With the improvement of digital platforms today, the importance of UX and UI is growing, and so most people are wondering what UX and UI are, what features they have, and how they differ from each other. In this article, we will address the key aspects of UX and UI, which are invaluable in designs, by answering relevant questions.

 Although UX and UI design have different functions, they are interrelated and complementary. Both concepts must be constantly updated. We will try to explain and explain what the UX and UI design is and what the differences are, covering many elements from the content to the colors to be used. 

In general, UX (User Experience) is a user experience, whether it is the design and development work performed by companies to ensure continuous customer satisfaction or for users. UI (User Interface) means a user interface which are designs that aim to create a longer, more quality interaction by giving the right directions to internet users. Let's take a look at what UX and UI designs cover and the differences between them.

UX Design

User experience (UX) covers all user interactions in design from A to Z. That is, we are talking about all the good, bad or interesting experiences that the user has in the process of interaction. UX, which has a wide range of coverage, can be formed from data obtained from user tests. UX establishes user interactions about where, when and how the details to be included in the design will occur.

 We can say that spending time on the website without getting bored and having fun is the result of the details in the UX design process. The UX design decides which button is where.

 The fact that people are more right-handed, read text from left to right or notice more light colors are just a few of the details considered in the UX design process.

 UX design focuses on the user experience of a product or service used in everyday life and includes every factor that shapes the user experience, how the user feels and the operations they want to perform.

 The goal of many digital product developers is to enhance the user experience. Ensuring easy use and ensuring that visitors enjoy the product in the simplest way is to create a kind of customer satisfaction that can be achieved with a good user experience design. No matter how much we try to describe the user experience by choosing the right words, it is almost impossible to eliminate uncertainty in this area. Because the user experience is actually a process based on trial and error. No designer can know how to use a product without testing it. For this reason, UX designers often work on several designs. That is, after discovering more than one design, they open each of them for use, and after receiving feedback, they decide which design is better.

 UX design, which is an important decision mechanism for the fate of the relationship between users and companies, can be applied to almost any product or product detail. A good UX design can turn a potential customer into an existing customer very quickly, and bad designs can cause you to lose them all. We can say that these designs, which are included in the market research processes of companies, are based on analysis and testing to satisfy both companies and customers.

What does UX Designer do?

UX designers conduct market research, product development, strategy, and design work to create a good user experience for a product or service. They build a bridge between the customer and the product, helping the company better understand and meet needs and expectations. UX designers strive to make their products, services, and technology as user-friendly and accessible as possible. In doing so, they reconcile the user's wishes with the business. UX designer mainly uses programs such as MindManager, MockPlus, SmartDraw, UserTesting, Microsoft Visio, InVision.

UI Design

The user interface (UI) deals with interfaces in design, i.e external design. All appearance-related designs are related to the UI design. At this point, you can mix it with UX, but there is a subtle difference. UX deals with user interaction with a design based on user experience. The UI is more about design appeal than user interaction. In other words, UX is related to our perceptions and UI is related to our vision.

 Thanks to the UI design, all the buttons are in place. The “search bar”, “Contact” section, “About” section or gallery are placed in the most attractive way in the UI design process.

 We can say that UX actually includes a UI design. User interaction and experience, which are important for UX design, are also taken into account when dealing with where the search engine or our About section will look best. For example, if we take a bag used by both women and men, the size, shape and appearance of the chain are related to the UI. Where it will be more useful and what color will be preferred depends on the UX.

 All of the visual designs used to ensure that the user can easily navigate the website, easily access the information they are looking for, and stay on the site for a long time thanks to this convenience are UIs. Formal orientation improvements, aesthetic details and everything related to appearance belong to the UI design. Graphic elements such as page structure, buttons, images, lines, colors are part of the UI design.

What does UI Designer do?

The UI designer composes the site navigation, user interface type or product type in a completely intuitive way, trying to achieve its goals without confusing the user. It focuses on all elements such as interface and typography, color scheme and pattern. UI designers spend a lot of time designing interfaces using tools like Sketch, Figma, and Photoshop to create diagrams and boards. They also perform UI tests to make sure the product meets the specifications. The most important aspect of a good UI designer is to understand the customer. Through ongoing research activities, they learn what makes the customer happy, what problems they are trying to solve, and what solutions are most important. UI design is seriously about aesthetics, and the goal of a UI designer is to satisfy the customer. Examples of programs used by UI designers include Adobe XD, Sketch, Gravity Design, Affinity Designer, Figma, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN UX AND UI

UX and UI, which should not be separated for successful design, but should be included in the design process as a whole, can sometimes be confused with each other. Therefore, it is necessary to touch upon the unique features and differences of UX and UI designs, to eliminate the question marks in the minds of those interested.

 The UI embodies the digital stages, while the UX focuses on user behavior and keeps them separate from the digital world, but still tests them in the digital environment. The UI focuses on the visuals of the design, taking into account how the relevant design will look in the user's eyes. UX, on the other hand, builds on how the user interacts with the design rather than the visuals. Based on these differences, it can be said that UX is a broader concept that encompasses the UI. In other words, UX is abstract and UI gives concrete results.

 • UX design deals with user interaction. The UI is interested in how the design will seem to the user.

• Success for UX design is how many customers it attracts. Success for the UI is how pleasing and beautiful it looks to the eye.

• Tests can be used in UX design, but not in UI designs.

• UX is more related to human psychology.

• Although the UX design process prefers to be knowledgeable on topics such as psychology and sociology, the UI design process prefers to have sufficient knowledge of web design.

• UX design is a process of developing and improving the quality of interaction between all digital faces of the company and the user.

• The UI design theme is the best way to transfer all the powerful visual assets of your brand or business to the interfaces.

• Tests, developments, research and content issues to achieve quality results are included in the scope of UX design.

• UI design allows the user to have an interactive orientation on any platform related to your business.

• The successful transfer of non-digital experiments to the digital world is, in short, the subject of UX design.

History of UX Design

Learning the history of UX design helps to understand the basic principles. Although the term UX was first used by Don Norman in the 1990s, it was not long ago. UX design is based on the ancient Chinese Feng Shui philosophy from 4000 BC. There is also evidence that in the early fifth century BCE, ancient Greek civilizations designed tools and workplaces based on ergonomic principles. The widespread use of UX design began in the late 19th century when great thinkers such as Frederick Winslow Taylor and Henry Ford integrated their experiences and design principles into production processes.

 The history of UI design is a broad topic as it is directly related to graphic design and will be covered in our next blog posts.