You're wondering about the picture of the “Building”… yes? I'll get to that later….
The fuss about UX and UI is because they are critical, but different, parts of creating successful digital products.
User Interface (UI) focuses on the visual and interactive elements a user sees, like buttons, colors, and layout.
User Experience (UX) is the overall feeling and journey a user has with the product, encompassing everything from its structure to its ease of use and how well it meets their needs.
User Interface (UI)
- What it is: The look and feel of a product. It includes all the visual and interactive elements a user directly engages with, such as buttons, icons, typography, and color schemes.
- Role: To make the product aesthetically pleasing and easy to interact with.
- Analogy: The “icing on the cake” — the visual presentation and how it looks.
User Experience (UX)
- What it is: The entire experience a user has with a product. It's the bigger picture, encompassing the entire user journey, from initial research to how the product works and feels.
- Role: To ensure the product is intuitive, logical, and solves the user's problem effectively.
- Analogy: The “inside of the cake” — whether it tastes good and the quality of the ingredients, which depends on proper baking and meeting expectations.
Why both are essential
- Synergy: A product can't succeed with just one. A visually stunning UI with a frustrating and illogical UX will fail. Conversely, a well-structured and logical UX with a dull and clunky UI will also struggle.
- Complementary roles: UX designers handle the underlying structure, user research, and pathways, while UI designers build the visual and interactive layer that makes the experience happen. They work together to create a product that is both functional and beautiful.
