What is UX Design and Why Are UX Design Elements So Important?

Why is everyone talking about UX design? Is it the same thing with UI design? Why should you even be concerned about these terms anyway?

Today, interfaces are growing at a rapid rate, and UX design elements are becoming more and more important. Basically, UX design is used in almost all industries, so yes, you should understand what it is and how you can use it to improve your business.

UX and UI design are two of the most conflicted and confused terms in the industry because most people use them interchangeably. A lot of people actually place them together in a single term and just say UI/UX design. On the surface, you might think they describe the same thing, but once you dig deeper, you realize there is so much more to each one of them.

What Is UX Design?

Essentially, UX stands for “User Experience.” User experience is how a person feels when they interact with a product or interface with a system. For instance, once you click into a website or an app, does navigation feel logical, or is it arbitrary? Does interacting with the website gives you a sense of accomplishment?

Does it feel like you are getting exactly what you’d like, or are you struggling to find things? Is the experience, smooth, intuitive, or confusing? UX is determined by how easy it is to interact with user interface elements designed by UI designers.

UI designers? Did I just lose you there?

What is UI Design?

UI, on the other hand, stands for “User Interface.” The UI is the graphical layout of a website of application. The user interface consists of the images you see, the buttons you click, the text you read, and all other items you interact with. The UI is all about the website layout, interface animations, transitions, and even micro-interactions.

In essence, all the visual elements you see are all part of the UI, all of which are credited to UI designers. These designers determine what a product will look like, including color schemes, button shapes, fonts used, etcetera. UI designers are responsible for the look and feel of the user interface of an application.

To simply it further, UI designers are graphic designers. Their main concern is the aesthetic appeal of an application, and they have to ensure it is not only attractive but visually stimulating as well. They go beyond that and ensure that the theme appropriately matched to the purpose of the application.

What Is a UX Designer?

A UX designer is also concerned with the UI, which is why there is so much confusion about the two. However, there are major differences between UI and UX designs. A UI designer is tasked with determining what the UI will look like, while a UX designer is tasked with determining how the UI will work.

UX designers determine how the UI functions, how it’s organized, and how all the elements are related to one another. If the interface works seamlessly, it provides users with an incredible user experience. Users have a good time interacting with the app or website, and they are willing to use it again.

A UX designer and UI designers need to collaborate to determine how the interface looks and works, meaning they need to work together.

For instance, while the UX designer will determine the best possible way to layout buttons on a website, the UI designer determines the shape and size of those buttons so they can fit in that layout. Constant communication between the UI/UX designers determines how efficient and intuitive the interface turns out.

Why Is User Experience Design So Important?

UX is important because it fulfills the needs of the users. Its main aim is to provide users with a positive experience with the aim of keeping them loyal to the brand. Meaningful user experience is essential when it comes to determining customer journeys on the products, in turn contributing to the success of the business.

What Are UX Design Elements?

There are several user UX design elements, all of which play a critical role in ensuring everything comes together in harmony. So what are the UX design elements, and why are they important?

The Look

Users take just a few seconds to determine how they feel about a design.

Before they read anything, they gauge the credibility, trust, and harmony of the website to see whether that’s exactly what they are looking for. The visual appeal of a design is highly critical because it has the power to draw users deeper into the content.

This UX design element is essential because it emanates not just trust, but an assurance to the users. If the interface has a personality that evokes emotion through the graphical elements, colors, typography, among others, it creates a harmonious relationship that pleases the user.

The Feel

To measure the success of a good UX design, designers use the “joy of use” concept. In a nutshell, this refers to the emotions users feel when interacting with an interface. Does it invoke joy? Does it give the users a positive and successful experience?

Users can only experience joy if they achieve their objectives not just easily, but comfortably as well. Whatever information they are after should be easily digestible for them to feel they came out of it with an answer or a solution.

The Usability

Most people tend to think that user experience is all about usability. While usability does play an integral role in user experience design, there is a lot more to this. US designers need to create meaningful and delightful experiences while still ensuring the products are easy to use.

How do UX designers know what users want? How do they make sure the experience is immersive and pleasurable to keep said users coming back? They use functionality, predictability, and individuality.

This UX design element is super important to implement. You see, a design needs to be functional in order to solve user problems. However, this is merely not enough to offer them a satisfying experience.

Predictability principle in UX design means users know what to expect when they click certain buttons. This makes them feel comfortable while providing them with a sense of control at the same time.

Individuality is all about being unique and standing out to the users. It’s easy to establish an emotionally driven relationship between the brand and the users if the website has a strong and unique personality.

You Need UX To Keep Up!

The only constant in the design world is change. The needs and behavior of customers change with time as well, and the way they interact with digital products is bound to change.

Does all this pique your interest further? Would you like more in-depth information about UX design elements? Feel free to check out our website and absorb as much info as you can.