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“Design is not making pretty things. Design is a way of thinking of solving complex problems and above all making sure we’re solving the right problem. And it’s people centered, we put people first.”
Don Norman

The term Design is sometimes hard to characterize and lot of times is misunderstood with Arts.

It's modern history traces back to the first industrial revolution (approximately between 1760 - 1840).
Initially it helped developing the industry by implementing systematic processes about the creation of products and the transmission of information.
It's initial job was to help increase the of profitable margin in the mass production.

After the 2nd World War, it's approach started to gain a different impetus. There was an increase concern about concepts of how to use the product and improve it's performance.
Later with the introduction of the electrical circuits, it's main concern started to be about the aspect and the interaction.

Nowadays there's a strong focus on how to correct certain problems by developing methods that meet people's needs and capabilities. This makes the interaction between Human - Technological Systems more pleasant and understandable.

This need to improve the Human behaviour when interacting with technologies lead to the creation and findings of new tools (Methods) that allow a better and deeper analyze behind the needs (Problems).

However, its main function, contrary to what is popularized (in artistic comparison) is the creation of methodologies (processes) for solving problems that must be centered around people.

This process of creating methodologies is largely derived from observation, data accumulation and interpretation. This is something that most branches of modern science share with each other, but what mainly differentiates Design from other branches is that it is an area that involves several different disciplines, being multidisciplinary and not just specialized in a field, and mainly values people.

One of the most important elements in these methodologies is the study of the Human behaviour.
That leads us to the main topic: UX is not UI!

So what makes this misconception? In this particular case, it's because of companies job offers that tend to find one person to do two distinct jobs. They imply that whoever is in charge of the User Experience (UX) must understand User Interfaces (UI) and vice versa. That's wrong.

Although they are common areas of Interactive Design (IxD), their functionalities are quite different. Over the years this method of recruitment by companies has created the idea that the best solution for any User Experience problem is through the creation of an interface. The problem is that this does not improve or innovate the User Experience, only the interface. ^[1]

"But when you specifically hire someone to generate UI, you won’t get new, innovative solutions. You’ll get more UI, not better UX.

This is UI:
Navigation, sub navigation, menus, drop-downs, buttons, links, windows, rounded corners, shadowing, error messages, alerts, updates, checkboxes, password fields, search fields, text inputs, radio selections, text areas, hover states, selection states, pressed states, tooltips, iconography, colors, lists, slideshows, alt text, badges, notifications, gradients, pop-ups, carousels, OK/Cancel, etc. etc. etc.

This is UX:
People, happiness, solving problems, understanding needs, love, efficiency, entertainment, pleasure, delight, smiles, soul, warmth, personality, joy, satisfaction, gratification, elation, exhilaration, bliss, euphoria, convenience, enchantment, magic, productivity, effectiveness, etc. etc. etc."
Golden Krishna

I don't intend to diminish the importance of UI. That's not the point of it.
The main goal is to point out that UX is much more than dealing with interfaces.
It stands for experience, it's main goal is to study the behaviour of people in order to provide a great experience. In a sense, pretty much everything we do is experiencing what's around us by receiving information through sensory organs (inputs) and then internally processing it. A lot of times it's then physically expressed (outputs). Some experiences are trivial but others are complex. So how are we going to improve those, by putting an interface?
There's a demand for interfaces due to the electronic devices and digital services, but in my opinion, in most cases, the best technology is ubiquitous.
It's there to help or enhance a service / experience without being noticed. If all the suddenly it gets an interface just because it's cool ("modern"), it's no longer ubiquitous and loses it purposes. An interface is just one more step between the problem and the solution.
If you want to make technology efficient, you reduce the complexity of the system, you simplify the process (person's view), you reduce the steps between the problem and the solution.

”I’m all for services that provide us with insights, connect us with friends, and delight us with their content, but I don’t believe it’s our job as designers to get you addicted to their technologies. I believe our job as designers is to give you what you need as quickly and elegantly as we can. Our job as designers is to take you away from technology. Our job as designers is to make you smile. To make a profit by providing you something that enhances your life in the most seamless and wonderful way possible. The path of addiction for profit pursued by some of our largest technology companies and encouraged by their investors is not good for us, or the next generation. Some of these services have become more addictive than alcohol or cigarettes, and can make us feel worse about ourselves even when we use them. It’s time for us to pursue a new course.”
Golden Krishna