UI vs. UX design: What’s the difference, and which one should I choose?
This article was produced in partnership with TripleTen. You can learn more about TripleTen on Career Karma.
What is UX design?
UX design focuses on creating products that are intuitive and user-friendly, with excellent aesthetics, usability, and accessibility. A career in this field requires understanding a user base’s needs and creating experiences tailored to those needs—because of this, UX design is an important part of every company that creates user-facing apps and websites.
Main tasks of a UX designer
- User research. UX professionals conduct extensive research to understand user needs and behaviors, using this information as a guide in creating an intuitive user experience.
- Prototyping. UX designers create prototypes and mockups of digital products, which inform developers as they implement the right user experience for their audience.
- Testing. UX experts test apps to evaluate their usability and accessibility.
- Collaboration. A UX designer collaborates with other designers to find solutions to usability problems.
How does UX impact product usability?
UX designers decide where user elements are placed on an app or website. Because they design the complete process of interacting with an app, their work determines whether users will be satisfied and use it frequently.
Good UX design means people can easily navigate an app or website’s interface and will likely use it further. Bad UX design annoys users and discourages them from returning to the app—and it may even prevent them from finding and accessing important features. UX designers have a major impact on product usability and customer satisfaction.
Where can you learn UX design?
One way you can learn UX design is by participating in bootcamps and online courses. You can also access many free resources online to learn the required design skills. However, professional bootcamps like TripleTen provide practical, guided learning and certification to ascertain your skills after completion. A certificate showcases your skills to employers and boosts your chances of landing a good UX design position.
What is UI design?
UI design focuses on creating the aesthetic and interactive elements of a platform with visual elements like icons, buttons, colors, typography, transition animations, and the general layout.
While UI and UX design are often used interchangeably, by definition, UI design is a subset of UX design. The main difference is that UI design centers on visual elements, while UX centers on the overall user experience, including visuals, usability, and accessibility for visually-challenged users.
Main tasks of a UI designer
- Visual design. UI designers formulate an application or website’s core visual elements, including color schemes, icons, buttons, and typography. They create visual concepts based on the user’s needs and continually refine them for better results.
- Research and testing. UI designers conduct research to understand their audience’s visual preferences. When developing products, they test the visual elements in the early stages and get valuable feedback from their audience.
- Responsive design. UI designers ensure an app’s visual elements adapt to different devices and screen sizes.
Key skills of a UI designer
- Information architecture. A UI designer needs to understand how to structure information for easy findability.
- Prototyping. UI designers should be able to translate ideas into visual representations and create prototypes for an app’s visual elements.
- Basic coding. A basic understanding of programming languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript helps UI designers create interactive visual components.
- Working with design tools. UI designers should be able to work with collaborative design software like Figma and Sketch.
How does UI affect the visual appearance of a product?
UI designers decide an app’s layout, colors, button placements, and typography. They determine the order in which visual elements are placed for easy navigation. Their work heavily influences a company’s brand identity and users’ perception of a product.
An effective UI design team goes a long way in keeping users satisfied. Good UI design retains users and generates free word-of-mouth marketing for businesses. Every business that creates digital products needs UI designers in their workflow.
Where can you learn UI design?
As with UX you can learn UI design by participating in online courses and bootcamps. These bootcamps teach the relevant skills needed to become a professional UI designer.
TripleTen’s bootcamp focuses on practical teaching with real-world examples. Students get paired with companies to work on projects they can add to their portfolio, increasing their chances of getting a job.
UX vs. UI: Key differences
UX and UI design have many similarities, but also some key distinctions. The fundamental difference between UI and UX design is that the latter focuses on the broader user experience, while the former focuses mainly on visual elements. Understanding the difference between both helps you choose the right path.
Functions and goals
UI designers aim to create a visually appealing, user-friendly interface. In contrast, UX designers have a broader goal of creating products that fulfill user needs and are accessible to the target audience.
Suppose a company wants to create a new online store. UI designers will focus on designing the store’s visual and technical elements, including the product catalog layout, background color, typography, and checkout button style and color.
UX designers will focus on the broader experience of ordering items through the store. They’ll design how users visit the store, add items to their cart, head to the checkout page, input their payment details, and confirm the order.
For the store, the placement of visual elements is just one aspect of the overall user experience. A store can have a visually appealing layout but a complex interaction process, which causes problems for users. UX designers ensure that a store has both an appealing layout and seamless navigation.
Research and analytics
UX designers’ research centers on improving the overall user experience of a platform. They conduct studies and survey users about what an interactive user experience means to them. Then, they compile this information to design a user experience that fulfills the common needs of different user groups.
UI designers’ research centers mainly on visual elements. They survey users about the placement of visual elements and use this feedback to create an appealing user interface design. This UI and UX difference is essential to note.
Visual aspects and interaction
UI designers work mainly on the user interface, i.e., the part of an app users directly interact with, including the buttons, icons, and navigation menus.
UX designers work on the entire user journey and experience. They aim for apps to have a smooth experience, not only a modern, responsive interface. The best apps both have intuitive layouts and offer a seamless user experience; UI and UX designers work together to achieve these characteristics.
How do UX and UI designers work together?
UX and UI designers collaborate extensively to create intuitive apps with a smooth user experience. When designing an app or website, they constantly share insights and feedback from their respective audiences. This feedback is combined to create an app that balances the preferences of various user segments.
For instance, a food delivery company decides to revamp its app’s checkout process. UX designers can determine the optimal placement of the “Pay Now” button, while UI designers decide the button’s color, shape, and size. Both teams must exchange ideas to make the food delivery app user-friendly.
Miscommunication between UX and UI design teams can have major consequences. For instance, if the UI team designs a visually stunning button, but the UX team places it in the wrong location, users can get confused and not follow through with their orders.
If the UX team places the order button in an optimal location but the UI team creates an impractical design, users can struggle with navigation, which reduces food orders. UX and UI development are necessary for companies to build satisfactory digital products.
Career roadmap of a UX/UI designer
A UI/UX designer usually starts with entry-level roles like Junior UX/UI designer and then progresses to senior roles. Depending on their skill and experience, UI/UX designers can join the executive ranks and oversee company-wide design operations.
Many companies have educational requirements for entry-level UX/UI design staff, usually a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design, Graphic Design, Computer Science, or related fields.
In place of a degree, you can complete a professional bootcamp program and get accepted into UX/UI design roles. Bootcamps are shorter (not to mention less expensive) than degree programs and feature intensive, practical learning. For instance, TripleTen offers a five-month UX/UI design bootcamp that teaches practical skills required to join the professional ranks.
Along with education, internships can help you secure full-time employment as a UX/UI designer. Internships give you practical, real-world experience that companies cherish when hiring entry-level designers. They set you apart from other candidates vying for highly competitive UX/UI design jobs.
Entry-level designers focus on the fundamental design aspects, such as creating layouts, color schemes, and typography for apps. After three to four years of experience, you can transition to mid-level and handle more important tasks like user research and prototyping.
With seven to ten years of experience, you can transition to senior-level roles that involve leading design projects, making strategic design decisions, and mentoring junior designers. With long-term experience, you can take on specialized roles like a UX engineer or become a consultant providing design services to multiple clients.
What is better, UI or UX, and how should I choose?
The best option between UX and UI design depends on your preferences. If you love visual design and have an eye for aesthetics, UI is likely the career path for you. If you’re drawn more to research, analytics, and problem-solving, UX may be your best choice.
Because of its broader scope, UX design involves more analytics than UI. It requires an in-depth understanding of human behavior, which helps you deduce how users interact with a product and design the process as smoothly as possible.
There’s no single better option when considering UI or UX. Instead, it depends on your skills and natural preferences. They have overlapping tasks, but UX design requires more technical knowledge than UI design.
How to figure out which one suits you more
Ultimately, your natural interests determine which one is a better fit. If you find design tasks more engaging—for instance, if you enjoy experimenting with visual layouts and identifying ways to make apps more visually appealing—UI is likely your strength and what you may want to lean towards.
If you enjoy analyzing data to identify patterns, UX is a great fit, as it deals more with finding solutions to complex user problems. Yet, both UI and UX have good career prospects.
If you’re still unsure about which to choose, you can experiment with both and note which one you enjoy most. It can be a simple website or app to determine where you’re best suited for UI or UX design tasks.
During the experiment, if your brain is excited more by the app’s visual aspects, it hints at UI being your calling. If you’re more engaged by the broader user experience and flow, it indicates UX design being the best choice.
What are the salaries of UX and UI designers?
According to Indeed, U.S.-based UI designers earn an average of $98,000 annually, while UX designers earn $125,000. UX designers earn more because of their broader skill sets, but both career paths command competitive salaries, especially at the senior levels.
Salaries vary by region, but UX and UI design are well-paying jobs with good prospects in most countries.
How to become a UX/UI designer
Becoming a UX or UI designer begins with getting the relevant education. You need a good grasp of design principles, color theory, and how to discover and prioritize user needs. You need to become proficient with design tools like Sketch, Adobe XD, and Figma.
Some college degree programs teach the required design skills. You can also participate in a bootcamp to learn the skills intensively over a short period. TripleTen offers a UI/UX design bootcamp with flexible payment plans, experienced tutors, and mentorship from successful UI/UX designers.
After getting the relevant education, you can apply for open positions for which you’re qualified. And since UI/UX designers can work remotely, they’re typically able to access job opportunities regardless of their location.
When hiring, companies appreciate designers with existing portfolios. This portfolio doesn’t have to be professional work created for clients; you can create personal projects to demonstrate your design skills to employers. You can showcase these projects on portfolio sites like Behance or create a personal site with WordPress.
A detailed portfolio makes you stand out from other aspiring designers and increases the chances of landing your desired position. Internships also help you land a suitable role.
Portfolio: How to create one
A portfolio consists of case studies that showcase your design skills. It’s not enough to display your visual mockups; they should be backed up with stories and demonstrations of the problems they solved. Write stories that showcase the thought processes and meaning of your UI/UX design work to viewers.
It’s crucial to display the entire design process, not just the end result. You can include sketches, user flows, and the prototypes it took to arrive at a final mockup. Outline the problems you intended to solve, who you worked with, the tools used to create the design, the process, and finally, the design outcome.
People without UI/UX backgrounds should be able to view your portfolio and make sense of it.
FAQ
What tools do UX and UI designers use?
A UI/UX designer uses a wide range of tools, including design software like Figma and Sketch, prototyping tools like InVision, and collaborative platforms like Miro. These tools enable designers to create mockups and prototypes and collaborate effectively with colleagues.
Why are UX and UI, despite being different design areas, frequently advertised as one combined position?
The difference between UI and UX is the latter’s broader scope compared to the former. However, UI/UX design jobs are frequently advertised as one because of their overlapping roles in creating a smooth user experience.
Which is more important–UI or UX?
There’s hardly a single best option between UI and UX; they’re both essential for successful product design. However, UX is generally considered more important because of its broader scope.
Can I become a UI/UX designer without a college degree?
Yes, you can become a UI/UX designer without a college degree. Many companies recognize professional certifications and bootcamp programs in place of a college degree.
Is there a difference between UX for web and mobile devices?
Yes, UX for web and mobile devices differs because of varying interaction methods and screen sizes.
Most smartphone users interact with apps via touch, while web visitors often use mouse and keyboards. Mobile screens have smaller dimensions and resolutions than desktop monitors. These differences warrant different UX design methods for web and mobile devices.
What is design thinking, and how does it relate to UX?
Design thinking is an iterative process that helps UX designers understand and fulfill user needs. It has four pillars: empathy, collaboration, inclusion, and iteration. UX design teams use this process to understand users’ problems and create solutions for them.
How long do I need to study to become a UI/UX designer?
You can study anywhere from a few days to a few years to become a UI/UX designer. If you’re taking the college degree path, you’ll undergo three to four years of coursework before landing a job. If you go through the bootcamp path, expect five to ten months of intensive study and practice to become a UI/UX designer.
Can I become a UI/UX designer with no experience?
Yes, you can become an entry-level UI/UX designer with no previous experience. However, you need to learn the required skills and familiarize yourself with design tools before landing a professional role.
What is prototyping in UX design, and why is it important?
Prototyping involves creating a working model of a product to gather feedback. Then, this model gets refined according to user feedback until a final product is released.
UX designers create prototypes to gather feedback about the user experience of an app. Then, they tweak the experience in response to feedback, ensuring flaws are corrected. They do this multiple times before releasing a final app, ensuring it fulfills users’ needs.
What does the UI testing process involve?
The UI testing process centers on evaluating a website or app’s user-facing elements, including buttons, menus, forms, text fields, etc. It involves manually testing an app to assess its ease of use and to identify problems. Tests are run repeatedly, and the UI team gathers feedback to improve the app.
How does a UX researcher conduct user interviews?
UX researchers prepare surveys to ask users direct questions about their experience with an app. They can also conduct in-person interviews to get real-time feedback. This feedback is highly considered to refine the app’s user experience and keep users happy
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