UX UI? What are they both?

This conversation between Ramesh and Suresh by our senior UX designer at Kimshuka Technologies, Tilak has been written so that a person who does not know about UX and UI will understand better.

Read on.

Still confused! Don’t know what UI and UX stand for? What does a UI/UX professional do? Want a helping hand in understanding the difference between both and much more. Kudos! then this blog is exclusively for you!

It is tough to imagine an area that changes the world as much as Interaction technology does in the decades ahead if I think of the various realms of science and technologies. We are close to the technological end and the convergence of human technology and human intellect.

Let’s hear the conversation between a fresher “Ramesh” and the UI/UX field expert “Suresh”.

Suresh:

UI and UX are not the same, often many confuse them as one! Yup! I know. They both have few similarities. However, the differences outweigh them. Both contribute in their own way in shaping a project. In simple, we can say a car’s exteriors and interiors say hood, body and driver consoles, etc are the UI aspects. Wherein, performance, throttle response, included features, suspension and handling are UX aspects.

Image source: Coursera.org

Ramesh: “Arey!! Definition Kya Hai?” (What’s the definition)

Suresh:

UI is an acronym for “User Interaction” - it encompasses the concerns of interaction between users and a product i.e., computing systems/software’s often through a Graphical User Interface.

Whereas, “User Experience” abbreviated as UX - often deals with the experience of a user involved while using a product.

Ramesh: “Could you please elaborate?”

Suresh:

UI aspects of a product refer to the visual elements such as color schemes, font style, icon family, images, buttons design, look, feel, and interactions of I/O components such as sliders, checkboxes, radio buttons, and graphs, logs, data tables and so on respectively. Transitions and animations, in short, each component level behavior will be defined.

The user journey i.e., the sequence of actions that the user performs while interacting on an interface. Basically, conceptual aspects of a product such as a user’s pain points,

ease of use, accessibility for different personas with unique requirements, ways to engage users in a pleasurable manner, and clarity of a product. To sum up, creating a user-centered design by resolving ambiguity or difficulties the users face in their voyage from start to end of the product or service is called UX.

Often, UX is measured by how easy it is for a user to interact with each component.

Image source: interaction-design.org

Ramesh: “Asaan bhaasha mei kyhedo?” (Please simplify it)

Suresh:

In UI - Aesthetics is the key.

In UX - Research is the key, along with a few factors as Usability, Accessibility, Credibility, Desirability, and Usefulness.

Ramesh: “Got it! What can I do with UI/UX?”

Suresh:

In any business Customer satisfaction is an ultimatum!

UI/UX adheres to good market research and analysis of user needs thus more clarity on the product as well as target users. In addition, it's easy to rectify a problem of a product and revise at an early stage rather after which might cost more resources. Thus, a tailor-fit product can be achieved in turn win the customers.

Ramesh: “Hearing this I feel like I need to be one, so what skill sets do I need?”

Suresh:

Here are a few skill set that the industry demands an entry-level UIX designer. Research skills, Wireframing skills, UX writing, Visual designing, Interaction Designing, Usability testing, and Coding front-end will add up as a benefit. Apart from these few soft skills such as Collaboration, Communication and Presentation are also very crucial. Oh! Last but not least “KNOW YOUR USER!!!”

Ramesh: “I am afraid? Will, there be enough specializations, what shall I ought to become upon experience?”

Suresh:

Please, don’t be! You can be a specialist in each skill set. I will just name a few positions say UX Researcher, Information Architect, UI/UX developer, Usability analyst, UX strategist, Product designers, Product manager, Interaction Designers, Visual designers, User tester, UX unicorn, and much more. However, as a senior I would suggest starting your career as a “Generalist” - A generalist might be responsible for a combination of all traits in brief such as user research, branding, user flows, UX writing, visual design, prototyping, and usability testing.

Image source: uxbeginner.com

Ramesh: “Would you brief what are the key responsibilities of a generalist?”

Suresh:

Of course! Why not?

As a UI/UX generalist, you’re responsible for –

Ramesh:

“To conclude, as per my understanding through discussions UI/UX not only limited to the software products, it is very much necessary in products we daily use from a bottle of ketchup to high-end super-computers. I believe Interaction technology is state-of-the-art software to solve real-world problems, develop solutions, increase awareness, and provide engaging interaction.”

Thank you, Suresh, for your UI/UX

insights!