What's the Problem with UI vs UX Design Today?

By Tim Ackroyd on

As a Solution Architect and Engineer, I have to deal with the concepts of User Interface (UI) solution & design problems. Since 2005, as Mobile Devices and Responsive Web approaches became part of our toolbelt, more challenges were added to our delivery objectives.

Hype Risks

Just like any time in the Technology Hype Curve, humans get confused and over "-hype" or "-sell" new technologies. To make matters worse for us as Solution Architects and/or Engineers, they confuse UI versus UX (User Experience).

As an Enterprise Architect working in Advanced Analytics, Machine Learning, and AI for over 15 years, we cannot afford to mix up UI vs UX! UI design primarily deals with the look and feel of the product, focusing on the visual elements that users interact with. UX design is a broader concept that encompasses the entire user journey and aims to enhance the overall experience of using a product. Thus, UX involves understanding the users, and their needs, and ensuring that the product meets those needs effectively and efficiently.

Unfortunately, some companies (I won't mention here 😁) still have trouble with User Experience (UX) today. The primary reason IMHO is due to "Marketing" people (stakeholders, sponsors, etc.). They tend to forget that UX is focused on "THE USER!", "THE CUSTOMER!" and NOT marketing and salespeople! 

Don't forget, it is what the "Customer" wants!

The Differences

User Interface (UI) design and User Experience (UX) design are two closely related but distinct aspects of designing digital products. They both play crucial roles in creating a positive and effective interaction between users and a product, but they focus on different aspects of the overall design process.

User Interface (UI) Design:

  • UI design primarily deals with the look and feel of the product, focusing on the visual elements that users interact with. This includes elements like buttons, icons, colors, typography, and overall layout.
  • The main goal of UI design is to create an aesthetically pleasing and visually intuitive interface that users can easily navigate. It involves crafting a design that is visually appealing, consistent and aligns with the brand's identity. 
  • UI designers use tools like Sparx EA, Axure RP, and other graphic design software, prototyping tools, and sometimes even coding languages to implement the visual aspects of the design.

User Experience (UX) Design:

  • UX design is a broader concept that encompasses the entire user journey and aims to enhance the overall experience of using a product. It involves understanding the users, and their needs, and ensuring that the product meets those needs effectively and efficiently.
  • The main goal of UX design is to optimize the usability, accessibility, and satisfaction of the user when interacting with a product. This involves research, usability testing, and the creation of user personas to inform design decisions.
  • Like UI Design, UX designers use various tools, including wireframing and prototyping tools, user testing software, analytics, and research methods to gather insights and improve the overall user experience.
In summary, UI design is about creating a visually appealing and user-friendly interface, while UX design is concerned with the overall experience of using a product, including how easy it is to use, how enjoyable it is, and whether it meets the user's needs. Both UI and UX design are essential components of a successful digital product, and collaboration between UI and UX designers is crucial for creating a cohesive and effective design.

Let's Collaborate!

No pun intended, but collaboration is the key to any delivery objective(s). I just happen to use UML and CASE tooling to achieve such success. In the UML Operator Channel, we share approaches to accomplishing these objectives. I am very interested in hearing other thoughts and opinions on how their implementations of UI and UX are going, including challenges and successes.

I started a multi-part series on Web UI Design

  • (e28) In "Simple Web UI Design Part 1" we are going to design a simple website, actually this website, throughout this series. Part 1 is a high-level cursory view of planning and designing a website. In later parts, we will get into the details of diagrams and elements needed to deliver the objectives. NOTE: This episode will be part of the Systems Architecture Development Series.
  • (e29) In "Simple Web UI Design Part 2" we will walk through the Extended Diagram Type and UI Elements to build our Sitemap. We will talk about relationships and using a layered approach for our planned pages. We will also start the Requirements Development processes.
  • (e30) "Simple Web UI Design Part 3" is part 3 of a multi-part series on Simple Web UI Design. In part 1 we gave a cursory overview of the series, and in part 2 we started our Sitemap to support Scope and Requirements Development. In this session, we will show how we started Requirements Development along with some tips to speed up delivery.
  • (e31) In "Simple Web UI Design Part 4" we are on Part 4 of a multi-part series on Simple Web UI Design. In this session, we will touch on Reporting and Analytics (R&A). This is critical to understanding progress in any delivery effort. We will add simple Pie Charts for the status of Requirements and Solution Approach. As part of our Project Dashboard, we can follow the progress of the Requirements Development and Solution Approach necessary to support the development of our website.

Once I get "UI" out of the way, we will get to "UX" and what "Journey" and "Personalization" really mean! More to come, go to UML Operator Channel, subscribe, and turn on notifications to keep up. You can also follow our subjects from our TRAck on Track Website, https://www.trackotc.com/

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