A user interface (UI) is how a user interacts with a device or application. UI design is the process of designing interfaces to make them easy to use and provide a user-friendly experience.

A UI includes all of the things a user interacts with—the screen, keyboard and mouse—but in the context of graphic design, UI design focuses on the user’s visual experience and the design of on-screen graphic elements like buttons, menus, micro-interactions, and more. It’s a UI designer’s job to balance aesthetic appeal with technical functionality.

UI designers specialize in desktop apps, mobile apps, web apps and games. They work closely with UX (user experience) designers (who determine how the app works) and UI developers (who write code to make it work).

Examples of user interface graphic design

• Web page design
• Theme design (WordPress, Shopify, etc.)
• Game interfaces
• App design

UI designers must be team players backed by both serious graphic design skills and an excellent understanding of UI/UX principles, responsive design and web development. In addition to graphics apps, they need knowledge of programming languages like HTML, CSS and Java script.