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UI vs UX

Title text: U[unprintable glyph]: The elements a higher power uses to bend that moral arc. U[even more unprintable glyph]: The higher power's overall experience bending that moral arc.

Explanation

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by a UX DESIGNER. Each U{x} needs its own section. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.

UI vs UX is a discussion in software engineering of the differences between user interface design (UI) and user experience design (UX). As explained in the comic, UI design is typically concerned with the elements of the interface that a user encounters, while UX design is more concerned about the user's overall experience in using such interface.

The comic takes this to absurd levels by adding further categories to the discussion with UZ, and other U{X} types of designers. UZ refers to the psychological motivation behind the user behavior interacting with UI and UX.

• UZ:

• U∝:

• UΩ:

• U∞:

• U⬤:

"The psychological roots of motivation" is a buzzword phrase from management theory which may not have a particularly well-defined meaning. Motivation is itself the psychological root of behavior. While motivations certainly have causes, they are usually not clear enough to meaningfully treat in formal or clinical contexts. "Self actualization" is the most abstract, immaterial form of motivation, meaning the need to find comfort in one's own goals and achievements. Available only when more material needs such as those for food, shelter, warmth, security, and a sense of belonging are met, it forms the pinnacle of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

"The arc of one's life," means the overall thematic elements present in a person's entire existence, and is used as such in philosophical humor novels such as The World According to Garp, which remarks on how easily the arc of any human life can turn on a single sexual relationship. "Life's experience of time" is a very rare phrase which does not seem to have a coherent meaning across the handful of times it occurs.

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice," is a famous line from a speech by Martin Luther King, referring to the slow pace at which progress is often achieved, and paraphrasing parts of a 1853 sermon by abolitionist minister Theodore Parker: "I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. The arc is a long one. My eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by experience of sight. I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends toward justice." President Obama had the sentence from King's speech woven into a rug in the Oval Office.

Transcript

This transcript is incomplete. Please help editing it! Thanks.

Designer     What they are responsible for

UI     Elements of the interface that the user encounters

UX     The user's experience of using the interface to achieve goals

UZ     The psychological roots of the user's motivation for seeking out the interaction

U∝     The user's self-actualization

UΩ     The arc of the user's life

U∞     Life's experience of time

U⬤     The arc of the moral universe

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