Everyone writes 'UI/UX', but the term does not really exist. Here is what people actually mean, and a plausible theory of how the mistake spread.
‘UI/UX’ (and ‘UX/UI’) is not a recognized term and makes no logical sense: UI is just one of the many disciplines inside UX, so pairing them is like saying ‘surgery/medicine’. No academic literature or serious agency uses it. People who say ‘UI/UX’ usually mean web or mobile design, or, more precisely, HCI (Human-Computer Interaction), the discipline that studies how humans interact with computers through interfaces. The term likely spread by accident, from casual acronym shorthand around the 2008-2010 UX boom.
Key takeaways
- 'UI/UX' is not a real term; UI is one branch of UX (there are 100+ branches).
- There is no UI without UX, though there is UX without UI.
- People add 'UX' to 'UI' mostly because it sounds more prestigious.
- The correct broad term for 'interaction through interfaces' is HCI.
- The acronym probably emerged by accident from shorthand like 'work the UI and UX'.
So what do people mean by UI/UX?
When pressed, most ‘UI/UX designers’ cannot define the term, and in practice use it to mean mobile design, or sometimes web design. But those are different things. Web design is design for a web page; app design is design for a mobile app; UI design is designing an interface on aesthetic and scientific principles, tested with users and adjusted, which is data-driven design. And UX is the measurement of a subjective experience: without data from real users, there is no UX yet, even if UX principles were used.
The closest real term: HCI
If you want one accurate word for what people mean by ‘UI/UX’, it is HCI (Human-Computer Interaction): the discipline that studies how humans interact with computers through user interfaces. (Dorve’s own XCI, part of Quantum UX, generalizes the human to any biological, mechanical or cybernetic entity.)
A theory of how it caught on
UX is a field drowning in acronyms (UI, CX, HCI, IT). In projects, people naturally write notes like ‘UI development starts tomorrow’ or ‘let’s revisit CX strategy’. During the UX boom around 2008-2010, stakeholders likely said ‘we must work on the UI’ and then ‘we must develop the UX’, which got compressed into ‘work the UI/UX’. It is only a theory, but why else would an illogical, non-existent term appear, if not by accident?
Not really. It is not recognized in academic literature or by serious agencies, and it makes no logical sense because UI is one branch inside UX.
Mostly because adding ‘UX’ to ‘UI’ feels more prestigious. Most who use it cannot define it, and mean web or mobile design.
No. Web design and app design are their own things. UI design is a scientific, tested discipline, and UX is the measurement of a subjective experience.
HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) is the accurate term for how people interact with computers through interfaces. Or just say UI designer, UX designer or UX researcher.
Most likely by accident, from casual acronym shorthand during the UX boom around 2008-2010, when ‘work the UI and UX’ got compressed into ‘UI/UX’.
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