Nowadays, UX/UI design is a necessity for any reputable company, not just in the IT industry. UX stands for user experience, UI for user interface.
UX/UI: A definition
The term “user experience” was coined in the 1990s by Don Norman and encompasses all interactions between a user and a company, as well as its products and services, and is therefore not a term used purely in the digital environment. In the app and web sector, the term now refers to the goal of providing the user with the most pleasant experience possible and making their journey through, for example, a shopping app as easy and obstacle-free as possible.
In the app and web environment, a UI designer is primarily concerned with the look and feel and usability of a user interface, i.e., the front end. Using the respective front end should be as intuitive as possible, which is why UI designers focus particularly on graphic elements such as buttons and switches.
In most cases, the terms are used interchangeably in the digital environment. It's not just about pretty mock-ups, colors, or fancy fonts. Of course, visually appealing applications are a good advertisement for companies. But functionality and user-friendliness should not take a back seat to beautiful graphics.
We interviewed our UX/UI designer Iga on this topic.
What does a UX/UI designer do in detail?
Iga has been part of our Vialutions team for more than 5 years and initially worked as a marketing/PR specialist. Design has always been close to her heart, and so her desire to move more into the field of UX/UI grew stronger and stronger. We asked her what fascinates her so much about this field.
Iga: "I started out at Vialutions as a marketing/PR specialist. I liked my job, but the more I worked in communications, the more I realized that images have great power to communicate and connect with other people, in this case the users of our application. I found myself preparing more and more graphic elements, and I enjoyed this work more and more. Eventually, I realized that communicating with people through images was what interested me most. I learned more and more about UI design and UX research. My marketing knowledge helped me a lot in this area. UX is about talking to users and understanding their needs and expectations. I find that very similar to marketing research.
What are your responsibilities as a UX/UI designer at Vialutions?
Iga: I work with developers and testers every day. First, I talk a lot with the product managers to understand what their expectations are and how they want the app to work.
Then I create the workflow diagrams on FigJam, followed by low-fi layouts. The next step is very enjoyable—typography, color palettes, component creation. Next, I work with the developers (yes, sometimes I hear “that's not possible,” but in most cases they do a great job with my layouts) and the testers (yes, they find every single inconsistency and every bug). The last and most exciting step is presenting the finished product to the product manager.
What challenges do you face in your work?
Iga: Accessibility! That's the future—giving every single person an app they can use. It's difficult and requires a lot of thought and empathy.
What do you like most about your job?
Iga: Creating workflows and developing application features. It's really exciting to put yourself in the user's shoes and figure out what they really need. Of course, it's also fun to choose colors and design buttons, labels, and animations, but my main goal is to create a user-friendly application.
What made you want to become a UX/UI designer?
Iga: Empathy, I think. I observed the work of my fellow developers and wondered how they create applications. How much do they think about the users? Do the workflows match user behavior? I also learned the basics of graphic design, and I enjoyed that. What was the result of this combination? UX/UI design.
What is your favorite thing to do at work? Or your favorite project? And why?
Iga: "Following my colleagues and asking, “What do you think?” I'm just kidding, but the opinion of potential users is very important to me. Criticism can be hard to take, but I try to see it as advice for my development.
My favorite project is vGoal, a prediction game for soccer tournaments. That was really fun. We developed the app further into vFun. Now you can make predictions on all kinds of sports. That's the challenge—developing such a multipurpose application. "
Do you need advice for your project, a click dummy, or a design? Feel free to contact us!