Today, in the digital era, websites have become a real business card for any business and even individuals. And not just a business card, but a powerful tool that can analyze your target audience, sell products or services, share information, and generally build your own community.
However, for a website to be truly effective, it must not only be beautiful but also user-friendly. This is where two key concepts come into play: UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience).
What is UI Design?
UI design, or user interface design, focuses on the visual component of a website. It’s what the user sees and directly interacts with: colors, fonts, buttons, menus, icons, images, animations, etc.
The goal of UI design is to make the website attractive, easy to navigate, and intuitively understandable.
It is a tool for web designers, graphic designers, and UI designers.
What is UX Design?
UX design, or user experience design, goes beyond the visual component. It focuses on the emotions and feelings of the user during interaction with the website. It’s how the user feels about the site, how easily they can find the necessary information, whether they like using it, and whether they encounter any difficulties.
The goal of UX design is to make the website as convenient, useful, and pleasant for users as possible, so they can achieve their goals.
It is a tool for UX designers, user experience researchers, and information architects.
The Difference Between UI and UX Design
Users often confuse these concepts with each other and think that they are synonymous. However, this is not the case. So remember the following:
- UI design is what the user sees. While UX design is what they feel.
- UI design is the form, and UX design is the content.
- And most importantly, UI design is a part of UX design.
How Do UI and UX Design Work Together?
UI and UX design are two inseparable parts of a whole. The first makes the website beautiful and easy to navigate, while the second makes it useful, pleasant, and effective.
Let’s take a closer look at this interaction with an example.
Imagine you enter a clothing store.
UI design is the store window, mannequins, lighting, and layout of clothes.
UX design is how you feel in the store, how easily you can find the needed clothes, whether the salespeople are friendly, whether you want to return to this store again, etc.
Overall, if you look more globally, UI/UX design is a continuous process of work and interaction. Over time, users’ needs change, so it’s important to regularly update and improve your website.
And always remember that hosting a website and the domain name are just the technical aspects of your website. Whereas UI and UX design is what makes it alive and attractive to users. So, investing time and effort in UI/UX design, you are investing in the success of your website.
And finally, we want to share with you a selection of useful material on where exactly you can read and learn more about UI/UX design.
Books:
- «Don’t Make Me Think» by Steve Krug
- «Design Is a Job» by Mike Monteiro
- «The Non-Designer’s Design Book» by Robin Williams
Websites:
- https://uxdesign.cc/
- https://www.interaction-design.org/
- https://uxplanet.org/
Study, practice, and may your design always be interesting and attractive to users!
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