Debunking stereotypes about the identity of UI and UX design

For instance, a graphic designer specializes in creating eye-catching icons and other visual elements, a motion designer is in charge of animation that appears here and there in an app, the UX designer takes care of the app usability, whereas a UI designer makes sure that the application is properly laid out.

In this article, we will focus on the last two lines and analyze the main differences between UI and UX design, as well as the possibility of combining them into responsibilities for a single person.

Before diving into the details, it is necessary to make it clear about what the above terms stand for. We'll start with UX, which is short for the user experience. If you ask me how I would describe the UX designer's responsibilities in simple words, I would say that he / she is accountable for how the product feels. In other words, UX is about the convenience of usage, logic in the actions flow, and the relevance of control buttons. It really doesn't deal with the visual presentation of the product, but rather makes sure that all the visible elements are arranged for maximum comfort for a client.

The term was originally coined by Don Norman, a director of Design Lab at the University of California. According to his words:

Expanding his idea, it is fair to say that the user experience is associated not only with sensations while interacting with an application or software, but the impressions that remain after using the product. To support this statement I'd like to fall back on the words of Matt Powers, a Graphic Designer and Internet Marketer at Blue Soda Promo.

It's also pertinent to cite a passage from Danielle Sacks, a senior writer at Fast Company Magazine.

Now it's time to talk about the visible side of the design which concerns user interface. While UX is in charge of the favorable location of buttons, UI makes sure that these buttons look pleasing to the eye, an interesting animation appears as you press them, and the background color doesn't conflict with the colors of the other elements. UI designers have a big responsibility delegated on their shoulders as he / she takes care of the initial impression that a client receives when your app first launches. As you know, there won't ever be another chance to improve it.

A good UI design is the one which keeps pace with the content of your product and complements it's main idea. According to Jeffrey Zeldman, the onstage lecturing on modern web design at An Event Apart:

It is widely accepted that a quality mobile UI design is characterized by it's simplicity and minimalism. This does not mean that it must be poor or look dim. Nevertheless, saturating elements or using a gob of colors is now out of fashion.

Funny enough, those opinions appeared long ago when people knew nothing about smartphones and mobile applications. According to Antoine de Saint-Exupry, a world-known French writer and journalist:

Modern technologies still follow that tendency. Here is how John D. Berry, an editor and typographer, confirms it:

As you can see, UX and UI are pretty different concepts. Moreover, in the big projects, these are also different positions occupied by separate specialists. Basically, this is due to the fact that the range of responsibilities of the UX designer greatly varies from the set of responsibilities of the UI expert and requires a certain type of thinking for effective implementation.

It might sound strange but, to some extent, UX requires more creativity than UI. They're in charge of creating an app concept from scratch. In it's turn, the UI designer only has to work out the visible part of the application on the basis of a ready-made wireframe.

In order to create an effective experience, UX designers should study and analyze the behavior of potential users. In the meantime, a UI designer usually works according to the requirements provided by a customer.

UX designers are mainly responsible for scenarios and tasks flows, and UI designers - for colors and typography. UX touches on human-centered design, UI - with visual design. UX lies at the root of doing research, outlining wireframes, and making prototypes. UI stands for creating layouts, composing graphics, and building mockups.

Even though UX and UI are rather different they can hardly exist separately. In particular, concerning UI which becomes totally useless when isolated from the product scope.

If we talk about a mobile application or website, good user experience doesn't separate from interface design. Today users are spoiled enough not to be surprised by the sole presence of interesting options. They also expect to receive aesthetic enjoyment from interacting with your product. Continuing this idea I'd like to quote Helga Moreno, a copywriter at Template Monster:

It is totally supported by Joshua Brewer, a mentor at Designer Fund, who says that:

So, in order to create a useful and beautiful thing, you equally need both UX and UI design experts. Based on the reason that their responsibilities are so closely linked to each other, they are often performed by a single person. Most often this approach is applied to non-current projects which deal with a moderate amount of work.

Let's find out how to achieve top results when designing for mobile apps, websites, or software products. Based on Cleveroad's experience, we have obtained the following principles:

I hope this article has lifted the veil on design traits. Now that you're armed with this information, you can tackle the matter of employing a designer more accurately. Contact an outsourcing company, ask how the workflow is usually organized, how many people can be employed for this purpose, and how responsibility is distributed. Don't be afraid to ask for examples of previous work and try to look at it from a user's point of view.

When deciding on a particular provider, don't drop all of the decisions on their laps. Be actively involved in the process of the design creation. Do not be afraid to talk about various ideas, even if they seem out of place to you. At the same time, reserve the right to make a the final decision for the professionals.

For inspiration, check out our projects on Dribbble. If you wants us to put your idea into action, feel free to get in touch with us any time of day or night.