What is the difference between UI and UX design? What skills do they each require, and which pays more? Learn all about two of the most important design disciplines in this guide.
It’s impossible to learn, read, or hear about UI and UX design without asking yourself: What’s the difference between the two? Perhaps you’ve also wondered why the terms often appear together as one single discipline (UI/UX design).
You’ve got questions, and we’ve written this guide to answer them. Let’s put an end to the confusion that is UI vs. UX!
Contents:
- 1) UI vs. UX design: What’s the difference?
- 2) How do UI and UX design overlap?
- 3) What’s the difference between a UX designer and a UI designer?
- 4) UI vs. UX design: What skills do they each require?
- 5) UI vs. UX design: Which pays more?
- 6) How to choose between a career in UX design, UI design, or a hybrid role
- 7) What's next
UI vs. UX Design - Difference Between the Two
UI design stands for ‘user interface design’, while UX design stands for ‘user experience design.’ One focuses on the design of digital product interfaces; the other entails designing the entire experience a user has with a product or service.
That’s the first difference between ui and ux design—but, if you’re new to the field, that might not make much sense right now. Let’s explain what each term means before comparing their differences.
What is UX design?
UX design is the design of user experiences. These experiences are shaped by how the user interacts with a product or service, and whether or not it’s an enjoyable, smooth, easy-to-navigate endeavor.
The purpose of UI design is to create products and services that solve a specific problem for a specific user group. This might be designing an app that helps people to track their food intake and make sure they’re hitting their dietary goals (e.g. getting enough vitamins, protein, and fiber each day). It could also apply to designing a service or a process—for example, designing a more efficient way for people to order and collect medication from their local pharmacy.
UX design applies to anything that can be experienced by an end user. So, although it’s usually associated with digital products, it isn’t limited to websites and apps.
What is UI design?
UI design is the design of digital interfaces. A digital interface is the medium (the ‘surface’) that humans use to interact with computers and digital products. It contains visual, auditory, and functional elements that the user interacts with in order to navigate websites, apps, and technological devices (like a smartphone or smartwatch).
The purpose of UI design is to provide human users with all the touchpoints they need to work a digital product and complete their chosen tasks. It is to ensure that the product interface is both functional and aesthetically well-designed. This includes designing color schemes, typography, buttons and icons, and considering the hierarchical layout of each page or screen. Unlike UX, UI design applies strictly to digital products.
Difference Between UI and UX design
We’ve got a working definition of both UX and UI design. Now let’s outline the main differences between them.
We’ll learn more about the differences between UI and UX later on as we explore the roles of the UI and UX designer.
How Do UI and UX Design Overlap?
While it’s important to recognize UI and UX design as two separate areas of the product design process, it’s just as important to understand how they intertwine.
Both UI and UX design are user-centric and concerned with ensuring usability and accessibility for human users. They both have the end goal of creating products that help people in some way and are easy and enjoyable to use.
The two disciplines support and complement each other. Successful digital products need both good UI and good UX; the user interface provides access to the user experience. One without the other is largely pointless.
3. What’s the Difference Between a UI Designer and a UX Designer?
UI and UX designers have different tasks and responsibilities. Let’s compare them side-by-side.
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UX designer |
UI designer |
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UI vs. UX Design: What Skills Do They Each Require?
Both UI and UX designers need to understand key UX principles such as usability and accessibility, and to have a natural curiosity regarding how human users behave and interact with digital products. They also share proficiency in some industry tools, such as Figma, Adobe XD, and Sketch.
Beyond that, UI and UX designers must each master a unique set of skills specific to their role in the product design process.
Among the most important UX designer skills are:
- Research and analysis
- Wireframing and prototyping
- Information architecture
Some of the most important UI designer skills include:
- Wireframing and prototyping
- Visual design (including color theory, branding, and typography)
- Interaction design
UI vs. UX Design: Which Pays More?
Now for the question of salary. Both UI and UX design are crucial aspects of the product design process, but how do they compare when it comes to pay?
It all depends on your location and the type of company you work for. But, in general, when you compare the average UX designer salary vs. the average UI designer salary, UX designers tend to earn slightly more.
In India, for example, the average UX designer salary is ₹9,00,000 compared to the average UI designer salary of ₹8,00,000 (Talent.com).
In the United States, the average UX designer salary is $1,03,136 compared to the average UI designer salary of $97,703 (Indeed).
It’s a similar story in the United Kingdom, where UX designers earn an average salary of £45,661 while the average UI designer salary is £44,840 (Indeed).
For more salary data, consult our UI designer salary guide.
UI vs. UX vs. a Hybrid Role: Which Career Path Should You Choose?
If you’re deciding whether to pursue a career in UX or UI—or to combine the two and go for a hybrid UI/UX role—the main thing to consider is how you’d most like to spend your working days.
Do you like the thought of conducting user research and delving into the behaviors and goals of your target audience? Are you keen on the idea of solving user problems and working collaboratively with a variety of business stakeholders? How about creating different UX deliverables such as personas, empathy maps, and user flows? That suggests you might be leaning toward UX.
Or are you more interested in the visual side of things? Do you relish the idea of getting hands-on with colors, typography, and icons and coming up with beautiful, functional designs? Are you a stickler for consistency and keen to play a role in shaping a product’s overall visual brand? Then it sounds like UI design is calling your name.
Perhaps you want to do both—and that’s perfectly possible, too. It’s not uncommon to see companies advertising for UI/UX designers, and there’s nothing to stop you from learning both sets of skills and landing a role that sees you executing the product design process
from end to end. To get you started on the learning journey for UI/UX, we’ve put together this guide—check it out: How To Learn UI UX Design: A Step-by-Step Guide for 2023.
You can also take a look at AND learner Aromal Jose Baby’s UI UX project to get a hang of what the role exactly entails.
Next Steps
To dive deeper into the world of UI/UX design, consider taking the following steps:
- Watch this session by Shiva Viswanathan, Design Head of Ogilvy Pennywise, and Naman Singh, Product Experience Designer at RED.
- Talk to a course advisor to discuss how you can transform your career with one of our courses.
- Pursue our UI UX Design courses - all courses are taught through live, interactive classes by industry experts, and some even offer a Job Guarantee.
- Take advantage of our scholarship and funding options to overcome any financial hurdle on the path of your career transformation.
Note: All information and/or data from external sources is believed to be accurate as of the date of publication.
