What Is a User Interface?
What Is a User Interface?
Welcome to CQH-201: User Experience — where we take your code from abstract logic to something real people can use, see, and interact with.
In this course, we’ll explore different types of user interfaces (UIs) and learn how to create software that communicates effectively with humans. If you’ve ever used a touch screen, clicked a button, typed into a text box, or navigated a menu — you’ve experienced a user interface.
But what is a UI really?
🧠 A Quick Definition
A User Interface (UI) is how people interact with software.
It’s the layer that sits between your code and your users.
It could be:
- A command-line prompt that says
Enter your name: - A colorful webpage with buttons and forms
- A mobile app with swipes, taps, and alerts
- A video game HUD, a smartwatch screen, or even voice input
Every program you’ve ever used has a UI — even if it’s just plain text on a black screen.
🧭 Why UI Design Matters
You can write the most brilliant code in the world…
But if no one knows how to use it, it won’t matter.
Good UI design helps people:
- Understand what your software does
- Use it confidently and efficiently
- Enjoy the experience
And as a developer, learning how to build UIs will:
- Make your projects feel complete
- Give you creative freedom to express your ideas
- Open doors to web, app, and game development
🔭 What You’ll Learn
In this course, we’ll step through major UI styles and actually build something in each:
| Interface Style | Example Project |
|---|---|
| Console (CLI) | Menu-based to-do list |
| Desktop (WinForms/XAML) | Simple drawing app or calculator |
| Web (HTML/CSS/JS) | Sticky note board |
| Mobile (SwiftUI/Flutter) | Daily mood tracker |
You’ll learn the basics of each system, build small apps, and compare the pros and cons of each.
By the end, you’ll understand how to choose the right UI for your own projects — and how to start building it.
🚀 Ready to Begin?
Next up, we’ll dive into the console interface — simple, text-based UIs that are still powerful and widely used.
You’ll build your own interactive CLI app and start thinking about how your code responds to user input.
Let’s go from code to click.