What are UI and UX? Part III: How UI and UX Designers work together

From our previous article, ' What are UI and UX? Discover the Relationship & Difference Between The Two ', we got the idea of the relation and differences between the two terms, User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI). It is right to say that, ' If UX is the destination, UI is the wagon which will take you there '. With this it becomes clear that the digital design web space requires a cohesive and smooth collaboration especially on how UI and UX designers work together.

Depending on the kind of design project, designers and their roles can be very diverse.

These design teams may include User Experience (UX) Designers, User Interface (UI) designers, programmers, visual designers, information architects, and product managers , as well.

When we discuss digital products being created, intuitive, interactive and functional design is essential for the user's understanding and acceptance.

Finding this particular design and interactive balance requires close communication between designers.

In this case, the creators will be the designers of the user's interactive design process; and in the digital world that means how UX and UI designers work together.

While a user interface designer is responsible for creating designs that users feel comfortable and enjoy interacting with, a UX designer ensures that they are designed in the most efficient way for the mindset of the respective user.

So no matter what role you plan to take on, it's important to learn how closely these roles are related and how they work together for best productivity.

So in the development process, it's the UX designer who decides how the user interface works while the UI designer decides how the user interface looks.

As it is a collaborative effort, the two design teams work closely together in building the product's experience and interface.

As the UX team is working out the flow of the app, how do all of the buttons navigate you through your tasks? That's their addition of navigational thought.

And also, while the interface efficiently serves up the information which the user needs, the UI team is working on how all of these interface elements will appear visually on the user's screen.

Let's say at some point in the design process it's decided that extra buttons need to be added to a given screen.

This addition of thought will now change how the buttons will need to be organized and could require changing their shape or size.

The UX team would determine the best way to layout the buttons while the UI teams adapt their designs to fit the new layout.

Constant communication and collaboration between UI and UX designers help to assure that the final user interface looks as good as it can, while also operating efficiently and intuitively.

The importance of research in UI and UX Design

Intensive and detailed research is vital for both UI and UX designers.

It's important for both disciplines to gather as much good information as possible to assist them in crafting appropriate designs, and both follow a similar approach.

Both departments will have different surveys (like Super Importance of Conducting Stakeholder Interviews in UX ) to research what their users want.

User Interface Design and User Experience Design involve very different skill sets, but they are integral to each other's success.

A beautiful design cannot save any kind of interface that appears to be clunky and is confusing for the user to navigate.

Similarly, a brilliant, perfectly appropriate user experience can be sunk by a bad visual interface design that makes using the app unpleasant.

Both UI and UX designs need to be flawlessly executed and perfectly aligned with pre-existing user expectations to create an excellent user interface/experience.

And when those stars align the results can be astounding.

User Experience Design is considered a universal application because it determines the user's reactions and comfort when interacting with an application.

On the other hand, User Interface Design is an integral component of the User Experience that enables users to visually interact with a product and make the first impression.

It is important that we understand here that designing a beautiful application, website or any other product is not enough to guarantee the success of its principle and working.

However, the UX design of the product addresses these concerns as well as various other factors that influence user loyalty.

Although the field of user experience design and user interface design will no doubt continue to evolve, it's important to understand the vital role each profession plays in the wider realm of human-centered design.

In any way and at any level, the evolution will have the ultimate goal of catering- User Satisfaction!

What do you think about our take on the difference between UX and UI design, and how they work together?

Click right away if you have missed out to read Part I (What is User Interface and User Experience? How UX is Not UI? ) and Part II (What are UI and UX? Discover the Relationship & Difference Between The Two ) of our series 'What are UI and UX?'.