Morrison argues that while it certainly makes sense to kill two birds with one stone – again, taking into consideration the limitations with which startups operate – he stresses the importance of recognizing the differences between UI and UX. For many startups, the intentions associated with hiring a UX/UI designer focus on the notion that the person will take into consideration both UI and UX in his or her designs; for Morrison, he sees this as a fairly weak argument – he says that every good designer regardless of their focus will take UI and UX into consideration, the problem he sees is that inevitably that UX/UI designer will focus more one aspect and less on the other. Having worked at two previous startups as the lead UX/UI designer, Morrison certainly has the background to qualify him to write about the topic. And for Morrison, product usability lays at the core of his entire belief system. In the blog post, he goes deeper into the specifics of both UX and UI – how do they differ, what roles do designers in either speciality play, and why are they equally important? He argues that having one person to do both jobs affects the overall turnout of your product, and can result in something completely lacking due to a shortage of focus on one of the two design aspects. In the end, Morrison suggests that companies first hire a UX designer – they’re the ones that focus on figuring out, in the first place, whether what you’re creating is something that’s even desired in the marketplace. UX designers can tackle these problems because their job is focused on field research, user testing, and face-to-face interviews. And by doing this, Morrison argues, you’re able to ensure a greater survival rate for your product. Read the rest of what Morrison has to say in his original post “Why You Shouldn’t Hire a UI/UX Designer”.
