The interface and its usage are deeply interconnected. Imagine a machine and a man who guides it. He may be satisfied with the work of this machine, but if he has a rough time while working, it’ll be annoying and barely improve his performance. All tools work on a similar scheme, having two components: a tool itself and a human who interacts with it. That’s why designers implement user interfaces and user experience tools to create their products.
When you see any mobile application which evokes a feeling of joy, relaxation, and naturalness, be sure that it’s a contribution of good UI/UX design services. Well, if another app evokes the desire to gouge out your eyes or throw your phone into a wall… then it’s a self-evident failure of a UI/UX designer.
Let’s see how they implement their purpose to understand which tools they use, why UI/UX design is in all trends in 2023, and how not to fail.
Design and Psychology
So, user interface design is a set of methods to create an interface that will perform a task. Menus, interactive transitions between various app’s elements and screens, how buttons look when pushed, which sounds they generate after that, and how users can trigger various activities, all of these compose a deal of UI designers. They make a prototype of the app in the early stages of development and then turn it into a working version, ensuring that everything is working properly.
User experience is the more subtle and delicate theme because it deals with human nature and customer preferences. UX designers explore how people will see the application and gather user statistics about which buttons they use, which pages they visit, and all other actions. Based on this research, they may predict user behavior and create user journey maps of various types, providing tips on how to design the most efficient, seamless, and optimal interface.
While UI is a pure design plus a bit of coding, UX is more about psychology and productivity management plus a few statistics. See below a typical UX journey map of a product: while it’s highly simplified, you may see how it shows a supposed user behavior based on observations and research.
Similarities and Differences
Obviously, UI/UX design’s similarities follow from their mutual purpose. Both of them aim at creating an efficient interface that will serve its purpose and be convenient for use. Both of them work with form and color combinations to determine which are the best. However, as you’ll see, their methods are drastically different.
So, there are much more differences. While they come together, they rather complement each other than perform similar tasks. See the table below to evaluate their differences and have a full picture quickly.
UI | UX |
Utilizes design methods to create prototypes and templates of the app’s pages/screens/elements and programming to connect them and make them interactive and working. | Utilizes psychology to understand how people perceive various app’s features and statistics to analyze their behavior, creating user maps to design better interfaces. |
Its products are interfaces, which then must be programmed to connect them with all app’s features. | Its products are user journey/flow maps, which serve as a key for building the application. |
It works with the technical side of the app. | It works with the human side of the app. |
UI/UX design is better to learn together, as they both are necessary for interface creation, despite there being designers who specialize in a single part. Let’s see.
Why Do You Need Both
For each tool you’re designing, be it a mobile app or something physical, you need to consider two sides: technical and human. The technical side is where UI plays its role. Color combinations, creating buttons, screens, animations, and writing code that connect them with the app’s functionality are all responsibilities of a UI designer. While they may do without coding, using various no-coding tools instead, it’s much better to know some programming.
UX design complements it by showing the purpose of all these technical features. Why should they be located here, and how will they serve the purpose of people who’ll use our application? It answers the “why” question, while UI answers the “how.”
Therefore, if you neglect UX research, your app may come out inconvenient and clumsy, bothering and annoying users and diminishing your chances of success. Similarly, neglecting UI, it’s like creating a raw prototype and pretending that it’s the end version. Messy buttons, unpleasant color combinations, and possibly broken features would barely improve your app. No wonder UI/UX design is trendy today, being a good perspective to enhance your career!
They Are in All Trends!
We all want useful apps and convenient interfaces. While the early Internet was focused on functionality, and the interface was often limited by a command line, today’s capacities enable astonishing graphical UIs. While there are fans of the command line and similar minimalism, it’s absolutely OK to desire a smooth and convenient interface that will minimize the time you’ll spend using the app while maximizing your pleasure.
Probably, that’s why UI/UX designers are in need in 2023, even despite many companies laying off their workers. This profession is not easily replaceable, and its work cannot be completed by simply using artificial intelligence, as it combines human creativity, the knowledge of psychology, and technical skills such as design and coding. The more applications are present in the market, and the more people use them, the greater the UI/UX demand. That’s why the future of this profession is very bright!
Conclusion
While UI/UX design is mostly used in mobile/web development, it’s actually a much broader field, and you may apply it to all tools you use, especially electronic ones. Coffee and vending machines with intuitive interfaces and easy interactions and a hairdryer with a convenient handle are examples of tools that are designed with these principles in a much broader sense. You can also imagine an interface of a jet aircraft or futuristic spaceship, which should simultaneously guide the machine and be as convenient for a pilot as possible.
It’s crucial to remember all app features, use the most suitable forms and colors, and test everything to indicate possible flaws. User research and journey mapping are also necessary to answer why you should place each element in the way it is and which purpose it’ll serve. UI/UX design is a large topic with many peculiarities, so be sure to learn more about it, but knowing the essentials will greatly improve the chance that your mobile venture will not fail!