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UX design? UI design? Product design? What’s the difference?
Choose the right career path for yourself.
UX design makes app and website interfaces useful, while UI design makes the same interfaces beautiful. Product design does both, making the interface useful as well as aesthetically pleasing.
What is the distinction between user experience design, user interface design, and product design?
UX designers are primarily concerned with the usability of products. They focus on how the product works. UI designers focus on the visuals and the aesthetic experience of the product. Product designers do both; they do UX and UI design. They focus on the overall feeling and experience of the product as a whole. I’d say the term “product designer” encompasses the responsibilities of both UX and UI designers. My personal experience is, product designers are frequently UX designers; they do have a stronger UX side.
Let’s define the two terms:
UX design or user experience design is about designing the whole experience. It’s the human-first approach to product design.
UI design or user interface design is about designing the visual experience. It’s the human-first approach to the aesthetic experience of a digital product.
For example, think about an app: UX designers help decide the features, what should be in the app, and how it should work.
UI designers also design the same app, but they are responsible for the look of the app.
The distinction between the two roles isn’t that simple because if you work for a larger company, the two roles have overlapping areas, and they need to work collaboratively. And if you work for a smaller company, it’s required to do well in both areas. So that’s why companies came up with a new term: product designer.
How do UX and UI designers collaborate during the design process?
UX design and research is usually the first step when deciding whether to build a product or application. UX designers are in charge of the research that will validate or invalidate initial product ideas…
