Member Avatar for rishabs

User interface (UI) design is a process used by designers to create interfaces in software, such as computer devices, that focus on appearance or style. Designers want the interfaces to be easy to use and user-friendly. User interface design covers graphical user interfaces and other forms - such as voice-controlled interfaces. The combination of UX and UI creates your entire experience into one product. While two identical products can give you the same results, their UX / UI shows how they provide. If one product has a better UX / UI design than the other, people will use it more because they want the overall experience. Let's hope you now understand the subtle differences between UI and UX design. Yes, they are together, but they are very different. UX design is more analytical. It has its roots in human moral and psychological thinking. User interface design software focuses more on the visual side - or whether the product is comfortable in appearance.

Edited by rishabs
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kasiamizera commented: Nice explained! +0
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UI design is the craft of shaping the control surface through which people perceive and operate a system. As rishabs notes, it includes more than screens: voice, physical controls, and even developer-facing touchpoints. Dani is right that UX and UI are distinct; UI is the tangible interaction layer, while UX is the total outcome. rproffitt’s example of three buttons and 7‑segment LEDs highlights a key truth: UI is always constrained by context such as cost, power, durability, and who will actually use it (public vs. technician). FranAust’s point about early research still applies here: understanding tasks, environments, and failure modes informs what the interface must expose (and what it can safely hide).

A pragmatic UI workflow most teams can use: clarify users and critical tasks; list constraints (BOM cost, latency, safety, accessibility, localization); sketch flows and states; pick appropriate inputs/outputs (buttons, encoder, touchscreen, voice, API); prototype at the right fidelity; validate with representative users and environments; iterate. Define success with measurable criteria such as time‑on‑task, error rate, training time, and support tickets. Document decisions so trade‑offs (like rproffitt’s missing 4th button) remain explicit and testable.

For embedded or constrained UIs, a few patterns help: map one control to one function where possible; use consistent, discoverable gestures (avoid hidden long‑press combos unless documented at the point of use); provide clear system feedback (iconography, haptics, tones, blink codes) and make error codes legible without a manual (labels or on‑device legends); ensure operability in real conditions (gloves, low light, half‑asleep users, as in Dani’s alarm clock example). In short, UI design turns constraints into a usable, testable interaction layer that makes intended tasks fast, forgiving, and learnable.

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Member Avatar for rproffitt

Or the UI is designed by the company or client that hired you to implement it. There's more to UI design than what you wrote. Can you expand your post to include other ways UI design is done?

Member Avatar for FranAust

Any project starts with working out the UX part. At this stage, designers thoroughly study competitors' products, determine the needs of users their problems, and then understand how best to solve them. Such UX studies allow you to think through the product, create and test prototypes and abandon non-working solutions.

commented: As an author of embedded software which has no UI, "Any project" is overreaching. +16
Member Avatar for Dani

As an author of embedded software which has no UI, "Any project" is overreaching

Firstly, this is the UI/UX Design forum, so I would say it applies to any project within the context that this post was made in. That being said, UI and UX are very different things. UI is user interface. UX is user experience, and I would argue that any project has a target user in mind with the goal of creating a positive experience for that user.

In the context of end-user facing software, the user experience is the overall user friendliness, and whether the app was designed to meet those needs or goals. In the context of embedded software, perhaps you are writing an API or some lower level functionality to be ultimately utilized by other devs. In that case, you still need to take into consideration the users of your product (even if your product is an internal API, and those users of your product are other devs utilizing your internal API) and creating something usable, functional, and beneficial for them.

Or, suppose you are writing embedded software for something like an alarm clock. You still need to factor in the needs of the end-users. Will there be a visible display? Will there be an on-off button? Or will it be a switch? Or will it be a touchscreen? One of the prototypes might have a touchscreen and then it's ultimately determined that half-asleep people weren't able to focus on a touchscreen, and a button was better.

Member Avatar for rproffitt

The UI for the last project was three push buttons and a pair of 7 segment LEDs. Why? Cost. It's a box that lives out of sight except when the technician works on the system. It's a horrible UI and you find yourself consulting the manual on use and constantly looking up the codes shown on the 7 segment LEDs. Product cost was the overriding criteria in that design to the point where the 4th button would have made it much better but then cost cutting is the game on something that has some million plus units being made that will never be seen by the public.

Any project is still an overreach IMO.

As to the end users in those systems, it's an automatic door so the user interface is usually a big push button or none at all for the video camera based system. You walk up to the door and it opens. Closes when there appears to be no one in the door area or nearby.

Edited by rproffitt
Member Avatar for ivy.inc.Hugh

I think use autoUI

Member Avatar for kasiamizera

Nicely explained, thanks!

Edited by pritaeas because: Removed link. The link is already in your signature below the post, don't add it twice.
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