UI vs UX: What’s the Difference and Which Career Path is to Choose

UI and UX are very much interlinked, however, they are distinctly different and understanding that difference is the very first step to selecting the right career option. UI is concerned with the aesthetics of a product whereas UX concerns the functionality and user experience.

What Is UX Design?

UX is about the journey one has in using a product or service.

A UX designer:

• Researches users’ needs, pain points, and goals.
• Plans user flows, information architecture and wireframes.
• Testing prototypes with real users and enhancing the experience.
• Works closely with product managers, developers, and stakeholders

UX is more strategic and analytical, suiting those who enjoy problem-solving, research, structuring journeys, and thinking from the user’s point of view.

What Is UI Design?

The UI (User Interface) is the visual and interactive layer that is presented to users on the screen. 

A UI designer: 

• Designs the layouts, buttons, icons, and other components 
• Selects the colours, typography, spacing, and visual hierarchy 
• Establishes the design systems and style guides 
• Makes screens attractive, consistent, and easy to use 

UI is basically more of a visual and detail-oriented field. It is a perfect fit for the ones who appreciate beauty, composition, and the refining of screens and interactions.

UI vs UX: Key Differences

Below is the difference between UI and UX in simple words:

• UX specifies the experience: What task is the user supposed to be able to perform? How does the user navigate from points A to B?
• UI defines interface: How does this user experience translate into visuals on screen?

You can think of UX as the blueprint (structure & logic), and UI as the interior design (style & finish).

Which Career Path Is Better?

There is no “better” in UI vs UX, it will all depend on your interests and strengths:

Choose UX if you:

• Enjoy research and strategy-problem-solving activities
• Such as talking to users, testing ideas, and improving flows
• Are comfortable with wireframes, user journeys, and prototypes

Select UI if you:

• Love visual design, colour, and typography
• Enjoy creating layouts and micro-interactions
• Want to focus on the look and feel of digital products.

In the end, most professionals become UI/UX designers by combining the skills of both in various levels of depth.

How a UI UX Design Course Can Help

A good UI/UX design course curriculum includes both, so that you can identify the one you prefer more. A UI/UX design course curriculum includes:

• User experience essentials include research, personas, user flow, wireframing, user testing
• UI basics are basically visual design principles, design systems, responsive layout, prototyping tools
• Building Your Portfolio: Using case studies to illustrate your methodology and designs

If you are not sure about what to focus on, you could begin broadly with UI vs UX basics, then specialise according to what you are most interested in, research and structure (UX), or visuals and interaction (UI). Either way, a career in UI and UX is in huge demand, and they are commonly done in tandem on a single project.