Both user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) are essential disciplines of web and application design. While a lot of people including some professionals too often confuse UX with UI or the other way around, they work differently up to a certain stage of the web design and development process.
In this article, we’ll tell you how UX differs from UI, how they are related, and what a web designer in Singapore should know about both areas.
Roles of UI and UX Designers Explained
User Experience involves an approach to the conceptualization and design of a digital or physical product based on a human-first strategy. UX professionals are responsible for creating design solutions to address the pain points encountered by users as they interact with a product (website, software, or paperback book).
UX designers aim at delighting users through the effectiveness of what they create. A UX designer needs to do the following activities.
- Research and Analysis of competitors and customers
- Creation of information architecture
- Creation of prototype and wireframe
- Test, analysis, and iteration
- Coordination with UI designers and developers
UI designers also adopt a human-centered approach, but they focus on the aesthetics of whatever they create. Unlike UX, UI is only applicable to digital products like a website or a software application. UI designers create visual touchpoints to let users interact with a web page or mobile/PC application.
The job of UI is carried out in combination of buttons, animations, imagery, color palettes, typography, and other visual assets. Here’s a list of activities a UI designer has to complete.
- Research, branding and design
- Color, layouts, and typography
- Animation and interactivity
- Prototype and wireframe
- Implementation with front-end developers
So, UX has its focus on the usability of a website or app whereas UI has an emphasis on the appearance. This particular understanding brings both UI and UX professionals closer than we want to admit.
UI Vs UX Design: What Exactly Makes Them Different?
UX design incorporates everything that is specific to how users feel about their experience using a website or product. UI design includes the visualization of a website’s interface and its look plus functions.
Without having a bias, we can tell that the role of a UX designer is more challenging than that of a UI designer. A UX specialist needs to analyze and think about the end users’ way around the solution to a problem. We got three different clues to describe the situation.
- The steps taken by users
- Tasks to be completed by users
- Nature of the experience (straightforward or complicated)
Much of what a UX designer does can be based on the identification of pain-points or problems which users usually see and the effectiveness of a website or any product in solving those pain-points or issues.
Being able to identify the right audience is also part of a UX designer’s job. For this, in-depth user research and the line that connects users’ needs to the designed product are required. Users’ journey across a website or application should also be mapped out. Eventually, a UX designer uses his/her skills to create a wireframe, a blueprint for the website.
Once a website’s structure (skeleton) has been mapped out; the job of a UI designer starts. To bring that skeleton to life, a designer does these things.
Considering each visual aspect of a user’s journey that includes individual screens, touchpoints, buttons, page scrolls, image galleries, etc. With a clear focus on every detail, a UI designer makes the journey of users come true.
You might think UI design is essentially confined to the appearance of a digital product. In practice, UI designers are able to make sure that your website is inclusive and accessible.
So, what’s the takeaway for a web designer in Singapore?
Hopefully, you don’t need additional discussion to understand where UX and UI differ. But we believe you can still keep the following points in mind.
- UX typically comes first and UI comes next on most occasions. Sometimes, both are done simultaneously.
- UX has most of its emphasis on the usability of a website, but UI is more about the beauty of that site than anything else.
- UX matters when it comes to assisting users to accomplish their goals. UI plays an instrumental role if there’s any need for building emotional connections.
- We employ UX skills across digital and physical products, services, and interfaces. UI skills are utilized for interface designs.
With all of the above things said clearly, professionals in both areas can work together or one person can master both skills to become a specialist designer. There’s no way you can choose one of them over the other.
Both UX and UI need to be focused because a great UI is indispensable to the experience of those who will interact with it. Similarly, the UI of your website is likely to fail to attract users if it doesn’t address their pain points.
Let’s take this discussion into consideration in the light of what we see in Singapore. People here don’t mind paying top dollars for gadgets or any lifestyle products. It means something with poor usability or visual appeal can barely make a great impression on the audience. Every website designer in Singapore has to keep this simple fact in mind as they design the UX or UI of a website or any product.
The team of web designers here at our web design and development company possesses specialized knowledge about UI and UX along with the best practices which are proven to be popular with the audience in Singapore.
So, feel free to contact us if you need a mobile app UI or website that seeks to impress your audience. We’ll be glad to help.
