UX design (User Experience Design) and UI design (User Interface Design) are closely related, but they play different roles in the development of digital services. Both are important for user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) quality, but they focus on different aspects of service design.
UX design (User Experience Design)
UX design focuses on the user experience of the service as a whole. The goal is to create a service that meets users’ needs and offers a smooth, logical and pleasant experience while using the service.
What does UX design include:
- User-centered design : UX design begins with understanding users’ needs, goals, and problems. Creating user personas, user paths and use cases helps to design optimal solutions for users.
- User paths and flow : The UX designer plans how users move through the service and what kind of user paths they follow. This means that the navigation of the service should be logical and each function should be easy and intuitive.
- Information architecture : The logical organization of content and functionalities is important so that users can easily find the information they are looking for and perform the tasks they want. The UX designer is responsible for ensuring that the structure of the service is clear and easy to use.
- Usability : The goal of UX design is to ensure that the service is user-friendly and intuitive. Usability tests and gathering feedback are important in order to identify potential problems in the user experience and make the necessary improvements.
- Creating prototypes and wireframes : UX designers create prototypes and wireframes that help outline the structure of the service and user paths before designing the actual user interface. This allows for early testing and changes before final implementation.
- User testing : UX design also includes testing the service with real users. This helps ensure that the service works as intended and that users can achieve their goals without any problems.
Example of UX design questions:
- Is the service easy to navigate?
- Do users find the information they are looking for quickly?
- Is using the service logical and intuitive?
- Do the users feel satisfied and supported while using the service?
UI design (User Interface Design)
UI design focuses on the visual appearance of the service and the concrete elements of the user interface. The UI designer is responsible for how the service looks and how the visual elements work together with the user’s interaction.
What UI design includes:
- Visual design : A UI designer creates the visual appearance of the service, which includes the color palette, typography, icons, buttons and other user interface elements. The goal is to create an attractive and functional user interface that supports the intended use of the service.
- User Interface Elements : A UI designer designs all user interface elements such as buttons, forms, menus and menus. The elements must be clear and easily recognizable so that users can work with them intuitively.
- Consistency : In UI design, it is important to create a consistent visual language throughout the service. Every page and function should feel like part of the same whole, so that users don’t get confused or lost.
- Interaction elements : A UI designer designs how UI elements react to user actions, such as hover effects, animations, and transitions. Well-designed interactions make using the service more pleasant and give users clear feedback on their actions.
- Visual Hierarchy : A UI designer’s job is to ensure that important information and functions are visually highlighted and easy to find. This can be achieved, for example, by placing the buttons in visible places or by using a clear contrast between the text and the background.
- Brand Consistency : A UI designer must consider the company’s brand and visual identity. The user interface must reflect the company’s values and personality in order to support the brand experience of the entire service.
Example of UI design questions:
- How does the service look and feel to users?
- Are the user interface elements visually clear and easy to understand?
- Is the visual hierarchy in order, i.e. are the most important things clearly visible?
- Does the service feel consistent and in line with the brand?
UX and UI together
Although UX and UI design are separate processes, they always work together. UX designers create the structure of the service and ensure that it meets the needs of users and provides a pleasant user experience. UI designers, on the other hand, bring this structure into a visual form, where the elements of the user interface support the UX design.
- UX defines the experience and how users navigate the service, while UI makes this experience visually clear and pleasant .
- UX answers the question “how does the service work?”, while UI answers the question “how does the service look and feel?”.
Summary
UX design focuses on optimizing the user experience and ease of use of the service.
UI design focuses on the visual appearance of the service and the functionality of the user interface. Both are equally important in creating a high-quality and functional digital service.
