From Refugee To Legendary: The Roller Coaster Hustling of Serial Entrepreneur Tony Lam

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September 16, 2022

“I want to tell everyone it is NOT EASY. For all the folks in the restaurant/food business, I respect you and take my hat off to you.”

Tony’s current passion projects include helping to bring popularity to Vietnamese coffee in the United States and guiding the next generation of young, ambitious entrepreneurs to realize their full potential.

He is married to his lovely wife Van Lam and has two sons named Damon and Andy. His son Andy is on the spectrum (ASD), “Raising an autistic child has many challenges and requires a lot of patience. These kids have a special place in my heart.” Because of this, he is currently working closely with Linda Nguyen, founder Laugh Out Loud with Autism Foundation (LOLA) whom he got connected through the Asian Hustle Network (AHN), “Much respect for this beautiful human being for having a BIG heart. We need more compassionate leaders like her in this world.” he said.

Known for being a successful serial entrepreneur, Tony shared his successes and his humble beginnings and challenges that made him the hustler he is today.

Escaping Vietnam

My story began 45 years ago from today. During the Fall of Saigon (April 30th, 1975), I was only 3 months old when my family fled on a tiny boat to the US. My father was one of the Naval captains of the South Vietnam government.

My mother had just given birth to me and they had to make the difficult decision: Should they stay, or should they go with a 3-month-old baby and risk death by the communist government? They made the decision to drop everything they had and took a chance on a better life into the unknown.

My grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins left everything behind and boarded the boat. My father to this day still has nightmares of the harrowing escape.

My mother had just given birth to me and they had to make the difficult decision: Should they stay, or should they go with a 3-month-old baby and risk death by the communist government?
-Tony Lam

A Fresh Start

My family was refugees in the Philippines for about 6 months. Not knowing what would happen, my family prayed hard and God answered our prayers. We were sponsored by an American family through Catholic Charities.

This American family took in a total of 6 of us, gave us a roof over our heads, put food on the table, and gave my family support for a couple of years to survive. My “sponsored grandparents” are now angels in heaven, but their kids whom I called Aunt Kim and Uncle John still live in southern California and we still communicate every so often. My family is grateful to their parents’ kindness and open heart to take in complete strangers into their homes.

My family would move to the Bay Area a few years later for a fresh start. My brother and sister were born, and we quickly became a family of 5. My father got his AA degree from San Jose City College and his trade was being a technician fixing medical devices for hospitals while my mother worked as an assembly worker.

Building Blocks That Lead To Success

I remember growing up in a poor neighborhood, teased by classmates for being Asian. Racism did exist at an early age for me but I did not let it bother me.

I remember my parents giving me a $100 allowance to buy enough clothes every year during my middle and high school years. So no, I did not grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth, but I was grateful for what I had. I got decent grades but was not smart by all means in high school.

I attended California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) where I got my business degree. My dream was to open a business one day but I didn’t know at the time what it would be. My first job out of college was at Cisco Systems (’97). I worked for corporate for way too long (14 years). I was a workaholic working 60-70 hr. weeks to save up money to start a family one day.

I should mention that this all would not have been possible without the love and support of my wife. I met my beautiful wife Van Lam through a college friend. We chatted for 3 months via Yahoo Messenger, fell in love, and married her one year later in Vietnam. We have two boys (Damon – 10 yrs. old and Andy – 7 yrs. old)

While I was working at Cisco, I discovered my first hustle (Wingstop) and the many more that would follow after leaving the company.

I was a workaholic working 60-70 hr. weeks to save up money to start a family one day.
-TONY LAM

The Serial Entrepreneur

Wingstop Franchisee — for 5 Locations (San Jose, Milpitas, Fremont, Union City) in the Bay Area for over 3 decades.

COOP Marketing President — for 50 Wingstop in the Bay Area instrumental in inking the deal with the GS Warriors and becoming “The Official Wings of the Golden State Warriors” since 2015

Omni Bev Co-founder — the first company to have an RTD (Ready to Drink) Vietnamese cold brew with condensed milk on the market with a shelf life of over 6 months. Its coffee beans are imported directly from Da Lat. They also serve nitro cold brew!

Omni Bev Co-Founders Tony Lam and Tammy Huynh

Mavens Creamery Shark Tank Winner — a macaron ice cream place that started in a 400 sq. ft. garage, expanded to 300 venues, and 4 years later struck a Shark Tank deal on TV with Barbara Corcoran.

alaMar Kitchen & Bar Co-Owner — voted the Best Seafood Restaurant in Oakland by Oakland Magazine in 2020, was also featured in the Michelin Guide for 3 years, and on KQED

Okashi Fusion Co-Owner — with a 4.8/5 star rating on Yelp reviewed by 710 customers, is the “BEST POKE in town with the BEST desserts” as Tony describes.

VitaBowl Board Advisor & Investor — a premium on-demand delivery brand that serves locally sourced, vegetarian, superfood meals and beverages. Tony teamed up with Charles Michael Yim through Asian Hustle Network, who also struck a deal on Shark Tank. Charles has assembled an A-team of talent, “I am honored to be working with these guys. Together, we have started a new company VitaBowl.” he expressed.

Enterprise Purchasing Group Co-Owner — a group purchasing organization that leverages the combined volume of many e-commerce businesses to secure exclusive programs with major shipping carriers (USPS, UPS, DHL, FEDEX) for both domestic and international destinations. “Our team has saved 10’s of millions for many customers spending in the range of $10K to $70M+ to date,” Tony added, “If you ship at least 50 orders a day domestically, we can surely help you with saving with our program.”

A Few Hurdles That Turned Into Bigger Opportunities

When IOS apps were just coming out in 2011, my partner and I created a booking app called Chimpped, which allows users to book with all your service providers (e.g. your dentist, doctor, kid’s activities, restaurant, etc.). One and a half years later, we closed down our business because we ran out of money and did not get enough traction. The “high tuition” I had to pay through this failure allowed me to consult with other app companies.

The apps KEA, Nextforce, and WorkStream have gone through Series-A funding and 1 Seed round. The seeds have been planted, just waiting on fruits to grow.

The “high tuition” I had to pay through this failure allowed me to consult with other app companies.
-Tony Lam

What Is Next For Tony Lam?

Tony wants to dedicate his time to the special needs / autistic community and provide resources such as jobs and career-building services.

He is also planning on launching Andy’s cafe where a large portion of the staff hires will be from the special needs community. The plan is to launch this in 2023 in California. If successful, he would like to open 100 of these in the next 5 years to give the special needs community a safe place to work and be able to socialize with people

Lastly, Tony is planning on starting up a PE fund to invest in startup CPG companies.

Advice To Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Surround yourself with mentors and successful entrepreneurs. Join a support network of folks that bring positive energy
Write up a business plan so that you have done the research before venturing out
Have 18 months of the runway of savings to cover your expenses while you launch your company

You can reach Tony at tony@launchyourfirst.com

News

Love, Bonito x Asian American Girl Club Present the ‘TrailBlazer’ Collaboration

Love, Bonito and Asian American Girl Club have joined forces to launch the TrailBlazer Collaboration—a tribute to Asian American women breaking barriers, redefining leadership, and inspiring future generations. This campaign celebrates five extraordinary women, each donning a unique limited-edition Love, Bonito x Asian American Girl Club blazer that serves as a true reflection of their confidence, resilience, and identity.

Meet the Trailblazers:

Ally Maki – Actress, Advocate, and Founder of Asian American Girl Club, Ally embodies power and purpose in the RuchedReady® Rachel Blazer—made for the woman who rolls up her sleeves and gets things done

Sherry Cola – Comedian, Actress, and Storyteller, Sherry embodies authenticity in the Alya Boxy Crop Blazer, a reflection of her bold humor and vibrant energy.

Amanda Nguyen – Astronaut and Founder of Rise, Amanda exudes resilience and advocacy in the RuchedReady^®Lapelles Soft Blazer, a symbol of strength and justice.

Michelle Kwan – Olympic Figure Skater and Diplomat, Michelle showcases her grace and determination in the RuchedReady^® Classic Regular Fit Blazer, a nod to her unwavering spirit both on and off the ice.
Paravi – Popstar and Actress, Paravi brings her dreamy vibes and fearless creativity to the RuchedReady^® Aera Slim Blazer—because bold artistry deserves a bold fit.

The Trailblazers (from left to right): Michelle Kwan, Ally Maki, Sherry Cola, Amanda Nguyen, Paravi

A Mission-Driven Collaboration

“At Love, Bonito, we share a common mission with Asian American Girl Club—to champion and uplift Asian American women in spaces where they have long been underrepresented,” said Dione Song, CEO of Love, Bonito. “This Trailblazers collaboration is a tribute to the trailblazers shaping industries, breaking barriers, and inspiring communities worldwide.”

A Pin with Purpose

Every detail in this collection carries a deeper meaning. Each blazer from the collaboration comes with a custom pin set representing a trailblazer’s journey:

The Phoenix – A symbol of resilience and rebirth, reminding women of their power to rise after every challenge.
The Sakura – Representing renewal and growth, celebrating transformation and new beginnings.
The Ginkgo – A timeless emblem of endurance and strength, honoring those who stand firm in adversity.

Now More Than Ever

“Asian American women have always driven powerful change, though our stories have often gone untold,” said Ally Maki, Founder of Asian American Girl Club. “Through Trailblazers, we’re affirming that our impact and leadership across all industries has always been—and will continue to be—undeniable.”

Join the Movement

Discover the TrailBlazer Collection at https://www.lovebonito.com/us/global/trailblazers-aagc

About Love, Bonito:

Love, Bonito is the leading female-founded fashion brand in Southeast Asia, dedicated to empowering women through thoughtful, versatile designs. With a deep understanding of the modern woman’s needs, Love, Bonito creates timeless and functional pieces that blend style with confidence. More than just a fashion brand, Love, Bonito is committed to fostering a strong, supportive community—championing women in every stage of their journey through representation, storytelling, and purpose-driven initiatives.

About Asian American Girl Club:

Asian American Girl Club (AAGC) is a cultural force and community-driven brand dedicated to amplifying the voices and experiences of Asian and Asian American women. Founded by actress Ally Maki, AAGC creates space for connection and representation through fashion, media, and storytelling. With a mission to break stereotypes and celebrate identity, AAGC is more than a brand—it’s a movement empowering the next generation to be seen, heard, and unapologetically themselves.

Credits: Love, Bonito x Asian American Girl Club

Mar 23, 2025
3 min read

News

Tariffs Hit Home: How Asian American Communities Bear the Brunt

While Trump claims tariffs will significantly impact the countries they target, experts argue that consumers and businesses will bear the brunt of the consequences.

Research by The Budget Lab at Yale University estimates that price levels may rise to 2% this year, equivalent to $3,000 per average household. Another report from D.C. stated that the new tariffs on China affect about 14% of U.S. imports and may raise costs to $25 billion annually. As the tariff war escalates, everyday consumers will face even higher prices.

Asian American communities and businesses are particularly vulnerable. In New York’s Chinatown, 28% of residents already live below the poverty line. With many companies relying on imports from Asia, owners are uncertain about their survival.

Mott Street in Manhattan's Chinatown (Image source: NBC News) — *Mott Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown (Image source: NBC News)*

“Here in Chinatown, especially, we have many elderly residents on fixed incomes,” says Edward Lau, owner of a traditional medicine shop in San Francisco’s Chinatown. With 90% of his stock sourced from Hong Kong and China, he worries, “If it gets very expensive, their spending power will be lower. Chinese immigrants will ultimately be harmed the most.”

Taylor Chow, owner of American Tai Wah Trading Corp, adds, “The Chinese community in Chinatown has been hit hard most because we consume a lot of imported ingredients. A lot of products only come from China. Even if manufacturers try to move their production line to Vietnam, to Malaysia, to Singapore, it’s not that easy.”

Supply chain disruptions and rising costs are straining small Asian American businesses. Since the community depends on these shops for cultural goods, they, too, will feel the pressure.

Mei Lum, owner of Lum’s Store, the longest-operating business in Manhattan’s Chinatown, explains, “Our working-class community here in Chinatown is definitely, in these circumstances, always being hit the hardest. And a lot of them have told me that their solution to mitigating these circumstances has been to eat those costs and only raise those prices by a smidgen, just to make sure they’re affordable for the people that frequent their establishments. How long can they sustain that?”

*Mandy Lau helping a customer pick ginseng (Image Source: The Chronicle)*

The erosion of these businesses could lead to cultural loss, impacting food, traditions, and ceremonial products. Lucas Li, whose family runs Lion Trading in San Francisco, specializing in feng shui and spiritual supplies, says, “When they get expensive, it makes it harder for Chinese people, for their families to maintain those traditions and do it at the proper steps. When customers shop at local businesses and small businesses, they’re not just buying a product, they’re basically investing in the community, supporting families, and protecting our traditions.”

Large online retailers like Shein, Temu, and AliExpress are also affected. While it is unclear how much product prices will rise on these e-commerce platforms, experts predict delivery delays and price hikes due to tariffs. Youssef Squali, an analyst at Truist Financial, notes, “The vast majority of these orders are valued less than $800, which means all or virtually all of them are going to get caught in that.”

Ultimately, Asian Americans may feel the greatest impact. As Linda Chao, a resident of Oceanview, states, “When there are tariffs, it won’t fall on China, it’ll fall on us. It can’t be helped. I also don’t have time to go and protest. I feel there’s nothing we can do.”

Sources: NBC News, The Chronicle, AP News, University of Virginia, The Guardian

Mar 14, 2025
3 min read

Design

How to use Midjourney AI in UI design

As AI increasingly makes its way into the UI designer’s toolkit, Midjourney is fast becoming one of the most popular image generators.

With a simple text prompt, you can use Midjourney AI to create custom digital artworks, whip up an app screen, design individual UI elements, and generate colour palettes—all in a matter of seconds.

For UI designers, this can really accelerate the ideation process and help you expand your own creativity.

So how does Midjourney AI work? And how can you leverage it in the UI design process? Let’s take a look.

What is Midjourney AI and how does it work?

Midjourney is a generative AI tool created by Midjourney, Inc.—an independent research lab based in San Francisco.

Midjourney AI generates images and digital artworks based on text prompts. If you enter a prompt asking for an image of a mermaid swimming underwater surrounded by marine life, Midjourney will generate four versions for you to choose from. The more specific your prompts, the better—but we’ll get to the art of prompt-writing for Midjourney in a later section.

Midjourney works within the Discord platform. Discord is an instant messaging app, commonly used to create communities where users can chat via text, voice, and video. Discord essentially facilitates communication between the user and the Midjourney bot.

Midjourney uses two key machine learning technologies:

Large Language Models (LLM): this is how Midjourney understands and interprets the text prompts provided by the user.
Diffusion Models (DM): in very simple terms, this technology converts random visual noise into a meaningful image. You enter a text prompt, which sparks a field of visual noise. The AI then progressively removes that noise in incremental steps, eventually resulting in an image that resembles what you’ve asked for.

Now we know what Midjourney is and how it works, let’s drill down to some key functions and features.

What can Midjourney AI do? Key features

Midjourney’s core function is to convert text prompts into images. This allows you to generate unique digital artworks and graphics in a range of styles.

You can guide the image generation process by applying custom parameters to your prompts. You might specify a certain aspect ratio, for example, or a particular style such as ‘watercolour’ or ‘flat design’.

You can also customise the quality of your images by specifying, within your prompt, a value for the rendering quality. You might specify ‘q 1’ (that’s the default quality level) or request that images be rendered to a higher quality by specifying ‘q 2’ in your prompt.

Once you’ve entered your prompt, Midjourney will give you four different image versions. You can choose to upscale a particular version, which will increase the size/dimensions of the image and also improve the quality.

Beyond image generation, Midjourney serves as a great source of community and inspiration. You can share your creations and browse images created by others, allowing you to see what’s possible with Midjourney and sparking ideas for your own work.

How to get set up on Midjourney AI

To use Midjourney AI, you’ll need to create both a Discord account and a Midjourney account.

If you’re not already a member, first head over to the Discord platform and follow the instructions to create your account. Once you’re signed up, join the official Midjourney Discord server by clicking the ‘Accept invite’ button.

You’ll then find yourself in the “Getting started” channel, where you can create your Midjourney account (if you haven’t already done so) by clicking “Get your Midjourney membership” (visible in the chat):

This will take you to a separate page, the Midjourney showcase, where you can click “Sign up” in the bottom left corner to create your Midjourney account.

Once you’re signed up and logged in to Midjourney, you can navigate back to the Midjourney Discord server and enter one of the so-called “newbie” bot channels. You’ll find available newbie channels on the left-hand side.

You can then enter your own prompts into the chat box to start generating images.

At the time of writing, Midjourney is no longer offering a free trial for new users. If you want to start prompting, you’ll need to sign up for a paid subscription.

How much does Midjourney AI cost?

Midjourney offers four price tiers:

Basic Plan for $10 per month or $96 per year with an annual subscription (that’s around €9 per month / €89 per year)
Standard Plan for $30 per month or $288 per year with an annual subscription (that’s around €28 per month / €267 per year)
Pro Plan for $60 per month or $576 per year with an annual subscription (that’s around €55 per month / €533 per year)
Mega Plan for $120 per month or $1,152 per year with an annual subscription (that’s around €111 per month / €1,066 per year).

For more information about each price tier and what’s included, visit the official Midjourney pricing page.

How to use Midjourney AI in UI design (with example prompts)

Midjourney can generate custom visuals in a matter of seconds—making it an incredibly interesting tool for UI designers. You can use Midjourney to quickly create screens and individual UI components, come up with themes, styles, and colour palettes, and generate unique digital artwork.

Note, however, that the graphics you create with Midjourney won’t necessarily be directly usable—and working with Midjourney doesn’t eliminate the need to create your own screens and elements using the usual UI tools like Sketch and Figma. If you generate an app screen with Midjourney, for example, you’ll still need to actually create that screen from scratch yourself.

Where Midjourney really comes in useful is helping you to explore different ideas and concepts and gather inspiration. You might use your AI-generated artwork to inspire mood boards, kick-start an ideation session, or serve as a guide for certain layouts or colour schemes.

With that, let’s consider some examples of how to use Midjourney for UI design.

Use Midjourney AI to generate app screens

If you’re designing for mobile, Midjourney can help you ideate layouts and designs for various app screens. If you’re designing a dating app, for example, you might try the following Midjourney prompts:

/imagine a vibrant and fun login screen for a dating app, with an eye-catching background, username and password fields, and buttons for login and social media sign-ins
/imagine a user profile screen for a dating app, featuring a large profile picture at the top, user bio, interests, and match percentage displayed in a clean layout
/imagine a match screen for a dating app, showing potential matches with profile pictures, a brief bio, and buttons to like, dislike, or super like
/imagine a chat screen for a dating app with a clean interface, message bubbles, timestamps, and an input field at the bottom

Create UI components such as icons, buttons, and logos

Perhaps you want inspiration for the finer details of your app or website. In that case, try using Midjourney AI to create individual UI components such as icons, buttons, and logos. Here are some prompt examples to guide you:

/imagine a set of modern buttons for a mobile app, including primary, secondary, and disabled states, using a black and white colour scheme
/imagine a collection of minimalist icons for a mobile app, including icons for home, search, messages, settings, and notifications
/imagine a sleek and modern logo for a dating app, incorporating elements of connection and love, with a vibrant colour scheme

Generate theme and style concepts

In the early stages of the design process, you might focus on coming up with an overall visual style for your website or app—and Midjourney can help with this, too. Specify your vision or initial ideas and let Midjourney bring them to life.

Consider the following prompt examples:

/imagine a light mode theme for a productivity app, featuring white backgrounds, soft grey UI elements, and navy blue highlights
/imagine a dark mode theme for a music app, with black backgrounds, dark grey UI elements, and neon pink highlights
/imagine a vibrant and colourful theme for a creative design app, with bold colours like orange, pink, and teal, playful typography, and dynamic UI elements

Create custom website imagery

Imagery plays an important role in UI design, helping to reinforce brand identity and enhance the visual appeal of your website or app.

Whether you want to create cartoon-style illustrations, abstract artwork, or realistic images of products, places, or people, Midjourney can generate custom imagery that reflects your brand and vision.

Here are some examples of how you might prompt Midjourney to generate images for different use cases:

/imagine a stunning hero image for a tech startup website, featuring abstract technology elements and a modern cityscape in the background
/imagine a set of custom illustrations for a health and wellness website, featuring people doing yoga, eating healthy, and meditating
/imagine a unique background image for a creative agency website, with abstract shapes and vibrant colours

Generate colour palettes

Perhaps you want help coming up with the perfect colour palette, or you’ve already got a colour scheme in mind and want to see how it looks in practice. Again, Midjourney is an excellent source of inspiration here. Simply specify the kind of look and feel you’re aiming for and Midjourney can generate multiple colour palettes accordingly.

Consider the following prompt examples to guide you:

/imagine a pastel colour palette for a wellness app, featuring soft shades of mint green, blush pink, lavender, and light grey
/imagine a bold, split-complementary colour palette for a fitness app, comprising three colours
/imagine a monochromatic colour palette for a finance app

How to write effective prompts for Midjourney AI

As with all generative AI tools, the quality of the output depends on the quality of the input. In other words, it’s up to you to tell the AI what you want—and to master the art of prompt-writing for the specific tool you’re using.

Here are some tips to help you write effective prompts for Midjourney AI:

Start each prompt with the /imagine command, followed by a description of what you want the AI to create.
Keep it simple and specific. To quote the official Midjourney guidelines for prompt-writing: “The Midjourney Bot works best with simple short phrases that describe what you want to see. Avoid long lists of requests and instructions.”
Specify what you want the image to include, rather than what you don’t want it to include. Even if you specify “no flowers” in your prompt, the AI will likely only focus on the word “flowers” and therefore create an image that does indeed contain flowers. If you absolutely want to exclude something from the image, use the “no” parameter. For example: – – no flowers.
If necessary, specify your desired aspect ratio using the following parameter: – – ar [value]. If you wanted to generate an app screen, you could specify – – ar 16:9.
Use the stylize parameter to control the level of artistic flair that Midjourney injects into each image. If you imagine that the default level, 2500, gives you a medium level of stylization, you can dial it up or down by specifying values higher or lower than 2500. If you wanted to generate an image of a garden that’s more realistic than artistic, you might specify – – stylize 500. If you wanted to create an image of a garden that looks magical and fantastical, you might specify – – stylize 3500.
Use the quality parameter to adjust the level of quality and detail in the image. – – q 1 is the default, so work from that value to dial the quality up or down.

Most importantly, be prepared to experiment. The more you use Midjourney, the more intuitive the art of prompt-writing will become. You’ll start to get a feel for what works and see how different words, phrases, and parameters influence the output.

Ethical considerations when using Midjourney AI

If you’re using Midjourney AI (or indeed any AI tools) throughout the design process, you must take care to use it responsibly. Here are some of the most important ethical considerations to bear in mind.

Intellectual property and copyright

When generating images with AI, be careful about replicating existing images or artworks created by other artists or designers. You might use a famous logo for inspiration, for example, but you wouldn’t want to emulate the style too closely to the point of copying.

Deceptive and misleading content

This is like the visual equivalent of fake news—creating image-based content that deliberately deceives, misleads, manipulates, or spreads misinformation. Don’t do it!

Stereotypes and bias

It’s well-documented that AI can and does perpetuate harmful stereotypes and biases. As a human user, you must be diligent about actively looking out for such biases and taking steps to mitigate them.

Strive to generate images that are inclusive and representative of diverse groups. If you generate an image that doesn’t feel inclusive or could potentially exclude or harm certain people, don’t use it. You can learn more about the importance of designing inclusive content in this guide.

As a general rule: always review AI-generated content with a critical eye, and use your better judgement. As a human user, it’s your responsibility to consider the impact of any content you create—and to ultimately decide what makes it into the public domain.

The takeaway

Midjourney AI can generate custom images in seconds, making it an excellent tool for gathering inspiration, sparking your own creativity, and ideating and exploring different design concepts, layouts, and styles.

Whether you use it to generate fully-fledged app screens, individual UI elements, impressive artworks, or colour palettes: Midjourney AI is a powerful addition to your UI design toolkit.

Ready to get started with Midjourney AI? Experiment with different prompts and use cases, explore other Midjourney users’ creations, and be mindful of the ethical considerations we’ve laid out in this guide. You’ll soon be generating images like a pro!

Mar 13, 2025
12 min read

Design

What is UX design?

What does UX stand for? Learn more about what UX means, why it’s so important and what defines good UX.

“UX” stands for “user experience.” It describes the quality of the experience an end user has with a specific product, service, company or brand.

Although it’s often talked about in relation to digital products, like apps and websites, UX can relate to anything that an end user can interact with or encounter.

Take the example of going into your local bank to open a new account. If the process is quick and simple with clear instructions, easy-to-find information and friendly customer service, you’d come away feeling like you had a good user experience.

The same goes for ordering something online or using an app on your phone. If you’re able to accomplish your desired tasks with minimal effort, you’ll find the user experience to be a pleasant one.

UX doesn’t relate to one specific thing. It’s the sum of all the smaller parts that determines whether the overall encounter between the product/service and the user is a positive one. You can think of it as the impression the user leaves with and whether or not they’d be keen to repeat the experience. To learn more, keep reading.

What is user experience (UX) design?

If UX describes the quality of a user’s encounter with a particular product or service, UX design is the process of creating and shaping these experiences, with the goal of making them positive, pleasant and valuable for the end user.

UX design isn’t about how a product looks; that’s just one aspect of the overall user experience. It’s about ensuring that the product is logical, functional, easy to navigate and generally user-friendly.

There are 5 elements of UX design to consider:

Strategy: Deciding which objectives the product should meet, including both end user goals and client/business stakeholder objectives.
Scope: Fleshing out the details of the product, determining which features and functionality it should offer.
Structure: Mapping out the structure of the product, considering how users will navigate from one point to the next and what information they’ll need to move around the product and accomplish their goals.
Skeleton: Drilling down to the finer details of how each page should be structured and which elements (buttons, menus and other content) will go where.
Surface: Considering the user’s sensory experience of the product, defining how the product will look in terms of colors, imagery, spacing, typography and so on. This is where UI design comes in.

Where does the term “UX” come from?

The term “UX” was invented by Donald Norman, a cognitive psychologist who started working at Apple in the early 1990s. He took on the role of User Experience Architect, making him the first (known) person in history to have UX in their job title.

Explaining the origins of UX, Donald Norman said:

“I invented the term because I thought human interface and usability were too narrow. I wanted to cover all aspects of the person’s experience with a system, including industrial design, graphics, the interface, the physical interaction and the manual.”

What is the difference between UX and UI?

If you’ve heard of UX, you’ve probably also heard of UI. The terms are often used together but it’s important to be clear on the difference between them.

UX is a much broader term, covering everything that influences how a user feels when they use a product or service. It’s a comprehensive discipline that involves research, analysis, and understanding user needs.

UI stands for “user interface”, which is the point of interaction between an end user and a digital product. It’s a more narrow discipline that involves the visual design of the screens, buttons and other touchpoints you might use to navigate an app or a website.

The way the user interface (UI) is designed has an impact on the overall user experience, so UI is an important part of UX.

UX	UI
Stands for “user experience”	Stands for “user interface”
A broad discipline	A narrow discipline
Involves the quality of the experience as a whole	Involves the design of the user interface
Concerned with research, analysis, and understanding user needs	Concerned with visual design

You can learn more about the difference between the two, as well as how they go hand-in-hand, in this guide to UX vs. UI.

Why is UX important?

UX is important for two reasons: business value and human value. Let’s look at both.

The business value of UX design

If you have a positive experience with a product or service, you’re more likely to use it again and become a loyal customer. You might even recommend it to friends and family. That’s great for the brand reputation, which ultimately determines whether or not the product or service is successful and profitable.

On the flip side, a negative user experience leaves a bad impression of the product, service or brand. If it’s less than satisfactory, you’ll be inclined to go elsewhere, like a competitor with better UX.

Wherever there are two similar products or services offering the same functionality, the one with the best UX will always win out. UX is therefore crucial for winning and keeping customers, developing a positive brand reputation and, ultimately, for driving profit and business growth.

In sum, the business value of UX design includes:

A competitive edge in the market
Increased sales and revenue
Higher conversion rates
Better word-of-mouth marketing
A strong brand reputation
Improved customer loyalty and retention

We compiled some interesting statistics about the business value of UX, like the fact that 66% of customers are willing to pay more for a great user experience.

The human value of UX design

In addition to being valuable to businesses, end users also value good UX even if they don’t know it. UX influences whether we enjoy an experience or not and whether products and services are efficient and easy or frustrating and difficult.

In addition, UX determines whether products are accessible and inclusive for as many users as possible. Whether they are disabled, come from a different place with different needs, or have different requirements, good UX make products and services accessible for all.

What defines good UX? The fundamental principles of UX design

Defining good UX can be tricky. It’s not down to one specific thing. There are seven principles of UX design that all designers should follow. They are:

User-centricity — Design products and services in a way that centres the user’s needs and helps to solve their problems.
Consistency — This can mean keeping your designs consistent across all pages, screens, and products within the same product family. It can also mean meeting the user’s expectations for the kind of product you’re designing.
Hierarchy — This includes putting more important elements in more prominent positions in both a site’s information architecture and in the visual hierarchy.
Context — Consider the circumstances in which your products of services will be used and how that will effect the user experience.
User control — Give the user the right amount of control over their interactions with a product, such as being able to reverse or undo errors to a text message without throwing the whole user experience into disarray.
Accessibility — Ensure your product or service is accessible to as many users as possible, including people with disabilities or in other environments.
Usability — Usability relates to how easy a given product is to use and it’s influenced by things like:
- Learnability – how easy it is for a user to learn how to use the product for the first time.
- Efficiency – how quickly and seamlessly the user is able to complete their goals and tasks.
- Memorability – how easy it is for the user to jump back into the product after not using it for a while.
- Errors – how many errors does a user typically make when using the product.
- Satisfaction – how pleasant or enjoyable is the product to use.

What is the UX design process?

The UX design process focuses on identifying and solving a problem for a specific target audience. It includes:

Conducting user research to understand who you’re designing the experience for and what problems they need solving.
Narrowing it down to one problem and coming up with potential solutions.
Designing the chosen solution.
Making prototypes to test and validate the design, i.e. to make sure it will actually solve the user’s problem.
Developing the prototypes into a fully-fledged product or service which people can use.
Continuously improving the product/service (and thus the user experience) based on continuous testing and feedback.

Mar 13, 2025
8 min read