What is UI design?
The discipline of UI design deals with the design of user interfaces as an interface between man and machine. These interfaces are abbreviated as UI (=User Interface). UI design is a sub-discipline of UX (=User Experience) design. Examples of user interfaces are
- Websites and online stores
- Smartphone apps
- Computer programs
- Vehicle dashboards and on-board computers
- Vending machines (e.g. ticket machines, cash machines, etc.)
- Machines
In addition to classic visual interaction via graphical user interfaces (GUI = Graphical UI), thanks to technical developments, more and more other senses can be addressed, such as voice control (VUI = Voice UI) or gesture control (NUI = Natural UI).
What is the purpose of UI design?
User interface design should make the interaction between users and digital devices as simple and efficient as possible and only as complex as necessary ("Don't make me think!"). A UI designer can use graphical means to achieve this. Graphical means include
- colors
- images
- Graphic elements (icons, buttons, dropdowns)
- typography
- layouts.
How does UI fit into the overall design process?
The user interface is the user's direct point of contact with an application or product. In order to achieve a positive user experience during interaction, the underlying process must be precisely defined. Behind the form-determining surface of visual design lies the skeleton of interface design and interaction design, which defines the type of interaction. This in turn is based on the structure of process chains (user flows) and information sorting (information architecture). The structure is the result of the UX design process.
An example of an award-winning user-centered app development with intuitive and playful UI design can be found at https://dart.work/projekte/yoyo-smart-ergonomics
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