UI vs UX
Often times than not, words UI and UX are used interchangeably, and that used to be acceptable few years back. But now, with the rapid advances in computational technologies and the high penetration of the mobile market, have forced us to come out of the closet and use these terms more precisely than ever. In fact, in today’s context, we can’t use UI and UX interchangeably. For those of you who are wondering what the hell is UI and UX; UI = User Interface and UX = User Experience. These are two completely different things. User Interface concerns the actual elements that interact with the user. For instance, this can be physical and technical methods of input and output. In layman’s terms, this can be considered as the interface a user is using. On the contrary, UI doesn’t concern the way user reacts with the system; or the way user remembers the system and the way he will be reusing it. That is where UX comes in to play.
User Experience is basically a cognitive state where the user becomes intimate with a user interface and remembers what kind of experience he had with it. After all, the good will we have about something is generated from the experience we have with that, and that is what User Experience addresses. UI is a tool we can utilize in order to generate a pleasant user experience for the user enabling us to create an inspiring memory in his mind about the UI. So it is imperative that we learn to use these words correctly for you may well get in to trouble if you use them interchangeably. For instance, if you are going for an interview for the position of a designer and your interviewer asks you a question about UI and UX, your career will be over if you misinterpret the question.
UI vs UX
• UI is basically concerned with the way user interacts with the inputs and outputs of a certain interface and how the elements are laid out etc. while UX is concerned about how a user remembers his experience with a certain UI, how will he reuse it and whether the memory he has about that UI is pleasant and inspiring.
• UI is basically a tool that can be utilized to create an inspiring UX in the minds of the customer.
• If an analogy is to be used; UX can be considered as the experience when your surfboard glide through the waves effortlessly while the UI can be considered as the shape of the board, the weight of the board and the build of the board etc. that aids to glide the surfboard effortlessly.
• UI is only one element in the broad scope of generating an inspiring UX.
Conclusion
User Experience is a powerful art that needs to be exploited daily by the design engineers in fast moving consumer markets. UI is one strong tool that can be utilized to generate a strong user experience, but we need to differentiate between these two and understand that user experience encloses a lot more than just the UI design.