ux is not ui

UX ≠ UIBased on the post UX is not UI by @Erik_UX

“UX is the intangible design of a strategy that brings us to a solution.”

The interface is not the solution.

That’s the true heart of the battle between UX and those who only want UI – or don’t know the difference.

User Interface what people use interact the product

User Experience how they feel while they do.

UIUser Interface what people use interact the product

User Experience how they feel while they do.UXTechnical

Emotional

How UX people see UX?

You could be a researcher and persona writer in a senior UX role and never touch an

interface design (or even have the skills to)

"Many UX designers have started to re-label themselves […] I think this is partially to help keep them from being marginalized as only

interface designers"

UX Designers

UX Architects, UX Engineers, or UX Strategists

Experience Architect/Engineer/Strategist

equals

So what does UX actually mean?

What we want them to see

Field research Face to face interviewing Creation and administering of tests Gathering, organizing, and presenting statistics Documentation of personas and findings Product design Feature writing Requirement writing Graphic arts Interaction design Information Architecture Usability Prototyping Interface layout Interface design Visual design Taxonomy creation Terminology creation Copy writing Presentation and speaking Working tightly with programmers Brainstorm coordination Company culture evangelism Communication to stakeholders

What they typically see

Field research Face to face interviewing Creation and administering of tests Gathering, organizing, and presenting statistics Documentation of personas and findings Product design Feature writing Requirement writing Graphic arts Interaction design Information Architecture Usability Prototyping Interface layout Interface design Visual design Taxonomy creation Terminology creation Copy writing Presentation and speaking Working tightly with programmers Brainstorm coordination Company culture evangelism Communication to stakeholders

UI design is a huge part of UX.

Partially because its the visible part of the process

UX is what it does and what it does is

solve problems

ID = Interaction design (how the look and feel work, user behavior research)

VD = Visual Design (look and feel, visual and graphic design research)

ID + VD = InterfaceThe interface is the result of the

“solution design” that came before it.

A skillful interface designer understands the importance of providing the user with a

solution to a defined problem.

How you can get to an effective UI

Hypothetical Process

1. Identify the problem We presume the problem has been identified through the user/market/persona research.

2. User Stories User flows and stories are made, then trashed, then made again, then iterated on until the problem flow is clear.

3. Experiments with personas With an idea of ways to solve the problem, some rapid experiments are carried out to validate the assumptions with the personas.

4. Information Architecture Some IA work is done to break out the product/site into the logical areas and hierarchies.

5. Wireframes Various wireframes and sketches are drawn to start to organize where things could go on the screen.

6. Mockups With all the preceding research material and UX work, now mockups with UI included can be made with confidence.

7. Prototypes With mockups and a UI designed, they are user tested and iterated on through some prototypes or experiments.

8. UI Design After the mockups have been vetted, it’s now time to code up the interface – UI Design!

9. Production Once the usability of the UI has been honed, you can move it on to production – the place that people usually think of as the singular UI.

Hypothetical Process Where fits the UI process