their final form. They follow UX wireframes for the hierarchy and priority of elements

on each screen, then apply visual design guidelines along with ​interaction design best practices

to ensure consistency throughout the entire experience.

UI designers are responsible for the visual hierarchy, layout, spacing and alignment on the

screen, visual weight of headers and typography, correct use of standardized interface elements

such as buttons and form fields, and adherence to brand guidelines for color treatments and

logos.
Given that modern user interfaces are not simply static screens but interactive experiences with

dynamic behaviors and animated transitions, UI designers will also work with motion designers

or ​interaction designers​, refining the basic interaction concepts developed by ​UX designers​.

User interface design can also include data visualization and information design work, which

helps users make sense of highly complex data through simplified display of this information on

the “presentation layer.”

User interface designers deliver the final visual mock-ups of each web page or application screen

from which developers will produce the finished product. Just as UI design sometimes overlaps

with UX design, so too can UI design overlap with the actual front-end development of a digital

product, particularly when working with well-defined screen templates and component libraries.

In order to serve efficiency and the user experience, methods of interaction continue to become

more and more sophisticated. In today’s world, user interface design takes on primary

importance as the world around us becomes increasingly more digital. In the coming decades, UI

design will progress toward moving off two-dimensional screens and into the 3D world of ​VR

(virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), and MR (mixed reality)​.

Regardless of the technology, screens, spaces, or environments, ​UI design​ will continue to stay

focused on facilitating the user’s interaction and experience between “man and machine” in the

most efficient way possible.