What’s the difference between UIX and UX design?

Dive into our blog post as we explore the essential differences between UI and UX design. Understand their unique concepts, roles, and impact in the digital world!

At the forefront of the digital age, the terms UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience) have become intrinsic parts of the design vocabulary. Across the digital landscape, designers, developers, and stakeholders in digital projects often encounter these terms.

Nevertheless, many people get confused about what each represents and how they interrelate. In reality, UI and UX are facets of design that, although closely related, have fundamental differences in their nature and goals.

Understanding these concepts and their interconnections can be the key to comprehending the significant impact that user interface and user experience have on our increasingly digital lives.

Throughout this article, we will outline the distinctions between UIX design and UX design, elucidating their respective roles and their importance for creating high-quality digital products and their influence on our daily lives.

Understanding the terms: What is UI Design?

To better grasp these terminologies, let’s start with UI Design. User Interface, or UI, refers to the appearance, interactivity, and behavior of a product’s or web page’s screen.

This interface is what enables a person to effectively interact with a device or application, providing a platform through which they can perform their actions. Essentially, UI comprises all screens, pages, buttons, icons, and other visual elements with which a user can interact.

When well-designed, this interface is intuitive and easy to use, greatly facilitating the user’s interaction with the system. For example, a clearly labeled button to send a message, an easily accessible navigation menu, or even the selected colors for a website can be parts of the user interface.

In fact, UI is a specialized subset of UX. While UX concerns the entirety of the user experience with a product or service, UI focuses on the aesthetics and interactivity of the experience. In other words, UI is about how that interaction takes place.

In good design, an engaging UI serves to establish the foundation for an overall positive user experience with a digital product or website. Well-designed UI can help attract users, facilitate a smoother and more efficient process for them, and even contribute to their long-term retention.

Therefore, when we think about UI Design, we are considering the critical junction between the functionality of a system and its visual appeal. We are thinking about the important bridge between a user and the technology they interact with.

Concept and applications: What is UX Design?

Continuing our exploration of these concepts, we now turn to UX Design, or User Experience. If the user interface is the appearance, interactivity, and behavior of a product’s or web page’s screen, then UX is an even deeper and more comprehensive layer of the process.

UX Design refers to the overall user experience with the product or website. It is not just about how the user will navigate the interface but also about how they feel about that interaction. User experience is broad and complex, encompassing all aspects that influence the interaction between the user and the product or web page.

In this sense, UX looks at aspects such as ease of use, effectiveness, user satisfaction, among others. For the experience to be positive, the design must be as intuitive and pleasant as possible, ensuring that the user can easily find what they are looking for and perform their tasks without frustrations or unnecessary obstacles.

UX Design, therefore, works far beyond the appearance of user interfaces. It considers the entire user journey: how they arrive at the page or product, what actions they perform, how they feel during usage, whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied after interaction, and whether they would be interested in returning.

Considering all these influences, we realize that UX has a critical relevance to the success of a website or product. Well-executed user experience design can generate engagement, loyalty, and conversion. On the other hand, poor UX can drive users away, cause frustration, and harm the brand image. This clearly demonstrates the need for effective, user-centered work in UX Design.

Therefore, when we talk about UX and UI, we are referring to two complementary aspects of design: UI, which takes care of the appearance and behavior of interfaces, and UX, which concerns the overall user experience, encompassing all their feelings, perceptions, and interactions with the product or website.

Differences and intersections between UI and UX Design

It is crucial to understand that, even though there is a significant intersection between UI and UX Design, both concepts are not identical and complement each other. While they share some common points, they also present significant differences. Let’s first explore the most significant differences:

• While UX Design is about the overall experience a user has when using a product, service, or system, UI Design is specifically about the visual appearance and interactive functionality of the interfaces of a digital product, service, or system.
• UX Design is a more analytical and technical process. It involves a lot of research to analyze and understand user behavior, needs, and motivations. On the other hand, UI Design is more focused on the graphic, visual, and aesthetic aspects of a digital product.
• UX Designers focus on creating a pleasant user experience, solving problems and challenges that users may encounter. UI Designers are responsible for ensuring that the interface has an attractive appearance and guides the user intuitively through a digital product, service, or system.
• UX Design is about the functionality and efficiency of the user experience, while UI Design is about how this experience is visually presented.

Now, looking at the points where they intersect, or in other words, the intersections between UI and UX Design, we have:

• Both UI and UX work to ensure that the user has the best possible experience when interacting with a product or service.
• UI and UX designers work together in creating digital products. They often collaborate and share ideas and feedback to ensure that the needs of users are best met.
• Both UI and UX use similar design tools and principles to achieve their goals, including wireframes, prototypes, and user journey maps.
• Both UI and UX have the ultimate goal of user satisfaction. They want to make the use of the product or service as simple, efficient, and enjoyable as possible.

Why is the synergy between UI and UX Design crucial for the success of a digital project?

The harmonious synergy between UI and UX Design becomes crucial for the success of any digital project. An attractive and easy-to-use interface (UI), combined with a well-crafted user experience (UX), is the perfect formula for a successful digital project.

Although UI and UX have distinct functions, it is essential to emphasize that they operate in synergy, like two gears in a machine, revolutionizing how we interact with the digital world.

A clear understanding of their intersections and differences can drastically elevate the quality of a project, satisfy the user, and consequently lead to the success of the endeavor. Understanding that UI and UX complement each other is understanding the dynamism and complexity involved in creating an incredible digital experience.

To adapt your project to this new reality, come explore Teppa’s solutions. Contact us, and let’s work together to find the best solution for your project!