UX is UI

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The article discussed can be found here
As much as the article read as an angry rant against anyone and everyone, I think there were some important distinctions made as to the nature of designing for users. Based on my experience this semester, I think that UX is an umbrella term that encompasses many things including UI. Most, if not all of the projects we completed over the semester placed a lot of emphasis interfaces. Although we were told to ‘design an experience’, we were reprimanded and told to do it again if the user interface was not up to snuff. The different facets of user experience design are too intertwined to be able to only focus on one small aspect such as interface design. Therefore it must fall under the UX umbrella as something that is important to the finished product but cannot be developed independently.

Discussion Questions:

The meme provided in the article shows a paved walking path and a beaten path through the grass leading to the parking, which leads me to believe that the purpose of the two paths are not connected.  Having established that, there are some unanswered questions.  Where is the planned path to the parking lot?  Was its placement well thought out or does it force an awkward path for the pedestrian?

Is there a good way to differentiate between UI and UX designers?  Or should the two fields begin to merge to create a larger deeper field?

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