UX stands for User Experience, which has evolved out of UI or User Interface. Once users were able to interact with a digital element, their experience – positive, or negative – regarding those interactions became important. UX has a much broader area then UI – it encompasses not only the interaction with the website elements, but also the whole interaction with the company and its products and services.
UX designers are focused on anything that affects the user’s journey to solve a problem – going beyond just the digital realm. To a UX designer, the user interface is only a piece of that journey to find the solution. UX designers will work closely with UI designers, UX researchers, marketers and product teams to understand their users through research and experimentation. This means that user experience designers will deal with everything from the brand design itself, to the brand messaging, to the physical store layout, to the website, to the social media, etc. The end goal for a UX designer is to help ensure that the brand is gaining and retaining customers and making their experience as seamless and positive as possible.