Tech 101: UX Versus UI—What’s the Difference?

Tech 101: UX Versus UI—What’s the Difference?

An Easy-to-Understand Guide on User Experience versus User Interface Design

Introduction

User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design are two rising stars in the tech industry. As digital products become more integrated into our everyday lives, demand has exploded for professionals who can create intuitive, aesthetically-pleasing digital experiences.

But if you’re new to the world of tech and design, deciphering the exact difference between UX and UI can be confusing. While the two fields overlap in some areas, at their core UX and UI require different skillsets and fulfill different roles.

This beginner’s guide will decode the mystery between these buzzwords by explaining:

• The distinct definitions of UX and UI
• The day-to-day responsibilities of UX and UI designers
• Average salaries in each field
• How to choose the right career path

Let’s get started!

What’s the Difference Between UX and UI?

First things first – what exactly do “user experience” and “user interface” mean? Let’s break it down.

What is User Experience (UX) Design?

UX design refers to the process of improving the interactions between a user and a product. The "product" could be a website, mobile app, or other digital platform.

UX designers focus on understanding user behaviors, needs, and motivations through research techniques. They use the data collected to improve the product’s usability, ease of use, perception, and pleasure provided during interaction. The goal is designing products that solve users' problems and provide a stress-free, enjoyable experience.

Some examples of UX design include making a complicated checkout process simple or tweaking a website layout to help users find information faster. The changes may not be obvious but improve the overall experience substantially over time.

What is User Interface (UI) Design?

While UX focuses on the function of a product, UI brings visual aesthetic and style to the equation. UI design concentrates squarely on crafting visually-appealing, intuitive interfaces for users to interact with.

UI designers build the elements users see and physically touch to make a product work. This includes site pages, buttons, dropdown menus, form fields, and similar elements. UI designers enhance usability through clean layouts, cohesive color schemes, typography choices, and more.

If UX design is the skeleton of a product, UI design brings it fully to life with visual "skin." If UX is brain surgery, UI is a face lift.

Summary of UX vs. UI

So in summary,

• UX = User Experience. Focuses on improving interactions between the user and product through research, testing, analysis, and presenting solutions that meet the user's needs and solve problems.

• UI = User Interface. Brings visual elements, layout, and navigation components together through an intuitive and aesthetically-pleasing interface design.

UX and UI go hand in hand to create products that both function excellently AND engage users visually. Products need both elements to succeed.

What Do UX and UI Designers Do?

Now that you understand the theory behind UX and UI, what do designers in these fields actually do day-to-day? Let's compare some primary responsibilities.

UX Research

UX researchers connect directly with target users to gain insight on behaviors, needs, and pain points. Common UX research techniques include:

• Personas – Fictional profiles representing user groups that describe their demographics, goals, values, and pain points in detail. Personas help shape design decisions and product features tailored specifically to those archetypes.

• Journey maps – A visualized storyboard showing how groups of users interact with a product to reach certain goals. Journey maps shed light on how products can solve user problems across the entire customer lifecycle.

• Usability testing – Bringing real users in to test a product firsthand. Researchers observe sessions, gather feedback on what worked or felt confusing, and pinpoint areas for improvement.

The data gleaned from research techniques guides strategic UX decisions around problem areas to tackle, product improvements to make, and new features to implement.

UI Information Architecture

On the flip side, UI designers focus less on research and more on designing a product’s visual interface elements. Common UI design tasks include:

Navigation and layout – Determining where menus, buttons, clickable elements, logo, and branding reside in an interface visually and functionally through intuitive, aesthetically-pleasing layouts.

Wireframing – Creating a skeletal blueprint of a product's page structure, interface elements, and site architecture before developing visuals.

Prototyping – Building an interactive model of a product to demonstrate functionality, layout options, and design system.

Visual design – Applying graphic elements like typography, color schemes, imagery, and more to bring the interface and overall brand to life visually.

The goal is crafting intuitive navigation and eye-catching web and mobile UI designs that reinforce a seamless user experience.

What Are UX and UI Designer Salaries?

With an understanding of what UX and UI professionals do daily, you may be wondering what these roles earn. The growing demand for both positions also means healthy salaries.

Market Demand

User-centric design has become indispensable for modern companies building digital products and experiences. UX design was named #24 out of 50 best jobs in America for 2022 by Glassdoor, while UI design made an appearance at #41.

As products continue evolving quickly, UX and UI designers help companies improve experiences, stand out from competitors, and grow their customer bases through stellar design.

This influx of demand is evidenced by positive job growth. Glassdoor listings include:

• 3,000+ open UX designer roles
• 4,000+ open UI designer roles

Clearly, no shortage exists of opportunities in either field.

Salary Potential

With high demand also comes impressive salaries. Glassdoor indicates that as of 2022:

• The average UX designer salary is $116,857 per year
• The average UI designer salary is $93,529 per year

Salaries often rise along with experience and specialization. Senior-level and expert designers can potentially earn upwards of $150-200K+ per year.

For creative positions, UX and UI design pay handsomely compared to salaries for graphic designers, fine artists, copywriters, and similar roles. Tech design skills open new doors to earn what you're worth.

UX or UI: Which Career Path Is Right For You?

If you're sold on breaking into the well-compensated world of UX and UI, a final question remains: which job fits my background and interests best?

To recap, here is a quick compare and contrast:

UX

• Focuses more on problem-solving
• Heavy research component
• Empathizing with users
• Evaluating user data and behavior
• Optimizing and iterating
• A bit more analytical

UI

• Focuses on visual creative design
• Crafts branding, layouts, navigation, interfaces
• Embraces graphic communication
• More tools and software intensive
• Enhances aesthetics and styling
• A bit more graphical

In a nutshell:

UX = Researches and strategizes

UI = Visualizes and creates

When deciding between pursuing UX compared to UI, reflect on your own background and strengths. Ask yourself:

• Do I enjoy qualitative research, data, and analytics?
• Am I strong at problem-solving and project management?
• Do visual design and animation excite me more?
• Am I comfortable learning new design software and tools?

Be honest about which parts energize you. Or, if both areas pique your interest equally, consider pursuing a hybrid UX/UI role where you can exercise a range of skills.

With the basics down about understanding UX compared to UI, you’re ready to start mapping your next career moves in tech and design. These growing fields reward those eager to evolve as technology and user needs advance. Stay nimble and customer-centric, and you’ll possess prized abilities in the digital era.

For even more guidance launching your user design career, explore CareerFoundry’s UX Design Program. Our expert-led online bootcamp includes real-world project experience to set you up for success from day one. Get additional details!