What are UI and UX, and how to design them?

Navigation

1. UI Design
2. Ux Design
3. Why is Ux so often next to Ui?
4. How to design a good Ux?
5. How to design a good Ui?
6. The Bright Future - Why is Ux so important?
7. The End

UI Design

UI stands for User Interface. Today, people think UI only exists in apps or websites, but this field is much broader. It also consists of interfaces for industrial machines, household appliances such as a fridge or an oven, cash registers, or car dashboards. It doesn't have to be digital at all. Knobs controlling water flow and temperature in your shower could be considered a user interface. And they should be, everything should, and that's where we get to UX.

UX Design

UX stands for User Experience. The user experience is the way something feels when you use it. A notepad could have a bad user experience when you can't fully open it or pages fall out because the spring is loose. A plug (USB plug) can have a bad UX design when it fits only one way, not both. UX can be how the receptionist talks to you when you order a room in your favorite hotel.

Designing UX is literally what the acronym stands for. You're creating the experience the user is having while using your product. In mobile/desktop applications and websites, user experience comes from how your app or website allows users to move through it. It also comes from the readability of the content and also from the value of the content, finishing with how fast it loads. It comes from a multitude of different aspects, and the more of them you take into consideration, the better your final product will be.

Why is UX so often next to UI?

More and more companies are looking for a UI/UX Designer. It should be obvious now after both have been defined, but let's sum it up. Let's discuss why a good UI has trouble existing without a good UX. If you're designing an interface for a group of users, you can't assume you know what they want. You don't. Even if you're in that group, you will still only predict a few of their behaviors because people are different. 

People think differently, use computers differently, follow different patterns, and have different sets of skills. So to know what UX is the best, you need to do lots of research. To create a good UI, you need to get to know your client, the business, and, most importantly, what the app users want. And that's how you build your UI with UX in mind. 

How to design good UX?

A good UX can only be designed with the user in mind. Remember that you're making the app, website, or whatever for the user. It's essential to research what such users may want. It's also important to confront this information with your client. They may know something from their industry that you don't, which will correct some data. So what would the process look like?

This is an example process of UX Design. Each step can be simplified or made more complex. It's up to you how ambitiously you want to approach it.

Examples Against Good UX In Apps or on Websites

1. Low contrast (low readability, this is especially important on websites that visually impaired people could use),
   
2. Too much information in one place = chaos in which it's hard to find anything,
3. Long transition animations = slow the user down, which builds frustration (of course, there could be a site where those animations are essential),
4. Unnecessary movement — Lots of moving elements that don't need to move = disorientation, lower readability,
5. Not enough white space = lower readability,
6. Low differentiation of the information hierarchy elements = disorientation,
7. Putting ads everywhere / forcing your advertisements on the user.
8. Super thin scrollbars are a nightmare for people without a working scroll wheel.

How to design a good UI?

UI is where you use all gathered data, create a magnificent user interface, and test and refine it. A good user interface is such an interface that allows users to smoothly complete objectives they set for themselves, one that doesn't have any dead ends. It should have high readability, be built by following design fundamentals, and have proper data distribution. All this allows for the ease of finding any information someone may want to acquire from the app or site.

Here are a few things you should remember while creating a UI:

1. Creating a plan on how the information will be distributed.
2. Creating wireframes (this can save you lots of time).
3. Design fundamentals: alignment, information hierarchy, color theory, composition, white space, contrast, etc.
4. Coherence and consistency (same elements, looking the same, such as buttons).
5. Use tools that can save you time (auto layout in Figma would be a great example).
6. Less is more
7. And try to improve your workflow with each UI you design; you will improve your skills the most by just designing.

The Bright Future—Why is UX so important?

We're leaning more and more towards providing great user experiences. This trend drives more companies each day. This change will only speed up, to be later integrated by the majority of the population. It's important because it's the movement of caring for others. And caring for your customers is actually caring for your business. By providing users with an optimal experience, you ensure they will not change their service provider because you're the best, and why would they? You ensure they will trust you because they feel taken care of. And finally, it all increases your profits. It's a win-win situation, and it's beautiful.

The End

We are nearing the end of this article, so here is a prediction for the future. Good UX practices will yield excellent user reviews, benefiting the business. Without good UX practices, companies will sink into oblivion. And that's why there is such a boom in this profession. If you want to become a UX designer, an education in psychology would help because you'll deal with people a lot. If you want to be a UI designer, some design education is crucial. It's easier to become a UI/UX designer when you're already designing UIs than the other way around. Just keep your users in mind more each time.

I hope you've learned something from this article today.

Have a fantastic week!