When the word design is heard, art comes to mind most times but it is expedient to note that while the two seem to have incontestable similarities, they are worlds apart. Art and design take into consideration creating things which are appealing to the eye. However, while art produce works that are appreciated primarily for their aesthetic appeal, design tends to revolve around creating products aimed at solving problems. It could be said that design is art with a function.
A design is a plan or specification for the implementation of an activity or process, in the form of a prototype, product or process which satisfies certain goals and constraints and takes into account, aesthetic, functional, economic, or socio-political considerations, and is expected to interact with a certain environment. — Wikipedia
Every project that involves helping other people understand something is a problem or challenge that requires designers to provide usable, accessible and inclusive solutions for. If there is no ‘clearly defined’ problem to solve, a designer might produce visually beautiful products that will lack intention or function.
The kind of designer you are depends on the kind of problems you solve.
Fashion designers solve clothing related problems, Packaging designers solve product differentiation problems, web designers solve user and business related issues and you know the rest. However, our main focus for today is one of the fields of design that relates technology, business and design — UI/UX.
User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) design is an aspect of design that’s gaining prominence in the design field, specifically in the tech industry. However, while the concept of User Interface (UI) is limited to the creation of digital solutions, UX is not.
Difference between UI and UX
It’s going to be a long ride, fasten your seat belts!
User Interface (UI) design, as the name implies, is concerned with the look and feel of a ‘digital’ product and how aesthetically pleasing, consistent and cohesive it is. It is assumed that a more aesthetically pleasing product is easier to use. This is known as the Aesthetic — usability effect. A UI designer’s job includes but not limited to creating an intuitive interface that doesn’t require users to think too much!
Whenever you encounter an application that leaves you feeling the way you feel about page A, know that it has a poorly designed UI.
User Experience (UX) design is concerned with the overall experience a user should have with a product which ensures that a product (not necessarily digital) flows logically from one step to another. A UX designer’s job includes but not limited to creating designs that are easy to use by users to accomplish tasks.
imagine clicking on the Login button in step 1 and getting the step 2 pop-up. Now, that’s not a logical flow of steps. It’s pretty much a poor UX design!
Another example of a poor UX in a non-digital product could be putting up a push/pull signage on a sliding door! Diligently carrying out the instruction on the signage will definitely leave people feeling frustrated.
Relationship between UI and UX
UI is the saddle, the stirrups, & the reins. UX is the feeling you get being able to ride the horse.” — Dain Miller
For a solution to be considered good, it needs to have good UI and UX design. How?
Ema had a tiring workout session and was really thirsty. She wished she had a bottle to take water with her to the gym every day. This thought was shortly interrupted by the sight of a lovely pink bottle seated on one of the shelves in a shop nearby. Pink was her favorite color and having the bottle would solve her problem, buying that bottle seemed like a great deal and she went over to the shop.
The foul smell that filled the air when she opened the bottle was enough for anyone to throw it far away. The reason for the stench is beyond this scope but I’m sure you know what I’m driving at now. The ‘lovely pink bottle’ can be likened to the UI of the bottle while the UX is the feeling that comes from being able to drink water from the bottle. In this case, a good UI + bad UX = A bad solution, hence the reason why Ema didn’t buy that bottle. Now imagine the bottle was originally dusty but was safe to drink from. There’s a high chance Ema wouldn’t have gotten to the point of opening of the bottle as it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing. This sends an underlying message that the bottle isn’t safe to drink from (even when it’s sparkling clean on the inside). In this case, a bad UI + good UX = A bad solution, hence the reason why Ema wouldn’t buy the bottle.
UI and UX should work hand in hand and your job as a UI/UX designer is to ensure your product has both good UI and UX design.
Some principles of UI/UX design
Usability: Your designs should be easy to use by all specified users to accomplish tasks with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction.
Accessibility: Your designs should be usable by users of all abilities. This is mostly overlooked by a lot of designers but it is your responsibility as a designer to make sure you design in a way that is usable to all users irrespective of their situation, abilities or context. This means that your design needs to be accessible to people with disabilities too.
Hierarchy: Your product should show the importance of each page/ screen’s contents by manipulating these characteristics: Size, Color, Proximity, Alignment, Repetition and Whitespace. The average user tends to “scan” the entire content of a screen (nobody really reads everything on a page), hence the need to arrange or present elements in a way that implies importance and influences the order in which the human eye perceives what it sees.
Inclusion: Inclusive design, also called universal design is based on the simple principle that designing for the widest range of people creates better designs and benefits everyone. Your product has to be usable by everyone, regardless of age, ability and circumstance. For example, A divorced shouldn’t have to choose between ‘Married’ and ‘Single’ because a designer failed to be include 'divorced' in the ‘marital status’ form field options.
Designers shouldn’t disregard edge-cases. Your designs shouldn’t be limited to a certain set of people, let your work make room for the silenced ones. There is an unconscious bias innate in humans but this can be removed by networking with people from different backgrounds, asking lots of questions and striving to know your audience!
Do not forget that designers never stop learning.
