• UI/UX Designer, Boston, MA
• UX/UI Designer, Austin, TX
• UX/UI Developer, San Francisco, CA

Job posting titles like the ones above are all too common today. This is because companies understand the impact user experience has on a company’s success. McKinsey recently published a study that found design-focused companies grow in revenue twice as fast as industry benchmarks. 

Because of its importance, companies are continually searching for UX/UI designers. Yet, it is very rare today to see a job posting for only “UX” or only “UI”. Why? Why don’t more companies solely focus on UX (user experience) OR UI (user interface)?

The initial answer to this question is best answered in the form of analogies:

1. Jonathan Widawski, CEO of Maze, a technology company that specializes in user experience, explained in a recent blog post that the relationship between UX and UI is akin to a home design: “Imagine you’re designing a house. UX would be the foundation, while UI would be the paint and furniture.”
2. Dain Miller, a software developer, said in a different blog post, ““UI is the saddle, the stirrups, and the reins. UX is the feeling you get from being able to ride the horse.”
3. In the same blog post, Rahul Varshney, another developer, said “A UI without UX is like a painter slapping paint onto a canvas without thought; while UX without UI is like the frame of a sculpture with no paper mache on it.”

Essentially, UX designers focus on the feel of the product, while UI designs focus on the layout. 

In practical terms, a UX designer may work out how an app’s buttons navigate tasks and the overall flow, while the UI designer may work on how all of those elements appear on the screen. If the team decides the app needs more buttons, the UX team would determine the most effective way to organize the buttons while the UI team would adapt their designs to fit the new layout.

Even the most visually appealing design cannot save an impossible-to-navigate interface. Likewise, an amazing user experience would be ruined by an ugly design. UX and UI need each other. There cannot be one without the other.

At Solwey, we always keep in mind UX and UI, not one or the other. We develop a streamlined experience for your customers to interact with your company. If you would like to discuss how we can make your product or service more user friendly, set up a time to chat at https://solwey.com/book/