Introduction to UI/UX Design

Design is the process of envisioning and planning the creation of objects, interactive systems, buildings.etc.

User-centered Design(i.e users are at the heart of the design thinking approach. It is about creating solutions for people, physical items or more abstract systems to address a need or a problem.)

UX is User Experience

User experience design is a human-first way of designing products. Don Norman, a cognitive scientist and co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group Design Consultancy, is credited with coining the term “user experience” in the late 1990s. Here’s how he describes it:

“User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products.”

Part of the confusion might lie in the name: UX design. For many people, the word “design” is associated with creativity, colors and graphics, when really its true definition lies in functionality, as well as the process behind making products that provide a seamless experience for the people who use them.

Here are five golden UX goals to set when designing a digital experience:

• Keep text short and sweet
• Deliver constant feedback
• Consistency
• Evoke joy
• Test changes with real users

Difference between Good UX and Bad UX

UI is User Interface

• User interface design is a purely digital practice. It considers all the visual, interactive elements of a product interface — including buttons, icons, spacing, typography, color schemes, and responsive design.
• The goal of UI design is to visually guide the user through a product’s interface. It’s all about creating an intuitive experience that doesn’t require the user to think too much!
• UI design transfers the brand’s strengths and visual assets to a product’s interface, making sure the design is consistent, coherent, and aesthetically pleasing.

Both elements(UI/UX) are crucial to a product and work closely together. But despite their professional relationship, the roles themselves are quite different, referring to very different aspects of the product development process and the design discipline.

Difference between UI and UX

According to Don Norman and Jakob Nielsen they summed it up nicely that:

It’s important to distinguish the total user experience from the user interface (UI), even though the UI is obviously an extremely important part of the design. As an example, consider a website with movie reviews. Even if the UI for finding a film is perfect, the UX will be poor for a user who wants information about a small independent release if the underlying database only contains movies from the major studios.

What is Design Thinking?

Design thinking is one of many design approaches that can help product teams create designs that are more relevant, useful, and delightful. As a result, products will perform better in the marketplace, generate more revenue, and attract a larger audience. It is an approach to problem-solving that is aimed at helping teams see problems from different angles, then develop new and innovative solutions.

According to the Interaction Design Foundation, design thinking consists of five key steps:

Empathize. Research users’ needs in order to gain an empathetic understanding of their problems and needs.

Define. Clearly articulate their problems and needs in a series of problem statements.

Ideate. Look at new ways of viewing the problem and identify innovative solutions.

Prototype. Begin experimenting with prototypes of the solution.

Test. Test the prototype, learn, redefine further problems, then develop other iterations if necessary.