The Yin-Yang in UX/UI

Photo credit: Alex @worthyofelegance

What is Yin and Yang

Yin and yang (or yin-yang) is a relational concept in Chinese culture. The meaning of yin and yang is that the universe is governed by a cosmic duality, sets of two opposing and complementing principles or cosmic energies that can be observed in nature.

Yin and Yang elements come in pairs — such as the moon and the sun, female and male, dark and bright, cold and hot, passive and active, and so on — but note that yin and yang are not static or mutually exclusive terms. While the world is composed of many different, sometimes opposing, forces, these can coexist and even complement each other. Sometimes, forces opposite in nature even rely on one another to exist. The nature of yin-yang lies in the interchange and interplay of the two components. The alternation of day and night is just such an example: there cannot be a shadow without light.

The balance of yin and yang is important. If yin is stronger, yang will be weaker, and vice versa. Yin and yang can interchange under certain conditions so that they are usually not yin and yang alone. In other words, yin elements can contain certain parts of yang, and yang can have some components of yin. This balance of yin and yang is perceived to exist in everything.

— Jun Shan (The Meaning of Yin and Yang)

Strategy & Design

A design process is aimed at creating a visually aesthetic digital experience that defines a brand within an intuitive and accessible user interface. Every good design is the result of combination of strategy and design, which are intertwined like Yin and Yang.

Photo credit: Felix Mittermeier

Better Together

A good design can’t be achieved by either making the right strategy nor beautiful visuals alone. Instead, it is a byproduct of digital dualism. Two principles in the duality need to be followed : how it works (UX) and how it looks (UI). Although strictly speaking, these are two different disciplines, they ultimately reflect two perspectives of the same end-result.

Strategy tends to carry a functional, logical and business-oriented perspective on each of our client’s projects, acting as the blueprint builders for the solution’s functionality, content, and business ideology. Alternatively, design tends to carry a visual and empathic lens into the end-user’s experience, almost always acting as the voice of customer.

Just as the duality of yin and yang work together to establish balance in life, Strategy and Design, UX and UI, work together to balance and unify two differing perspectives.