UI vs UX Design: Similarities And Differences

Have you been using UI and UX interchangeably? Been part of tech conversations where UI and UX felt like a secret code to something? Someone mentions the UI of a webpage, elsewhere there’s a conversation around an app’s UX- all this can be pretty hard to follow, especially if you don’t understand what exactly those terms represent. But, fret not. We’ve got your back. In this article, we dissect every aspect of UI and UX designing, the similarities, differences, and everything in between!

What is The Difference Between UI and UX

To understand UI and UX better, we need to break down each of these processes. UI or User Interface is the medium through which humans interact with a machine.  User Interface involves the usage of software and hardware to create the space of interaction. 

UX or User Experience, on the other hand, is keeping human expectations and behavior in mind when designing a product. It focuses on creating a smooth interaction between man and his machine. 

The fact that you are reading this article here is with User Interface (UI). The ability to navigate seamlessly across various aspects of the page and help gain insights from the content is User Experience (UX).

What Is UI Designing?

User Interface Designing involves creating a  space for humans to effectively operate a product or a machine, to achieve their goals like making a purchase, signing up for a course, or downloading an ebook. UI designing focuses on delivering clarity of the functions and elements highlighted in a site. In User Interface design, the focus is more on the visual appeal of the product or website. Factors like color theory, design patterns, and typography play a crucial role in attracting the end user. 

What Is UX Designing?

User Experience designing focuses on the overall experience of the user, from first to last. UX involves analyzing the various pain points that the user would come across during their time on the site, product page, or app and offering structural design solutions to rectify the same. UX design grabs the user’s attention through its usability and effectiveness. UX designing involves creating innovative and rational ideas.

UI vs UX: Are They Similar?

UI and UX both involve designing an app or product or website. Here is a list of the few similarities between both fields.

• Customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal. In both UI and UX designing, the end objective is to make the customer happy.
• Both strive to create a space that makes space for improved interaction.
• Both UI and UX design involves creating products that delight customers through aesthetics and effectiveness.

User Interface vs User Experience: How Are They Different?

So, when UI and UX have so many aspects in common, what makes them different from each other? Simply put, what you see on a website is done by a UI designer, and what you experience is ideated by a UX designer. For a detailed understanding, take a look at the points below.

• Visual appeal is the key to customer satisfaction in UI. Providing solutions for customers’ needs is the ultimate goal of UX. 
• User interface designing focuses on the design and looks of the product or website, while user experience is about ensuring the end product is enjoyable to use.
• In UI you attract customers through attractive product snapshots. However, in UX you convince users that their journey is worth their time and investment through innovative design.
• UX aims at creating tangible and intangible product experiences, while UI is limited to digital visual appearance.
• User experience is a point of focus right from the pre-planning stages of development. However, User interface design is a point of focus only later in the development cycle.
• With UI, you can get your customer’s attention, UX is aimed towards ensuring that your audience’s interaction with your offerings is absolutely frictionless and rewarding.

To make things easier to digest, we have represented the differences between UI and UX in the table below;

Solution-focused	UX Design
Visual Design	Interaction Design
Grabs user attention through color and typography.	Grabs user attention by solving their problems/needs
Delight with visual aesthetics	Delight with effectiveness (Information Architecture)
Graphics, mockups, dashboards, and layouts	Creates feelings toward the product
Appeal focused	Wireframes, prototypes, and, product research
Enjoyability is the ultimate goal	Simplicity is the ultimate goal
Takes the user to the product	Tangible and Intangible products
Execution phase of the DLC	Right from the Pre-planning phase of the DLC
Takes user to the product	Limited to the digital portrayal

Do You Need Both UI & UX?

Now that we know the similarities and differences between UI and UX, let’s understand why we need a solid UI-UX plan and how important it is for the two to complement each other. A study by Forrester reveals that a good UI can boost website conversion rate by 200%, and with an efficient UX, the conversion rates go up by 400%.

A visually attractive website/product is not enough to deliver a fulfilling experience should the UX happen to be planned properly. This affects brand loyalty to a great extent. 

A good UI creates the best visual hierarchy for your customer to understand the contents of your website/product. It aims at organizing various visual elements in a way that is easy for customers to perceive. UX on the other hand is the essential aspect that keeps customers wanting to come back and experience the UI. It aims at providing the ultimate solution for customer’s problems

Wrapping Up!

UI and UX despite their differences are highly collaborative. Incorporating both into your design pipeline keeps you ahead of the curve in both technology and innovation. Understanding the importance of the two helps in planning your design objectives, and timelines effectively. If you want to hire a UI and UX Designer get in touch with us.