An API (Application Programming Interface) is not a user-facing design element, but it’s a term designers might encounter in a product development environment. An API is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. For instance, a weather app on your phone might use an API to retrieve the latest forecast data from a remote server. In the context of UX, APIs enable functionalities like integrating a Google Maps widget into an app or allowing users to log in with a Facebook account. While UX designers don’t work on APIs directly, understanding their role is useful — APIs can impose certain possibilities or constraints on what can be designed. For example, if you’re designing a dashboard that pulls data from an analytics service, the API of that service will determine what data is available and how quickly it can be updated. Essentially, APIs are the behind-the-scenes connections that power many interactive features users experience.