Ruben Boerhof

When we talk about UX, the term User Interface design (or UI for short) will come up. But, it is good to realize that despite being often used mixed together, UX and UI are two different things. Although the user interface of a product is, of course, an essential part of the user experience. It’s not the same.

To explain the difference between UX and UI more clearly. UI focuses on how a product’s surfaces look and function. The visual design of the screens through which a user navigates on, for example, an app or website.

UI designers handle all the visual and interactive elements of a product interface. From typography and color palettes to animations and transitions.

They don’t necessarily have to create the blueprint for the product. Or understand precisely what the user needs or the business goals are. That is the role of the UX designer: research these goals and bring them together to what the product could be.

Take, for example, a travel website where you can book an overnight stay. Even if the UI for finding accommodation is perfect, the UX will be bad for a user looking for a private hotel room in Amsterdam, if the underlying database only contains bunk beds in hostels in the UK.

Both UX and UI designers focus on usability and improving the user experience. UX and UI go hand in hand, and product interface design has a significant impact on the overall user experience.

But UX professionals don’t just focus on creating useful products. All too often, UX is confused with usability, which describes how easy a product is to use. While it’s true that UX started out as a usability discipline, UX has evolved into much more than usability. It also focuses on other aspects of the user experience. We must also distinguish between UX and usability.

Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word “usability” also refers to methods for improving ease of use during the design process.

By this definition, usability is a quality feature of the user interface. A very important aspect of UX, but the total user experience is an even broader concept.

A UX designer is concerned with the entire process of acquiring and integrating a product. It is a story that begins before the product is even in the hands of the user. Products that provide a great user experience, such as the iPhone, are designed not only with the use of the product in mind. But also with the entire process of acquiring, owning, and even troubleshooting it.

So usability and user interface are essential aspects, but UX design covers many other areas as well.

User experience is such a popular term in today’s digital industry that everyone uses it freely. As a result, definitions are mixed up, and methodologies are misused. It’s therefore essential to debunk a persistent misconception.

We tend to assume that people who will use the products we’ve designed are just like us. When non-UX professionals speak of what they believe is a better user experience, they often refer to their own experience. While they only have one example of someone using the interface… themselves.

And this is dangerous thinking. The real people who use your site or app every day are not like you, even if you are one of them. Your needs, problems, and understanding of the experience are different. That’s why it’s crucial to keep one thing in mind: “You are not the user.”

You can’t learn anything about users if you work with your own assumptions.

The false-consensus effect refers to people’s tendency to assume that others share their beliefs and will behave similarly in a given context. Only people who are very different from them would make different choices.

And by this, we mean real users, not your colleagues. Know who your users are and test how they respond to your designs by seeing them use those designs.

So don’t make assumptions. When you do user research, you can provide your users with the best solutions because you have discovered precisely what they need.

Have you ever used a website or app that frustrated you so much that you wanted to throw your device out the window? Then you know what it means to encounter a bad user experience.

Everything in life is a User Experience. The mobile payment for your coffee, your friend’s photo you like on Instagram, the car you drive, or the takeaway you order. They are all a user experience. In short, UX.

It refers to any interaction someone has with a product or service and is vital in making their life smooth and enjoyable. It considers every element that is part of this experience, how it makes them feel, and how easy it is to accomplish their desired tasks.

UX can be about all kinds of products and services, from how a physical product lies in your hand to how easy an online checkout process is. Generally, we use the term for digital products such as websites, apps, and other digital interfaces.

Because user experience is such an evolving concept, it is difficult to provide a comprehensive definition. The most used version in the industry is that of the “grand old man of UX design”: Don Norman: “User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-users interaction with the company, its services, and its products.”

As Norman points out, it is an umbrella term that covers many different areas. From interaction design to content design. And it has interfaces with fields from architecture to psychology. Knowing which areas impact the experience is vital for understanding what tools are available to you.

Good UX ensures customers use and enjoy the experiences you designed. Essential for creating customer loyalty and goodwill. A UX designer puts the user center of all considerations so that the final experience delivers intuitive, useful, and enjoyable interactions.

If the answer to all the above is yes, then you are on the right track!