“UI/UX Designer” is a common job title I hear people use. It implies a hybrid role focused on design execution (often visual) and user experience methods. It reduces UX to the surface-level design of visual interfaces.
That framing is too narrow. At the UMSI, we teach Information Science, a discipline that studies:
How people seek, use, create, structure, and communicate information—and how systems can support them.
User Experience (UX) is a core part of Information Science. It’s not limited to the surface of an interface—it includes:
Human behavior, motivation, and emotions
The context of use
The systems and structures behind the UI
That’s why “UX Designer” is the more accurate, professional title. It reflects the fuller scope of what you’re being trained to do.
UI is an acronym for User Interface.
In Computer Science and Information Science, an interface is:
The boundary or point of interaction between two systems that exchange information.
Interfaces exist:
Between computers (via APIs or communication protocols)
Between humans (verbal, gestural, or behavioral interactions)
A user interface (UI) enables communication between humans and machines. That is what Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is about at its core. A great UX design translates machine logic into communication that humans can:
Perceive
Understand
Act on
Why UX Design Exists
Machines compute far faster than humans.
Humans are the slow side of the HCI conversation.
UX Design exists to bridge that gap. We design interfaces that:
Cater to human needs
Reduce cognitive effort
Fit into daily life
Often augment or automate tasks to match machine strengths with human goals
At UMSI, we study and design for many types of user interfaces—not just screens.
You can have a Graphical UI (GUI - like a website, what you typically design for a specific screen)
You can have a voice UI (VUI) like Siri or Alexa
A Tangible UI (TUI)
A gestural UI
Haptic UI
Ambient UI
Physical buttons, knobs, sliders (hardware can also be a Human-Computer interface!)
AR/VR/XR—and many more!
(We teach these skills in classes like SI 612 at UMSI.)
In June 2012, the Usability Professionals Association (UPA) changed its name to the User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA International) to reflect a broader mission—
from focusing on usability testing to embracing the full spectrum of UX design, research, and strategy.
The professional association recognized that “usability” alone wasn’t enough. We must include human factors like emotion.
Now that you understand the background, I hope it’s clearer why I push back on the term "UI/UX".
Here are two principles that drive my UX terminology:
“Putting ‘UI’ before ‘UX’ puts visuals before understanding users and goals—that’s both backwards and redundant.”
“Designing without research is just guessing with pixels. Even if the guess is made by a highly experienced UX designer in a domain they know well, it’s still an educated guess.”
Identifying as a “UI/UX Designer” can unintentionally position you as a design executor—someone who creates visuals after key decisions are already made—rather than a strategic partner in shaping the product. Designers in this position sometimes refer to themselves as “the PM’s paintbrush,” or doing color-by-number work on solutions they didn’t help shape.
In many companies, how it looks is already determined by a design system and brand guidelines owned by another designer or team. The product designer's work then involves assembling existing high-fidelity components to fit a prescribed flow, adjust layouts, and write short text snippets—important skills to exercise, but far from the full scope of UX.
Your UMSI training equips you for more than this. You’re being prepared to shape both what is built and how it works—through research, strategy, and design thinking.
Presenting yourself as a UX Designer tells a different story. It signals that you bring research, strategy, and design thinking to the table—skills that give you influence over what is built, not just how it looks. Strategy is where UX is most powerful; it's where we transform businesses, elevate user experiences, and deliver metrics to prove our work makes a significant positive impact.
If you're a UMSI student, you're not just designing screens to look high-fidelity. You are:
Shaping how people access, interpret, and act on information
Supporting human needs through intentional, structured interaction design
Applying principles from Information Science, cognitive psychology, and systems thinking
🎓 At UMSI, you're being trained as a UX Professional grounded in Information Science.
Own that title. Be proud of it. It's your competitive advantage. Using those skills can make you a great designer.
Please don’t say you’re a “UI/UX Designer.” Instead, say you're a:
UX Designer
HCI Designer
UX Researcher
When you introduce yourself as a “UI/UX Designer,” experienced hiring managers often assume you don’t understand the difference between interface design (UI) and the broader scope of user experience (UX). That’s not the first impression you want—especially for competitive roles. If you want to position yourself for the best jobs, show that you’re clear on the basics:
UX includes interface design—and it begins with understanding humans and making technology serve them better.