UI/UX Design

Who is and what does a UI/UX Designer do?
The virtual world has become so important that we can no longer imagine our lives independently of it. Beyond personal aspects, the online side of a business has come to define its success and development prospects. Whether we like it or not, regardless of the field of activity, internet presence is a mandatory point to check in the strategic planning of a business. Accessibility is defined first and foremost by this presence, it is also the vehicle that allows promotion to the target audience and beyond.

Few people can manage from their own resources all the sustained effort necessary to correctly define the virtual identity of a business, to ensure that the result meets expectations, as specialists are needed to understand the requirements, translate them into practice and adjust them until the finished product has all the desired characteristics and specifications for optimal launch. And in this case, familiarity with the field of IT design also comes into play, since in order to benefit from the services of the right person, you must clearly know what you are looking for and who to contact. The major difference that you need to understand is that between a UI designer and a UX designer, two adjacent and complementary, but very different concepts at the same time, which you will need anyway. Whether you decide to turn to two different people, who work harmoniously together, or to a single service provider, who can offer the entire necessary range, one thing is certain, it is mandatory to know very clearly what you need.

Let's start with the beginning. In terms of aesthetics, more precisely in terms of how an application is presented in terms of color, what it includes as text, photo content, background, static or mobile elements, the right person is the UI specialist. He is practically responsible for how the finished product looks in terms of graphics, the resulting interface being closely linked to both his creativity and his experience and education in the field.

The work of a UI designer overlaps with what the UX designer thought, the one who analyzes user behaviors, to make their experience as easy and enjoyable as possible. Basically, he starts from the information provided by the conclusions of the public survey with specific means, which generates so-called patterns regarding the way in which a person who will access the application is more likely to navigate it. The focus is on the practical side, on how the experience ends up being as coherent as possible, so that the probability of its repetition increases. The main ability of such a specialist refers to identifying with the user, which allows the evaluation of elements from their perspective, so that syncopes and difficulties disappear from the built experience, the interaction with the separate elements, but also that with the application as a unitary product being as pleasant as possible. The keywords in the case of UX design are functionality and efficiency, since they should define the way in which the visitor moves from one point to another until the completion of the process. Precisely because the UX designer knows the causal relationship that drives how concepts and prototypes are created, it is assumed that he is best able to interpret the data resulting from testing, in order to optimize the product accordingly.

The best option is for the team responsible for delivering a product/process to have a UI and a UX designer, or ideally, a UI/UX designer capable of both translating user desires into practice and finding the right aesthetic form for them. The two sides impact each other, so a very close collaboration is absolutely necessary to ensure a harmonious correspondence between content and form.

If in the case of the UI designer it is useful to have a good knowledge of some graphics programs, e.g. Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, the UX designer should be able to work easily in Figma or Sketch, for applicability in the online sector. In addition, it is mandatory to master specific probing tools, on whose results the proposals made will be based so that the resulting wireframes and prototypes are as suitable as possible, and on which the most correct decoding of the feedback from the testing phases will also depend, the only one that brings the finished product as close as possible to its perfect version before launch.

In terms of time, the UX designer is involved from the very early stages of the project, with the UI having a major role in the second half of the creative process. The debut is made with a thorough research of the targeted market niche, including in a competitive context, thus creating some user profiles to which the intermediate models will be related. Based on the users' reaction to them during the testing stage, the same UX designer will proceed to successive optimizations.

To make the right choice in terms of the designers you hire, they would need to tick both the box in terms of knowledge of dedicated programs and in terms of portfolio creativity. A self-respecting designer has had his mentors, but has managed to distance himself from them, creating his own style, with a high degree of accuracy in terms of the efficiency of the delivered product. It usually results from a careful analysis of the structures that the market offers, all from a functional perspective.

Regardless of the choice made at the team and specialist level, good communication and collaboration with them is paramount, the key to long-term success.