UI vs UX — And Why You Need Both Done Well
UX (user experience) is how the product works — the flows, the structure, the logic of getting from A to B. UI (user interface) is how it looks and feels — the visual layer on top. A product can look stunning and be miserable to use, or look plain and feel effortless. You need both, working together: UX so people can do what they came for, UI so it feels considered and trustworthy while they do it. We design the two as one, then hand off specs your developers can build without guessing.
What We Design
UX research & user flows.
We map how users actually move through the product — the real paths, the drop-off points, the friction — before a single screen is designed, so the design solves the right problem.
Wireframes to high-fidelity.
From fast, low-fidelity wireframes that get the structure right to pixel-perfect Figma designs — iterating on the cheap version before polishing the expensive one.
Design systems.
Reusable components, type scales, colour, and spacing defined once — so the product stays consistent, ships faster, and doesn't drift as it grows.
Responsive & accessible.
Designed mobile-first and to accessibility standards — because a design that only works on the designer's monitor isn't finished.
What's Included in a Design Engagement
A typical UI/UX engagement covers:
Design is where most of our web app and SaaS builds start — and because we build what we design, the handoff is internal, not a hopeful email to a dev shop.
Design That Survives Contact With Developers
Beautiful mockups mean nothing if they can't be built as drawn. Because the same team designs and develops, our designs are grounded in what's actually buildable — and handed off with the states, edge cases, and specs developers need, not just the happy path.
The gap between a design that wins an award and one that ships is whether it accounts for real content, real edge cases, and real code. We design for the product that gets built, not the portfolio shot.
Ideal For
“Codified took nine years of our work and built a website that finally does it justice. From first call to launch in two weeks — and clients now mention the website before we've even pitched.”
UI/UX DesignWe've Actually Shipped
Live projects, real clients, and the full story behind each build — the problem, the decisions, and what changed afterwards.
How We Deliver — From First Call to Launch (and After)
No black box. Here's exactly what happens once you bring us in:
Discovery & scoping
A real conversation about the problem, the users, and the constraints — not a sales call. We leave it knowing exactly what needs building and why.
Fixed proposal & quote
You get a plain-English scope document, a timeline, and a fixed price. What's included, what's excluded, and what happens if scope changes — all in writing before any money moves.
Design & architecture
Wireframes, UI, and the technical architecture — database schema, API design, hosting — agreed up front so there are no expensive surprises mid-build.
Build in sprints
Development happens in short, reviewable cycles with a shared board. You see working software early and often, not a single black-box handoff at the end.
QA & testing
Every feature is tested — automated tests plus manual QA on real devices — before it's marked done. Nothing ships on a “works on my machine”.
Launch & handoff
Deployment, performance checks, and a walkthrough. You get the source code, the hosting, and the documentation — full ownership, zero lock-in.
Support & iteration
We stay on for bug fixes, monitoring, and new features on a retainer or ad-hoc basis — whichever fits how your product will actually grow.
How Much Does UI/UX Design Cost?
UI/UX design cost in the UK depends on the size of the product. For reference:
| Option | Typical range |
|---|---|
| UK agency — product UI/UX | £8,000 – £40,000 |
| UK freelance designer (day rate) | £350 – £600 / day |
| Design + build bundled elsewhere | £15,000 – £60,000 |
| UI/UX design via Codified Studio | from $1,200 |
The cheapest quote on paper isn't always the cheapest in practice — a low day rate that needs heavy management, or a build that needs redoing, costs more than a fixed scope delivered right the first time. With Codified Studio, pricing is transparent from the first quote: no hidden onboarding fees, no surprise scope creep, and full code ownership at the end. See the work we've delivered or tell us what you're building.
Get a Tailored QuoteFrequently Asked Questions
UX is how the product works — the flows, structure, and logic of getting things done. UI is how it looks and feels — the visual layer. You need both: great UX so people can accomplish their goal, great UI so it feels trustworthy while they do. We design them together rather than treating the visuals as decoration on top.
Yes — we design in Figma and you get the full files, including the design system and components. Everything is yours at handoff, whether your own developers build it or we do.
Yes — that's often the point. When the same team designs and develops, nothing is lost in a handoff, the design is grounded in what's buildable, and you have one accountable party from wireframe to launch. See our web app and SaaS development services.
Projects are priced in USD and invoiced via Payoneer or Elevate Pay — no international wire fees, no currency surprises. Fixed-price projects run 50% deposit to start, 50% on delivery, against a plain-English scope document agreed before any money changes hands.
100%. Source code, assets, hosting credentials, and domains are all transferred to you at handoff, with documentation. You're never locked into us for maintenance — everything is yours.
Research and a defined problem first — who the users are, what they are trying to finish, and where the current journey loses them. Then information architecture and user flows, wireframes to settle structure before anyone argues about colour, and high-fidelity UI in Figma. You get a component-based design system rather than a folder of unconnected screens, plus prototypes for the flows that matter and developer handoff with real specs. If we also build it, the design system becomes the component library directly, which removes the usual gap between what was designed and what shipped.
Usually, yes — and it is frequently the better call. A staged redesign lets you ship improvements to the highest-traffic, lowest-risk screens first and measure whether they actually helped, instead of betting everything on one relaunch that changes hundreds of variables at once. We start with an audit of the current interface against real behaviour, rank the fixes by impact against effort, and work through them. Full rebuilds earn their cost when the underlying information architecture is the problem, not the visuals.
Related Services
Would a dedicated developer suit you better?
A fixed-scope project works best when you know what you need built. If the work is ongoing, or you already have a team that just needs more capacity, embedding one of our developers full-time is usually the cheaper route.
Ready to start your ui/ux design project?
Tell us what you're building and we'll come back with a scoped recommendation and a fixed quote — not a generic sales call.