## UI/UX Design
Before yesterday I had struggled hard to properly explain or differentiate between User Interface Design and User Experience Design. However, I got lucky and read an article that succinctly explained both. I could just provide a link to that, but where will the fun in my own writing be?
I’d prefer to use my place of birth; Lagos as an analogy in the explanation of this concept. www.interaction-design.org defined User Interface (UI) design as the process designers use to build interfaces in software or computerized devices, focusing on looks or style. Designers aim to create interfaces that users find easy to use and pleasurable. UI design refers to graphical user interfaces and other forms—e.g., voice-controlled interfaces.
Now, let us take that in the Lagos context, User Interface Design is the process Colonial Masters(designers) used in planning and building Lagos, the fancy structures and urban planning they implemented can be said to be interfaces(don’t forget Nigeria is the APP itself). The colonial masters focused on the looks and style, all of these to ease the use and ‘enjoyability’ for the users (then occupiers who were also of foreign nationalities). Basically, the look of Lagos will be the equivalent of an app's interface. The beauty is now what we subject to the judgment of each individual’s(user’s) judgment.
Before designers embark on user interface design, researches are made to ensure that the software intended is actually being designed for the users. Things that appeal to the human eye and heart are prioritized to ensure that the users do not get dissatisfied with the graphical presentation of the software.
From several texts, I’ve read and a personal conclusion, defining or restricting UX design to a string of words would be an injustice. However, the concept of User Experience can be explained; User Experience Design is the process of designing what your users will experience, how they'd feel about your software, if like Lagosians going through hell in traffic; they’d feel like cussing you out, or like people living in a 2-bedroom flat in a flooded Lekki, will they wish to strangle the designer? These are dependent on the User Experience Design. The result of a bad UX tends to get reactions like that of Lagosians against bus conductors and results of a good UX evokes emotions that are bound to gladden the designer's heart.
User Experience involves other sub-processes all of which are interwoven; User research is one of the major processes that UX Design involves, it is what enables the designer to identify what the potential/current customers want and need, the research helps in recognizing how the identified customers’ needs are to be me met. Some researches go future and explain why the customers need or want these things.
A process like; User Testing, wireframing, and prototyping among others are uniquely crucial to the design process, the effective and timely flow of information between a UI/UX designer and the customers is necessary for the proper implementation of the design.
In summary, User Experience design is the process of designing what the user is expected to feel, how they are expected to respond to the decide, and also to predict what they'd want to do while experiencing the software.
As clearly stated in the role name; UI/UX Designer, the User cannot be neglected by the designer as his/her existence is based on his/her ability to satisfy the User’s needs.
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/ui-design
https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/the-ux-design-process-an-actionable-guide-to-your-first-job-in-ux/#ux-processes-explain-user-research
