Why is Each so Important?
Understanding the differences between Customer Experience (CX), User Experience (UX), and User Interface (UI) can be challenging. In this article, we will define each term and explain how they interconnect.
In trying to understand what these terms mean, one of the main challenges is that there aren’t actually any official definitions. If you Google the terms, you’ll find a variety of definitions proposed by hosts of experts.
What is User Interface (UI)
User Interface, commonly known as UI, is the design aspect focused on how users interact with a brand. The UI is crucial because it encompasses the look, feel, and interactivity of your product, whether it’s a website, application, or other platform. A well-designed UI enhances accessibility and user interest, making it an indispensable element in any design process.
You can’t overstress the importance of good communication skills in the life of a UI designer — you’re going to be communicating with the UX designers (as we shall be looking at shortly) and the client as well. The bulk of the work of the UI designer is the creative thinking and research to be done before the actual design itself.
- Working together with the client and the UX designer to have a clear and common goal.
- Doing a lot of research about your target audience and getting to know what they like.
- Designing of buttons, screens, scrollbars, as well as other navigational elements.
- Liaising with the project developers to ensure the right implementations are put in place.
- Testing and Prototyping.
What is User Experience (UX)
UX means User Experience, and it is the aspect of design that has its main focus on how a particular product suits the particular need of the customer or the user. Therefore, user Experience puts the customers’ needs first, and to do this, there are certain questions that need to be asked by the UX designer and should be answered very clearly by the client in order to get the best of whatever the project is.
The solution to this question is what differentiates the UX designer from the other two, and I’ll do my best to give the very straightforward answers.
Strategy and Content
- Product structure and strategy
- Content development
- Customer analysis
- Competitor analysis
Wireframing and Prototyping
- Creating wireframes for the project
- Testing and iterations
- Development planning
Analytics and Execution
- Co-ordination and co-operation with the UI designers
- Monitoring the goals of the project.
- Working with developers
What is Customer Experience (CX)
Customer Experience, usually known as CX, as we shall see shortly, has quite the same similarities with UX, but we’re here to give their difference in detail, so let’s jump right in.
This is the process of optimizing the customer experience on every touch point before, during and after conversion. CX is key, because clients develop their product and service perception through all the touch points and channels the business provides.
UI is part of UX is part of CX
UX, UI, and CX are very different to one another, but are intrinsically linked and wholly dependent on one another.
A customer experience encompasses all touchpoints and interactions a customer has with a brand. User experiences are specific to individual channels, so most brands offer multiple user experiences across various platforms.
A UI is simply the interface with which the user will interact with a brand at a particular point of a journey. Most user experiences will involve multiple user interfaces and a customer experience will be made up of all touchpoints and user experiences across all channels.
