What It Is
User Experience Design—the practice of creating products that provide meaningful, relevant experiences to users. Encompasses usability, accessibility, pleasure, and utility in interaction with products.
UX vs UI
UX (User Experience):
- How it works
- User research
- Information architecture
- User flows
- Wireframes
- Interaction design
- Usability testing
UI (User Interface):
- How it looks
- Visual design
- Color, typography, spacing
- Iconography
- Branding
- Micro-interactions
- High-fidelity mockups
“UX is how it works, UI is how it looks.” Often combined in smaller teams; specialized in large orgs.
The Design Thinking Process
- Empathize: User research, interviews, observation
- Define: Problem statement, user personas
- Ideate: Brainstorm solutions
- Prototype: Create mockups/prototypes
- Test: Usability testing, iterate
Essential UX Tools
Design & Prototyping:
- Figma (2016+, became dominant)
- Sketch (Mac-only, peaked ~2015-2018)
- Adobe XD (2016-2023)
- InVision (prototyping, declined)
Research & Testing:
- UserTesting.com
- Maze
- Lookback
- Hotjar (heatmaps)
- FullStory (session replay)
Collaboration:
- Miro/Mural (whiteboarding)
- FigJam (Figma’s whiteboard)
- Notion (documentation)
Key UX Principles
Usability Heuristics (Jakob Nielsen):
- Visibility of system status
- Match system to real world
- User control and freedom
- Consistency and standards
- Error prevention
- Recognition over recall
- Flexibility and efficiency
- Aesthetic and minimalist design
- Help users recognize and recover from errors
- Documentation and help
Research Methods
Qualitative:
- User interviews
- Usability testing
- Field studies
- Diary studies
- Card sorting
Quantitative:
- Analytics (Google Analytics, Mixpanel)
- A/B testing
- Surveys
- Heatmaps
- Funnel analysis
Career Paths
- UX Researcher (focus on user research)
- Interaction Designer (focus on flows/behavior)
- Information Architect (focus on structure)
- UX Writer (microcopy, voice & tone)
- Product Designer (UX + UI combined)
- Design Lead/Manager
- Head of Design
- Chief Design Officer
Breaking Into UX
Common transitions:
- Graphic designer → UX (visual skills)
- Developer → UX (technical understanding)
- Psychology → UX (human behavior)
- Business analyst → UX (requirements)
Portfolio critical—3-5 case studies showing process, not just final designs.
The Figma Revolution
Figma’s browser-based, collaborative design tool (2016) disrupted industry:
- Real-time collaboration (like Google Docs)
- Cross-platform (goodbye Sketch on Mac only)
- Free for individuals
- Developer handoff built-in
- Component libraries
- Plugins ecosystem
Adobe acquired Figma for $20B (2022), later blocked by regulators (2023).