What is User Interface (UI) Design?

We all judge everything by the way it looks. That is why it won’t be a surprise that when it comes to website design, the biggest part of potential clients makes a decision on whether to stay on the resource or not, based on the first impression from it. And such processes as UX UI design services cope with this issue. Hence, to inspire users to stay on the site, these matters should be paid great attention to.

In this article, we will discover the essence of UI design, how it differs from UX design, and study the tips on how to get the interface that will work in your favor.

Table of Contents

What is UI design?

User Interface design is the process that deals with the way site visitors communicate with a digital product or service. The main goal of UI design is to develop an effective and alluring appearance of the interface: menu, search, filtering on the site, and other elements. Therefore, the UI must be catchy, meet up-to-date standards and trends, and at the same time remain convenient and logical. In addition, the latest point mentioned is truly vital as work on the UI design presupposes not just the creation of beautiful icons, but these components should immediately enable the clients to understand what function they perform.

As a matter of fact, there are three basic forms of UI design:

Graphical user interface

Graphical user interface (GUI) denotes the visual design of buttons, menus, control panels, and every element the users interact with. A computer’s desktop or smart phone interface is the brightest example of this type.

Voice-controlled interface

Voice-controlled interface (VUI), as the name suggests, is an interface in which, to initiate an action, clients should use their voice. Recently, as the aspect of accessibility is becoming more and more topical, such UIs are becoming more and more popular. Siri, created by Apple, is VUI.

Gesture-based interface

Gesture-based interface is an interface, in which user gestures affect actions that occur on the screen. Virtual reality games can be an excellent example of this format.

Each of these UIs has its own set of limitations. Therefore, to provide users with the most convenient experience of interacting with a site, application, or program, it is essential to study all the components of the desired interface in detail.

Once we are acquainted with the basics of UI design, it’s high time to learn what user experience design stands for.

UI vs. UX design

UI and UX are terms that are often confused, and it is hardly surprising as both of these concepts are closely connected. Nevertheless, it’s crucial to understand their difference. Hence, now, to work out all the doubts and get a clear idea of these designs, we would like to find out what distinguishes them from each other.

As we have already explored, the UI deals with the visual side of the interface. That is, devoted specialists are engaged in the development of the appearance of the resource. They think over colors, fonts, icons, and other visual elements. The users can observe the results of their work immediately when they open a website or application.

At the same time, UX designers are involved in making the resource user-friendly. So, they design the architecture and plan the location of all elements on the page: menus, buttons, icons, and so on. Compared to the UI design, users do not literally “see” the work of these professionals, however, they feel it, for example, when searching for any information on the site. And if this search process does not cause any difficulties, then we can state that the UX design has been carried out correctly.

Even though UX and UI design focus on different things, they have one common goal: to make digital products convenient and appealing. And this is what any resource owner should strive for, isn’t it?

Tips for making impeccable UI design

Keep it simple

In the context of digital projects, simplicity presupposes that the project is easy to comprehend and interact with. Therefore, when dealing with the interface design, there is no need to complicate anything so that every website component is as clear and logical as possible. That is, any action you expect users to take should not make them spend much time and effort. Moreover, the UI design should slightly and invisibly guide them.

Take care of consistency

When it comes to web design, it is crucial not to confuse the users and introduce identical elements (buttons, phrases, etc.) throughout all the pages. Otherwise, site visitors may wonder whether messages of diverse structures have similar meanings or not. In other words, clients should be sure that a button, link, or any other interactive element will always lead them to the same outcome.

Do not forget about predictability

When working on their website design, to stand out from the rest, many companies try to create something extraordinary and even groundbreaking. And here, it may cause various problems as long as while going across the resource, people expect to understand what to do (what to click on) intuitively. And if they fail, they may get puzzled and leave the site.

On a final note

The time when brands developed websites only to ensure their presence online has long passed. And now, such aspects as UX and UI design are gaining momentum.

Therefore, each detail of the resource: from its performance to aesthetics, should be carefully thought out. Otherwise, the site might not perform its primary functions, which are about grabbing and retaining the attention of potential clients, making them take targeted actions (place an order, subscribe, make a purchase, etc.), winning their loyalty, and more.

In this article, we revealed what UI and UX design stands for and what makes a perfect user interface. We hope that you have found this guideline helpful and beneficial and that while working on this matter you will face no difficulties. However, if you wish to delegate this issue to real professionals, you can turn to digital design agencies that offer various UI design services. This way, you may be certain that the project will operate smoothly and flawlessly.