With technological progress, we can see new job titles coming out every day. New professions like organ designers and drone pilots are swiftly becoming a common thing. UX and UI design have become buzzwords of the recent years, but unfortunately, there is still a lot of confusion and “spammy” information around these popular topics.

People interested in entering these disciplines commonly get confused with what each of these terms implies. In this article, we would like to give you a brief explanation of UX and UI practices and explain why it might be the right fit for you.

Difference between UX/UI

User Experience Design (UX) and User Interface Design (UI) run very closely together, but take different parts and roles in the designing process. Ideally in the product creation UX design goes first with analytical and measuring tasks; UI goes after, adding all the visual features and technical assets to the product.

Explanation of UX

The term "UX" first appeared in the acclaimed UX design expert Donald Norman’s book, The Design of Everyday Things, which was first published in 1988; later the term was brought to a wider knowledge in the mid-1990s.

To understand what UX is about, we recommend you to see this video of the Guru.

We can comprehend the concerns of Don Norman; however, in the world of emerging tech, Virtual Reality and the Internet of Things, the work of UX and UI designers becomes mostly digital-focused.

User experience design is the practice of designing a website, app or service so that the user can easily achieve the desired outcome and has a positive experience. As a user, if you can’t find an item or a button on the website, you just close the tab. What does it mean? It means that the business has just lost a client.

Explanation of UI

User interfaces are an access point where users interact with the product; it can be a screen of an app, touch screen of the new hi-tech microwave or even an interactive robot.

Therefore, User Interface (UI) design is the process of making these interfaces with a focus on looks or style.

UI designers are dealing with how people see and perceive things. After UX part is done and there is an experience that works, UI part steps in. With the use of graphic design and typography, the designer improves its usability and makes it more aesthetically appealing. In this job, you can express your artistic side by creating beautiful interfaces, branding assets, and illustrations. Nevertheless, you still need to focus on creating an intuitive design and think of the technical constraints.

We explain in much more detail all the steps, design processes and tools in our UX/UI Bootcamp from Barcelona Code School.

So what is best for me?

UX and UI design are complementary disciplines that one can’t exist without another. The same happens in the labor market where it is essential to know how both of these disciplines work. If you are artistically minded and technical you will be a perfect UI designer; nevertheless, you still need to have a proper understanding of how user experience design works and what are the needs of your user. The same happens on the other side - social and analytical genius UX designer needs to comprehend the UI constraints and technical aspects of the product.

That is why in Barcelona Code School we offer an intensive UX/UI Bootcamp for the students that want to start their career from zero or either improve their professional skills. Such courses help you learn both fields from every aspect, identify your strong competitive skills and enter the professional world full of adventures.