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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
I think use autoUI
Nicely explained, thanks!
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