Almost everything you do in life—the
purchases you make, the restaurants you
eat in, the parks you explore, the cars you
drive, the apps you download—is a user
experience. How you interpret an
experience as a person (a user) shapes
the likelihood of you returning to that
restaurant, purchasing that vehicle, or
using the application.
By this definition, user experience is everywhere.
However, the term “user experience” as we
know it is typically associated with the digital
design discipline. User experience design is the
practice of intentionally designing a website,
application or interaction so that the user has a
positive experience and achieves the desired
outcome with ease. It is a combination of
psychology, engineering, and classic design and
web design principles alike.
Ideally, the user experience is designed
to be void of frustration and delays, it’s
seamless and effortless, and the user
understands what to do and how to get
to where they want to go.
The First User Experience Designer
Before user experience design there was “user-
The term first appeared in acclaimed UX design expert
Donald Norman’s book, The Design of Everyday
Things, which was first published in 1988. It marked a
shift from the previous term “user centered system
design” where instead of focusing on the system itself
and the aesthetics of the interface, Norman
concentrated on the needs of the user.
How UX can change the world for the better
We are at the beginning of a new era of
communication and design, we have more
access to more information than ever before in
the history of humankind, and the things we are
creating today are going to shape the way the
human race operates for the expected future.
A combination of what we make and how we
use it, is the key to change the world for the
better by DESIGN.
• Would you become anxious when you do not
have access to certain apps?
• Have you ever felt that your app usage has
affected negatively on your work
performance or the relationship with your
• Have you tried to cut down the time you
spent on some apps, but failed?
These questions do not represent any
medical screening or diagnosis but if
you ever feel that an app is negatively
affecting your life, but you cannot quit
it, this is an obvious sign that you
need to find a solution that helps you
gain back your life.
What makes some apps so addictive?
For businesses, more users are addicted to the app, the better. Think about
it, if their users spend more time on the app, comment on more posts, react
to more stories and message each other more often, it means better user
engagement. Better user engagement represents the app’s popularity.
Facebook, for example, one of their major income is from advertising. If their
users do not use Facebook that often, who would use Facebook as a
marketing channel? To make their users come back for more, they have
made their design so irresistible that we are all glued to the screen.
So what is UX design after all?
¬ UX is not about aesthetics —it’s about
understanding user’s behavior and needs.
¬ But aesthetics is important
¬ UX is not user interface design —but designing UI is
an integral part of the UX design process.
¬ It’s a design discipline concentration on finding a
solution to make a product which people will enjoy
using, won’t struggle and will want to use again.
UI Design generally refers to the
visual elements of a product or
experience—the look and feel, the
presentation and the interactivity
of a product. It’s the interface that
the user interacts with and
(hopefully) makes the experience
For most product designers it’s the
series of screens, pages, and visual
elements that the user sees—like
buttons and icons—that you use to
interact with a device or product.
We’d argue that UI is not restricted to
visual cues but also to the non-visual
cues and interactions that influence a
user’s interactive decisions or
The goal of the UI should be to
make the interaction as simple
and efficient as possible—to
make it easy for the user to
accomplish their goals, and
solve their problems.
¬ User Experience Design is the process of
development and improvement of quality interaction
between a user and all facets of a company.
¬ User Experience Design is responsible for being
hands on with the process of research, testing,
development, content, and prototyping to test for
¬ User Experience Design is in theory a non-digital
(cognitive science) practice, but used and defined
predominantly by digital industries.
¬ User Interface Design is responsible for the
transference of a brand’s strengths and visual assets
to a product’s interface as to best enhance the
¬ User Interface Design is a process of visually guiding
the user through a product’s interface via interactive
elements and across all sizes/platforms.
¬ User Interface Design is a digital field, which includes
responsibility for cooperation and work with
developers or code.
Why Did I Prepare This Presentation?
First thing, because User Experience design is taking
it’s place in the industry and because I am so
interested in this field in addition to being touched by
my every day products that I use with a hard feeling of
regret and unsatisfaction.
Secondly, if you are interested in learning either or both
of these disciplines, I hope to have made their
definitions clear enough for you to better decide which
to start with.