What is a User Interface (UI): Types & Examples

Most people can point to a UI they've struggled with, whether that's a checkout that loses their cart or an internal tool nobody wants to open. The frustration is rarely the technology itself; it's an interface that was never designed around the person using it. This guide goes further into what actually makes an interface work: the frameworks designers use to judge it, the process behind building one properly, and what good UI is worth to a business in hard numbers, not just aesthetics.

User interfaces are how people interact with products - encompassing all visual and informational elements and navigational and organisational features. A website would be blank without a user interface - as it is the surface layer through which users communicate with hardware or software.

The field of UI design focuses on crafting a positive user experience (UX) through the best combination of aesthetic and functional elements. Good UI design is essential for a positive user experience, and it involves crafting an app's visual and interactive aspects, including colours, text, buttons and animations.

UI design is not the same as UX design, which is more about the broader aspects of product development. UI design focuses on strategic choices in layout, such as logo placement and buttons, to ensure visual coherence and an engaging interface.

The industrial field of human-computer interaction (HCI) recognises the UI as the space for interactions between humans and machines. Today, most businesses recognise the importance of an excellent user interface in building customer loyalty and brand recognition. Users expect well-designed products, and good UI design draws in visitors and retains customers while facilitating interactions between users and businesses.

UI designers are responsible for the product's look and feel, from colour schemes to typography. They anticipate user preferences and create an interface that understands and fulfils them. UI design doesn't just focus on aesthetics but maximises responsiveness, efficiency and accessibility of the website.

Here's everything you need to know in under a minute:

The definition: a UI is the surface layer of visual, informational and navigational elements through which people communicate with hardware or software.
The main types: graphical (GUI), command-line (CLI), voice (VUI), touchscreen, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), plus menu-driven, form-based and natural language interfaces.
The core elements: input controls, navigational components, informational components and containers.
UI vs UX: UI is the look, feel and interaction quality of a product. UX is the broader research, journey and satisfaction around it.
Why it matters: Forrester research found a well-designed UI can lift conversion rates by up to 200%, and strong UX by up to 400%.
The principles: consistency, simplicity, visibility, feedback and flexibility, judged against Peter Morville's seven-facet UX honeycomb.

Importance of UI in technology and everyday life
Evolution of UIs over time
Understanding User Interface: Meaning and Definition
Importance of User Interface Design
How good UI design drives business outcomes
Critical Principles of UI Design
The UX honeycomb: what makes an interface truly user-centred
What does the UI design process actually look like?
The future of User Interfaces
UI in enterprise software, intranets and business systems
The takeaway
Frequently Asked Questions

Graphical interface widgets shown at a perspective.

Importance of UI in technology and everyday life

Daily, we interact with various appliances, vehicles, and public spaces with user-friendly interfaces. These interfaces make our interactions smoother and more efficient, whether a physical product or software application. The first impression of a product often sets the tone for the entire user experience.

In 2007, Apple revolutionised the industry by introducing a new and innovative UI concept that changed how users interacted with their devices. A good UI design helps to build customer loyalty and brand recognition, and customers now expect well-designed products. An excellent UI can make or break the success of a product, as it draws in visitors, retains customers, and facilitates interactions between users and businesses.

A good user interface (UI) is crucial for the success of any product or service. It can improve Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) efforts by increasing the average session duration metric, which is a factor that search engines use to rank websites. Moreover, a well-designed UI can help build brand loyalty and improve conversions. Essentially, good UI is essential for the success of any product or service.

designer hand drawing a wireframe on a sketchpad

Evolution of UIs over time

Computers have become an inescapable part of our lives. We live in an exciting era of evolving user interfaces and design, where everything from our clothes, accessories, and streets have merged into one central user interface. This is the age of ambient intelligence, where technology has become pervasive and omnipresent.

A Brief History: From Punch Cards to Touchscreens

Before the graphical interfaces in use today, computers relied on punched cards and command lines that demanded specialist knowledge just to operate. The shift began in the 1970s at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, where researchers first combined windows, icons, menus and a pointer into what became known as the WIMP model. Apple brought that thinking to a mass audience with the Macintosh in 1984, and Microsoft followed soon after with Windows, setting the template most interfaces still follow today. Each step solved the same problem: making complex systems usable by people with no interest in learning the machine's own language.

Understanding User Interface: Meaning and Definition

In the early days of computing, there needed to be more in the way of a user interface - only a few buttons on an operator's console were available. Back then, many computers used punched cards prepared with keypunch machines to input computer programs and data. Although punched cards have been obsolete in computing since 2012, some voting machines still use this system.

In the context of technology and design, UI refers to the point at which human users interact with a computer. The user interface, commonly abbreviated as UI, encompasses all the elements of UI design. These include input controls, navigational components, informational components, and containers.

A user interface is a collection of elements that enable users to interact with a computer. It plays a crucial role in ensuring that users can easily navigate and utilise the features of a computer system.

What are the Core Elements of A UI?

A user interface is built from a small, recurring set of building blocks, and understanding them makes it easier to judge whether an interface is doing its job.

Input controls let people give information to the system. Buttons, checkboxes, text fields and dropdowns all fall into this category.
Navigational components help people move around. Search bars, menus, breadcrumbs and tabs guide the way.
Informational components keep people updated. Progress bars, notifications, tooltips and error messages tell users what is happening.
Containers group related content and controls together, so the interface reads as organised rather than cluttered.

As the Interaction Design Foundation puts it, UI design is the process of building interfaces that focus on look, style and how each element behaves, with the goal of making the interface feel invisible so people can focus on the task rather than the screen. Our own breakdown of UI elements goes further into how each of these choices plays out in practice.

Types of User Interfaces

There are many types of User Interfaces utilised for different reasons and in various contexts, including:

Graphical User Interfaces (GUI): utilises graphical elements like icons and windows to facilitate interaction, commonly found in operating systems and applications.
Command-Line Interfaces (CLI): Relies on text-based commands for user interaction, often used by developers and system administrators for precise control over operations.
Voice User Interfaces (VUI): Enables interaction through spoken commands and responses, popularised by virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa.
Touchscreen User Interfaces: Allows users to interact with devices through touch gestures, prevalent in smartphones, tablets, and interactive kiosks.
Augmented Reality (AR) User Interfaces: Integrates virtual elements into the natural environment, commonly seen in AR apps for navigation, gaming, and education.
Virtual Reality (VR) User Interfaces: Creates immersive virtual environments for user interaction, utilised in VR gaming, simulations, and training programs.

A Few More UI Types Worth Knowing

Beyond the core types above, a few other interface styles show up regularly:

Menu-driven interfaces guide users through a structured set of options, the model behind most online shopping and self-service kiosks.
Form-based interfaces use structured fields, checkboxes and dropdowns to capture information, common in enterprise software and government portals.
Natural language interfaces interpret everyday language rather than fixed commands, powering tools like Siri and Alexa in a more conversational way than a standard voice interface.

Examples of User Interfaces

User interfaces are how humans interact with machines. Examples of user interfaces include the computer mouse, remote control, virtual reality, ATMs, and speedometer. Some websites, like Airbnb, Dropbox, and Virgin America, exhibit robust UI design that is user-focused, easy to operate, and enjoyable to use.

Some real-world examples of different types of user interfaces include -

Graphical User Interface (GUI): Operating systems like Windows and macOS, smartphone applications. GUIs are operated by clicking on icons with a mouse or tapping on them with a finger.
Command Line Interface (CLI): Command prompt or terminal on computers, programming interfaces. CLIs are operated by typing commands into a prompt or terminal.
Voice User Interface (VUI): Voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. VUIs are operated by speaking to a voice assistant.
Touchscreen User Interface: Devices like smartphones, tablets, and ATMs.Touchscreen UIs are operated by tapping and swiping on the screen with a finger.
Augmented Reality User Interface (AR UI): AR apps like Pokémon Go and Snapchat filters. AR UIs use a camera and screen to show an augmented reality view.
Virtual Reality User Interface (VR UI): VR gaming consoles and VR training simulations. VR UIs are operated through a controller or by moving the head and body in a virtual environment.

Worker's hands interacting with touchscreen kiosk.

Importance of User Interface Design

User Interface (UI) design plays a significant role in creating user-friendly experiences for digital products. A well-designed UI can enhance usability, user satisfaction, and customer retention, leading to competitive advantage, reduced costs, increased profits, and overall success of an app.

One of the main goals of UI design is to anticipate what users might need to do and ensure that the interface has elements that are easy to access. At the core of UI design lies the goal of providing exceptional User Experience (UX), which collaborates with UI. A well-designed UI makes navigation a breeze, keeps users happy, and ensures that your product stands out in the digital crowd.

UI and functionality are essential to creating the interaction between your brand and customers. A well-designed UI means that users can efficiently accomplish tasks within the app without getting perplexed. It is one of the most critical aspects of the software development process. It's the first impression most users will have of the interface and brand.

Overall, the success of an app relies on user engagement, and a well-designed UI not only attracts users initially but also keeps them engaged over time. UI focuses on aesthetics and plays an essential role in the success of any digital product.

Why is User Interface important?

User interface is a crucial aspect of any software, website, or application as it enables users to interact with them effectively. A well-designed UI should include contrasting visuals, clean design, and responsiveness. When designing a UI, it is essential to consider the users' expectations regarding accessibility, visual aesthetics, and ease of use. An optimal mix of compelling visuals and efficient responsiveness can improve a site's conversion rates as it anticipates and satisfies user needs.

There are several essential elements of great UI, including Information Architecture (IA), Interactive Design, and Visual design. UI focuses on the quality of the user's interaction with the product, while UX involves market research and identifying user needs. UI has more artistic design components that relate to the look and feel of the product, while UX focuses on identifying user needs.

User interface (UI) design combines elements of interaction design, visual design, and information architecture. The interface includes various components such as input controls, navigational components, informational components, and containers. A well-designed user interface can be compared to rolling out a red carpet for the user, making the experience more enjoyable and intuitive.

The process of creating a user interface (UI) involves designing the appearance and functionality of a website, program or app. This includes researching branding and design, adapting the interface to various devices, ensuring interactivity and animation, and putting the design into action. It's crucial to ensure that the UI design is user-friendly, visually attractive, and easy to navigate so that users can have a seamless experience.

Curious how your own product's interface measures up?

Dapth's Digital Advantage Assessment takes about 3 minutes, needs no login, and gives you a free personalised read on where your digital experience UX and UI included has the most room to grow. → Take the Digital Advantage Assessment

How good UI design drives business outcomes

The impact of UI design is measurable, not just aesthetic. Forrester research found that a well-designed UI can lift a website's conversion rate by up to 200%, while strong UX design overall can drive gains of up to 400%. The same research puts the return on UX investment at roughly $100 for every $1 spent.

Those figures explain why organisations increasingly bring in digital transformation consultants rather than treating interface work as a late-stage visual pass. A UI decision made early in a project shapes conversion rates, training time and support costs for years afterwards, which makes it a business decision as much as a design one. Our piece on UI design for applications looks at how this plays out for internal, business-facing software rather than public websites.

Critical Principles of UI Design

To create an effective user interface, certain fundamental principles need to be followed. These principles include consistency, simplicity, visibility, feedback, and flexibility.

Consistency means making sure that the user interfaces are as consistent as possible. This is achieved by using similar design patterns, identical terminology in prompts, homogenous menus and screens, and consistent commands throughout the interface.

Simplicity is also important. As Peep Laja says, "Your job is to build an interface that minimises the knowledge gap between what users know before coming to your site and what they must know to use it properly." Visibility refers to ensuring all the necessary information is visible to the user. Feedback is also important so that the user knows what is happening when they interact with the interface. Flexibility is not just about following a linear path but also involves knowing the customer and providing flexibility for different customer intents. This can be achieved by designing great solutions in all situations and using shortcuts that speed up user interaction.

According to Jakob Nielsen, it is essential to have an 'emergency exit' option that allows users to leave the unwanted state without going through an extended dialogue. This helps in instances when users choose system functions accidentally.

Additionally, the interface should support 'undo' and 'redo' functions that allow users to reverse actions easily when they feel they've made a mistake. This is closely related to Ben Schneiderman's golden rule for UI - 'supporting internal locus of control.' Furthermore, users spend most of their time on other sites, so Jacob's Law states that your site should work the same way as all the other sites they already know, making it familiar and easy to use.

The UX honeycomb: what makes an interface truly user-centred

Peter Morville's UX honeycomb is one of the most widely used frameworks for judging whether an interface is genuinely serving its users. It breaks user experience into seven overlapping qualities:

Useful: does it solve a real problem?
Usable: can people complete their task without friction?
Desirable: does the visual design create the right impression?
Findable: can users locate what they need?
Accessible: can people with a range of abilities use it?
Credible: does it earn the user's trust?
Valuable: does it deliver value to both the user and the business?

An interface that hits usable and desirable but ignores findable or accessible still fails a meaningful share of its audience. Our guide to navigating UX and UI covers how these two disciplines divide the work of meeting all seven.

What does the UI design process actually look like?

Behind every polished interface is a structured process, not a single design pass:

Understand the users. Research who will use the interface and what they are trying to achieve.
Map the flow. Sketch how someone moves from one screen or step to the next before any visual design begins.
Wireframe the structure. Lay out where each component sits, without colour or styling to distract from the logic.
Design the components. Apply the visual system, typography and interaction detail.
Prototype and test. Put a working version in front of real users and watch where they get stuck.
Implement and iterate. Ship the interface, then keep refining it against real usage data.

Nielsen Norman Group's usability heuristics are a useful checklist to run against a design at every one of these stages, not just at the end. Our user flow charts guide covers step two in more detail, and our UX & UI Design Services team runs this full process for clients rather than treating it as a single deliverable.

The future of User Interfaces

There are many emerging trends and technologies shaping the future of User Interfaces (UIs). Potential advancements include Natural Language Processing (NLP) for more intuitive Voice User Interfaces (VUIs), gesture-based interfaces for Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), and the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for personalised user experiences.

Additionally, we'll explore the impact of wearable technology on UI design and highlight the evolving role of UIs in human-computer interaction.

Case Study: CKSC

UI in enterprise software, intranets and business systems

Most conversations about UI focus on customer-facing products, but the same discipline matters just as much inside a business. Staff don't get to choose whether they use an intranet or a finance system the way a customer chooses a website, but a confusing interface still carries a cost: longer onboarding, more errors, and staff who quietly build their own workarounds rather than use the system properly. Our piece on custom-built intranets covers this in more depth.

At Dapth, that discipline runs across every type of build we deliver. A public website on kentico development needs the same attention to navigation and clarity as an internal tool. A mobile product built through app development has to work within the tighter constraints of a smaller screen. A broader platform delivered by our software development company needs an interface that scales across teams and use cases. And for organisations already running on Microsoft tools, microsoft sharepoint development brings that same UI thinking to the systems staff use every day, not just the ones customers see.

The takeaway

In summary, user interfaces (UIs) are integral components of technology, serving as the conduit between users and digital products. Understanding what user interfaces entail, from their definition to various types and examples, illuminates their significance in modern technology. UI design encompasses consistency, simplicity, and visibility to ensure optimal usability and user satisfaction.

Emerging trends in UI design, including Natural Language Processing (NLP) and gesture-based interactions, shape the future of UIs, underscoring the importance of staying updated in this dynamic field. By prioritising user-centred design and leveraging innovative technologies, we can create UIs that meet user needs and elevate digital experiences to new heights.

As we navigate the evolving technological landscape, let's recognise the vital role that user interfaces play in shaping our digital interactions and experiences. It's essential to consider the significance of UIs in daily interactions with technology.

Great UI is where research, visual craft and business goals meet. If you're moving from understanding UI to improving your own, Dapth's Perth team designs interfaces that are measured by engagement and conversion, not just how they look see our UX & UI design services.

Not sure where to start? Take the 3-minute Digital Advantage Assessment for a free read on your biggest digital opportunity.

Frequently Asked Questions

UI or User Interface, encompasses all means by which users interact with a system, including graphical and non-graphical interfaces.

GUI, or Graphical User Interface, refers explicitly to interfaces that allow users to interact with electronic devices using graphical elements such as icons, buttons, and menus. Therefore, while GUI is a type of UI, not all UIs are graphical; some may be text-based or voice-based.

UI - short for User Interface, refers to the means by which users interact with a system, software application, or device. It includes graphical elements, text-based interfaces, voice commands, and other forms of interaction designed to facilitate user engagement.

UI stands for User Interface. It represents the point of interaction between the user and a system, enabling users to input commands and receive feedback from the system.

The purpose of a UI is to facilitate communication and interaction between users and a system, software application, or device.

It aims to make the interaction intuitive, efficient, and user-friendly, ensuring that users can easily achieve their tasks and goals while minimising frustration and errors.

A common user interface example is the touchscreen interface found on smartphones and tablets. Users interact with the device by tapping, swiping, and pinching on the screen, which is the graphical interface for accessing apps, settings, and other functionalities.

This UI allows users to navigate through menus, launch applications, type messages, and perform various tasks using touch-based interactions, contributing to the overall user experience of the device.

UI design covers the look, feel and interactive elements a person directly engages with. UX design covers the entire journey, including research, structure and how the experience feels from start to finish. Good UI can't fix a broken UX, and a well-researched UX still needs strong UI to feel right. The two work as a pair, not as sequential steps.

Yes, often more than for public-facing products. Employees don't choose to use an intranet the way a customer chooses a website, but a confusing interface still has a real cost: longer training, more errors and staff who quietly find workarounds instead of using the system as intended. The same principles that make a customer-facing product easy to use apply just as directly inside an organisation.

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