The document outlines the distinctions between UX, UI, and front-end roles, emphasizing their unique responsibilities in design and development. It uses a house-building analogy to explain how UX architects focus on functionality and user experience, while UI designers concentrate on aesthetics and interfaces. Specific tasks for each role include usability studies, user research for UX architects, and creating interfaces and branding strategies for UI designers.

1. On the various interface-related roles one can have
UX, UI, & Front-End…
what’s the difference?
Ramya Mahalingam
Senior UX Architect at Cardinal Solutions
rmahalingam@cardinalsolutions.com
@rams_mahalingam

2. The Industry

4. 011011010110010101100011010111
010111010101000110101101101011
001010110001101011101011101010
100011010110110101100101011000
110101110101110101010001101011
011010110010101100011010111010
111010101000110101101101011001
010110001101011101011101010100
011010110110101100101011000110
101110101110101010001101011011
010110010101100011010111010111
010101000110101101101011001010
110001101011101011101010100011
010110110101100101011000110101
110101110101010001101011011010
110010101100011010111010111010

5. Designer Developer

6. Designer Developer

7. Designer Developer

9. UI Designer UX Architect

10. It’s kind of like building a house

12. How many people are going to live here?
What rooms do they need?
UX Architect

13. Bathroom
Kitchen
What do they do in each one?
How will they move through them?
UX Architect

14. What goes in each one?
UX Architect
Sink
Sink
Tub
Bathroom
Kitchen
UI Design

15. What are the attributes of those things?
How do we make them reflect the people who will live here?
UI Design
Sink
Faucets
Drain

16. Start with the blueprint

17. UI Designer UX Architect

18. UX Architect
• Conducts usability studies, user research,
stakeholder interviews, surveys
• Performs heuristic analyses
• Build personas, empathy maps,
storyboards, journey maps
• Create logical architectures, navigation
schemas, and taxonomies
• Content mapping & organization
• Voice of the Customer
UI Designer
• Design user interfaces
• Develop brand strategies, style guides,
color theory and palettes
• Develop wireframes and prototypes
• Define typography
• Design iconography
• Conform to accessibility requirements