We are currently working on the design and UX concept pages and it seems there are two different points of view.
Designing is conceiving a product for its users. It is a process where technical constraints, aesthetic and usability meet in order to serve a purpose for its targets. Design must focus on existing and future users. Web design is not just about graphics/aesthetics, rather it applies to all the overarching work going towards ensuring that the web project meets its purpose for its target audience.
However, web design has been used for years as a synonym for graphic design for the web, whereas it is actually much more than that. This misunderstanding leads to the apparition of the UX trend, imo : we need to take care of the whole visit of a visitor on a website, from architecture and aesthetic to copywriting and page load speed.
Taking care of the User Experience is serving a web project purpose by taking care of its targets and giving a good service from the technical side of things all the way to aesthetics and usability, but this sounds awfully like my initial , and IMO more correct, definition of web design.
But we hear UX gurus say « design is out, forget it and talk only about UX and its applications », on web platform it appears that much of the content speaking about « design » has been deleted and/or flagged as a duplicate of the UX material (e.g. « designing for the web ») But I disagree with this.
So here’s my question : do we choose to base our concept on design with an explanation of what UX is and how it relates, or do we talk only about UX ? In my opinion, UX is a trend, design is not, so we should use the first option instead. Either that, or we work out what the real difference is between UX and web design, then go forward and create separate coverage for each.