User Experience (UX) refers to the overall quality of a person's journey with a product or service—it is not merely about the screen, but everything they feel, understand, and achieve, before, during, and after the interaction.

Don Norman coined the term "user experience" in the early 1990s at Apple, specifically to move beyond overly narrow concepts like "interface" or "usability." His definition is brilliantly broad: UX encompasses all aspects of a person’s interaction with the organization, its services, and its products. Peter Morville beautifully mapped this in his "UX Honeycomb," showing that an outstanding experience must be useful, usable, desirable, findable, accessible, credible, and truly valuable.

Yet, everyday language has narrowed this scope. "UX" is frequently confused with UI, the design of screens. This is a misleading reduction: the most gorgeous interface cannot rescue a broken experience elsewhere—be it a delivery delay, an unreachable customer service, or a broken promise. The screen is merely one touchpoint among many. Norman himself is quite vocal about his frustration with seeing "UX" reduced to just interface design.

Viewing UX as a holistic experience, rather than just a screen, has a direct and powerful consequence: UX naturally converges with service design. The true moment of truth in a customer journey often unfolds off-screen—during a wait, an phone call, or through a letter. Reducing UX to the app alone is like polishing the shop window while leaving the backroom in complete disarray.

Our approach: we design experiences across the entire real-world journey and the system that powers it, not just the screen. A truly successful UX is not simply a beautiful interface; it is a user reaching their goal effortlessly and walking away with a marvelous impression. Aesthetics absolutely matter, but they are only one part of the magic.

What's happening elsewhere: UI (the screen itself), service design (the off-screen experience), usability, affordance, and desirability.

References: D. Norman, coining of the term "user experience" (Apple, 1990s); P. Morville, UX honeycomb.