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IT Language of UI/UX Designer

What does a UI/UX designer do? What is the difference between UI and UX? What words and expressions do you need to know to become a successful designer?

lead product designer Kirill Nikitin


— Today, the definition of "designer" is completely distorted. Most people associate this word with someone who draws pictures and cares only about what the result of their work looks like. Kirill Nikitin, Lead Product Designer, explains that in fact, design is about how things work. A designer is closer to an engineer with a highly developed sense of beauty. This is definitely true of designers in IT.

More about UX/UI Designer

Types of design

— One of the most common job titles in IT is "UI/UX designer." Sometimes "UI" and "UX" are separated, and those who want to look cool may use the now-fashionable "Product designer" title. In fact, at the most basic level, these job titles are all about the same thing. The task of each of these people is to create something that the user will fall in love with and will use repeatedly. It's just that each role has a slightly different focus.

  • UI (User Interface) is what the user actually sees and interacts with. Text, images, buttons, fields, forms, etc. User interface even refers to the switches on your stove or other appliance. I confess that I often swear at household appliances because I don't like how their interface is designed.
  • UX (User Experience) refers to how the user feels when using something. "Do they understand what is happening and what can be accomplished? Did they get the end result that they wanted? What did they want, what did they come here for?" All of these questions relate to UX design.


In my opinion, a really good designer should be well versed in both directions. That is probably why the most popular vacancy listings still combine both UI and UX.

Bonus

Dictionary of an “effective” manager — things you may hear from your manager and what they really mean:

  • "Will we make the font bigger?" "Can we highlight that in red?" Questions like this mean that your manager wants more emphasis on some element. But we are already excellent designers (or we will be) and we understand that the desired accent can be achieved in another, more effective, way.
  • "Let's do this..." A conversation that includes this phrase from your manager may mean that your manager does not understand how to frame the task and is instead trying to "play designer" using your hands. Nothing good will come of this. To get things back on track, always ask, "What problem do I need to solve?"
  • "Need it yesterday!" Sadly, this can mean that your manager is categorically incompetent and cannot fulfill their main duty — planning. Run away quickly!

Choose your favorite profession in IT and learn its slang:

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