Let\u2019s take a look at why you must know the difference.<\/p>\n
UI stands for user interface<\/i>, and is a less abstract discipline than UX. UI designers build the interface systems that represent the \u201cskin\u201d of the product. Depending on the size of the company, UI designers might also be in charge of a majority of the design process, or have a more specialized role in outlining the layout and\/or flow of the experience.<\/p>\n
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Photo credit: <\/i>Barrel<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n UX stands for user experience<\/i>. In a nutshell, this is how the user feels about a product. UX professionals know what people want in certain products, and how to deliver that perfect experience with a physical or digital product. A good UX designer draws on the fields of interaction design, visual design, content strategy, information architecture, and even UI design.<\/p>\n Photo credit: <\/i>Web UI Best Practices free e-book<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n In short, the UX is determined by the UI, amongst other things. The two may represent different ideas, but they are certainly intertwined. For example, you can\u2019t build a desirable UI unless you know the laws of good UX design. Likewise, you can\u2019t design a great experience if you don\u2019t understand how to create an interface that makes it easy for people to accomplish the goals.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll notice that there\u2019s plenty of interdisciplinary overlap in the design field. Our free ebook, Web UI Design Best Practices<\/a>, dives more into the similarities and differences between UI & UX design with plenty of helpful techniques.<\/p>\n There is no set level of education required for a career in UX.<\/p>\n As you might guess, more education means you\u2019re better prepared, but a degree certainly isn\u2019t necessary<\/a>. The most basic education in UX can be done cheaply and easily, even online.<\/p>\n Take a look at these crash course providers:<\/p>\n Of course, getting a formal degree<\/a> in a UX field can only help you. Unfortunately, not every school offers a degree program. While this is likely to change in a few years, for now, Wikipedia has compiled a complete list<\/a> of schools around the world that offer degree programs.<\/p>\n But don\u2019t rule out related degrees just because they don\u2019t say \u201cUX\u201d in them. You\u2019ll actually see plenty of UX professionals with an educational background in human-computer interaction, graphic design, web design, or interaction design. In fact, Wikipedia even lists the universities that offer a formal interaction design degree<\/a>.<\/p>\n No matter your education, you\u2019ll want to know some other UX specialists to help show you the ropes. Whether you\u2019re studying directly under a mentor or bouncing ideas off a community, no UX designer is ever an island.<\/p>\n Mentorship<\/strong><\/p>\n A mentorship always complements your UX education.<\/p>\n Photo credit: Designlab<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Some design programs like Bloc<\/a> include a mentorship in the curriculum. Others like DesignLab<\/a> focus only on facilitating the proper pairings between students and experts. Finding the right mentor isn\u2019t as easy as pulling a chair next to the first designer you meet: read this article on UX Beginner for everything you need to know about finding a mentor.<\/a><\/p>\n Communities<\/b><\/p>\n Communities vary in levels of commitment, from paid clubs to free meetups to online forums.<\/p>\n Photo credit: <\/i>UXPA<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n The UXPA<\/a> is a good starting point, as they accept any level of expertise, even students. Besides insider information about the industry, including salary expectations, they also provide mentorship assistance and networking events. Membership ranges from $35 for students to $139 for all-inclusive services.<\/p>\n For more casual gatherings, try attending an informal meetup. Meetup.com even has a special section specifically for UX-themed events<\/a>.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t even have to leave your home to be part of a UX community. Sites like Dribbble<\/a>, Designer News<\/a>, or even the subreddit r\/userexperience<\/a> help UX professionals share ideas and advice. You\u2019ll find that these communities are full of people from all experience levels so that you get a full spectrum of perspectives and advice. \u00a0<\/p>\n Knowledge and hands-on experience won\u2019t get you anywhere unless you have the right tools. These aren\u2019t necessarily as high-tech as you might expect.<\/p>\n In fact, an old-fashioned pad and pencil is a good first start to sketching out your ideas before digitizing them. In fact, plenty of experienced UX designers still carry around a sketchpad to flesh out ideas. For practice, try sketching out the layouts of your favorite preexisting sites \u2013 this will reveal a whole new level of UX intricacies you never recognized before.<\/p>\n While any notebook will do, we\u2019re big fans of the UX Sketchbook<\/a> (worth every cent of the $12).<\/p>\n Photo credit: <\/i>UX Sketchbook<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n Of course, you can certainly try other options as well. For example, you can make a rough wireframe or prototype in Powerpoint or Keynote, a mockup in Photoshop and Sketch, or create a prototype directly in code. Most of our UX designers learned their skills with these tools when starting out, so it\u2019s never a bad idea to expand your technical expertise.<\/p>\n It\u2019s debatable whether or not a UX designer should know code, with plenty of pros<\/a> and cons<\/a>.<\/p>\n While not necessary, at the very least it will give you an advantage.<\/p>\n While front-end UI and UX designers don\u2019t typically get involved in programming, knowing code certainly helps you create more feasible designs. In smaller companies, this kind of a multi-tasking is especially appreciated. All designs must eventually be built in code, so a little knowledge about the end of the journey will always help in the beginning.<\/p>\n Outside of direct design, you also need to know how to conduct usability testing. Your design, after all, is only as good as the user data shows.<\/p>\n A\/B testing is a reliable way to determine your target users\u2019 preferences, and there are a variety of tools online<\/a>. For more straightforward feedback, tools like Survey Monkey<\/a> allow you to directly question users to hear the results straight from them. More in-depth tools<\/a> even analyze people using your product, sometimes with video recordings. \u00a0<\/p>\n Last, there are web analytics tools<\/a> that measure the statistics of live sites for you. We recommend Google Analytics<\/a> for aggregated data, then KISSmetrics<\/a> for segmented behavior.<\/p>\n Photo credit:\u00a0<\/em>Foundation<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n For a UX professional interested in coding, the first places to start are HTML and CSS<\/a>. If that whets your appetite, try learning jQuery<\/a>\u00a0to reduce the learning curve of Javascript. Frameworks like Bootstrap<\/a> or Foundation<\/a>\u00a0can also teach you some basic JavaScript, but they’re more on the intermediate level. Our Chief Product Officer Kamil Zieba followed that exact path of learning: HTML -> CSS -> jQuery -> Bootstrap & Foundation. \u00a0<\/p>\n You’ll also need a good text editor to modify code. While open source options<\/a> are available, we personally prefer Coda<\/a> and Sublime<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n We can only say so much in one article. So we\u2019ll leave you with our favorite UX resources, for beginners and masters alike.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve always been a big believer in free design resources. Here\u2019s some of our most popular UX ebooks from the design library.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"image06\"](\"https:\/\/www.uxpin.com\/studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/image062.png\")
<\/p>\nGetting a UX Education<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nFinding Mentors and UX Communities<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nHelpful UX Tools<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nRespecting the Power of Code<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nThe Best Articles & Lessons on UX Design<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Free E-books on UX Design<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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