Any website design company can’t do without user experience and user interface design while the web development process. Though being two crucial elements in web projecting and frequently interchangeable, they have radically different purposes at their core. For novice web designers, understanding such a distinction is decisive in building overall web design knowledge, mastering required skills, and immersing into the UX and UI world.
So in this guide, we will cover the difference between UX and UI design in detail and the essence of each component separately. Plus, it’s worth figuring out how they impact website carbon footprint.
Table of Contents
UX Design Concept
UX design means the end user’s interaction with a product/service. To be more precise, UX for developers stands for the process of crafting products or services that ensure an important experience for users. Commonly, it involves various product development points like general functionality, adaptability, usability, branding, and, of course, design.
The perfect way to generate a high-quality UX design is to explore the entire user web journey while interacting with specific products/services. The critical here is how users come across the product – via ads, blogs, social media, etc. No less essential is to identify the interaction type with the brand and how consumers feel after that.
Reaching a positive user experience from a product/service interaction forms the main UX designer goal. Whether such an interplay offers solutions to problems, enable entertainment or aid in finding required info, it has to give users total fulfillment.
UI Design Meaning
When it comes to UI designing, it’s a bit narrower notion than the previous one. First, it mainly concentrates on the product’s look and features. Next, UI developers work on the visual outline, frequently based on mockups and wireframes provided by the UX team.
Although UI specialists first take care of how the product looks like, they never neglect the UX component. Creating efficient user experiences stands fundamental for the vast array of project patterns. Their primary task is to involve people in a certain way to turn interactions more intuitively understandable and, eventually, simplify digital product usage.
So even when the UI team doesn’t consciously target user experience, numerous established design patterns application will do their toll. That way, UI development may considerably assist the website design company in attaining a potent UX.
How do UX and UI Designs Differ?
As UX and UI developers cooperate tightly, user experience and user interface often show a confusing issue. It happens even when they introduce completely different product/service design elements. However, regardless of their partial role overlap, there is a considerable difference between UX and UI design. So let’s clarify the main distinguishing points.
- Appearance vs. Perception
Regarding UI design, product appearance plays an essential role, namely, its visual filling and interactive components that encourage intense user experience. Meanwhile, the UX designing cornerstone is the overarching product or service perception and all their elements leading to substantial, relevant UX.
- Design vs. Mocking-Up
Even though UX and UI experts can develop the same product, they pursue various responsibilities and purposes. For example, the UX team frequently crafts wireframes and prototypes that put the basis of the site or service user traffic. Whereas the UI team completes the work and designs that encourage user exposure.
- Proficiency vs. Detalization
Another significant distinction stands in the detalization level throughout the working process of UX and UI developers. Ensuring individual pages or various buttons and interactions function properly belongs to daily UI experts’ duties. At the same time, UX designers consider the product or service at a more advanced level. They check the full implementation and consistency of the site/service/ app’s collective user stream.
UX vs. UI Designer Job Description
UX Developer Tasks & Responsibilities
The UX team often does the bulk of their work at the entry product design stage. The UX for developers commonly implies:
- Studying customers’ needs and prospects’ behaviors in-depth; carrying out user research analysis and testing usability to make sure all designs suit business requirements and user preferences
- Based-on-data user journeys creation and evaluation
- Building the project outcomes to demonstrate user experience, along with prototypes, user flows, storyboards and wireframes
- Cooperating with adjacent teams to attain feedback and incorporate development solutions together
- Keeping abreast of the competitor market and niche trends
Required UX Designer Skills
- Impeccable trouble-shooting skills and UX and interaction design awareness
- Relevant design education or related disciplines qualification (sometimes equivalent field experience is suitable)
- Mastery of industry UX design tools according to the standards
- Flawless communication and presentation skills
- Aptitude to cooperate with stakeholders and create lasting relationships
- Available volumed portfolio of high-quality works
UI Developer Tasks & Responsibilities
UI specialists usually start the product crafting process after the UX team has made relevant wireframes and prototypes. They are generally liable for the below-mentioned:
- Enabling the brand’s creative expression on different products and platforms
- Gathering and assessing user needs in collaboration with UX developers, engineers and managers
- Projecting graphic UI components and elements
- Generating unique graphic sketches and images
- Creating on-page navigation buttons and search rows
- Illustrating design concepts using sitemaps and storyboards
- Making UI layouts and prototypes to showcase the site’s potential look and functioning
- Implementation of the based on the feedback mock-up adjustments
- Aiding in a UI style guide development and support
Required UI Designer Skills
- Strong knowledge of visual design fundamentals, namely color theory and topography
- Being aware of interaction design and UX rules
- Impeccable communication skills with an emphasis on storytelling
- Ability to efficiently work as a part of incredibly collaborative teams
- Relevant graphic design/UI design qualification or related disciplines education like visual communication
- High detail attentiveness
UX & UI Design Command Work
People usually wonder what is better to opt for UX or UI. The truth is they both are vital during digital design and complement each other. Plus, sometimes, the same designer works on the UX and UI. It is especially commonplace in startup design teams that have a limited budget.
If UI designers have no data giving an insight into what the user strives to get from the product, they may only hope to craft visually attractive designs. But there is no warranty that the audience will utilize it.
Meanwhile, UX developers who solely target users’ needs without no taking care of the overall product aesthetics are likely to create less compelling and usable products than competitors.
Now, having clarified everything connected to UX & UI in detail, it’s time to trace the interconnection between them and the Website Carbon footprint. So let’s learn what the carbon footprint is and how UX/UI design may come in handy there.
The Essence of Carbon Footprint
Every web action, including site interactions, ends in electricity usage. This energy relates to your site as well as to the visitors’ ones. This is how the carbon footprint appears. Digital technologies and the Internet are two massive machines polluting the environment due to the amount of electricity consumed.
Luckily, there is a way out, and we may change the course of events. From the UX and UI perspective, decreasing website carbon footprint is possible with the following actions.
- Images and Videos Size Reduce
It goes without saying that visuals form the critical component of the site. However, the more images you utilize and the larger the files’ size put, the more substantial energy is used. You don’t have to publish extra sharp images sized in a few MBs. Instead, just ensure they are sufficiently visible to inform what they are about.
Moreover, sizeable visuals are the key reason for slow-loading pages negatively affecting user experience and SEO. So, perform the proper size and format images export and compress them to lessen their weight.
The same concerns on-page videos. Since you can’t apply a plugin for compressing, download already-compressed videos. It would be perfect if you could avoid posting videos on the site at all and attach in-built linkings from video hosting channels.
- Blocking Bots and Unnecessary Traffic
Much Internet traffic takes bots activity. The most effective practice will be to determine bots that bring no value and block their access to the site. Then, tell your server not to respond to bots while they request it. Thus, you will considerably save energy, leaving a slight Website Carbon footprint.
Still, how to block bots? The easiest way is to check your server log for suspicious activity and block the specific IPs where strange traffic comes from. You may also resort to bot management solutions.
- Making the Site Technically Lean
UI directly relates to the site’s technical filling, so it’s better to simplify all tech elements at most. In the long run, not only will it boost UX design, but it can incredibly cut down on carbon footprint. So what does it take? First, work on the code’s cleanness and simplicity, including keeping away from duplications. Besides, eliminate installing needless plugins that add extra weight to the site.
If your website design company utilizes a WordPress site, you may apply plugins for cleaning up HTML/CSS files. The good news is that they don’t change codes, but delete waste things like redundant spacing.
Of course, all these recommendations are only small steps to save energy. However, every small effort matters and influences the overall picture. So sticking to the tips above within the UX and UI framework, there is a high chance of reducing carbon footprint to the minimum.
