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The differences between custom designers and user experience designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a custom designer and a user experience designer. Additionally, a user experience designer has an average salary of $91,159, which is higher than the $59,230 average annual salary of a custom designer.
The top three skills for a custom designer include sketch, customer orders and customer service. The most important skills for a user experience designer are sketch, UI, and user research.
| Custom Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $59,230 | $91,159 |
| Hourly rate | $28.48 | $43.83 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 45,123 | 52,582 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A custom designer's duties depend on their line of work or industry of employment. They are typically working together with a company's design and creative team where the tasks include meeting with clients to identify their preferences and needs, gathering and analyzing data to determine the best procedures, conceptualizing plans, drafting designs, and producing samples or prototypes for client approval. Furthermore, as a custom designer, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with the creative and production team to ensure the accuracy and quality of the end product.
A User Experience (UX) designer is an individual who measures and optimizes applications to improve the experience of end-users. His/Her or her duties and responsibilities include considering a design's human-computer interaction element, defining interaction models, and working with creative directors and designers. The key skills for UX designers include strong mathematical and problem-solving skills and excellent information technology and programming skills. Having a bachelor's degree in a design or computing-related subject is an advantage to qualify for the UX designer position.
Custom designers and user experience designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Custom Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Average salary | $59,230 | $91,159 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $81,000 | Between $65,000 And $127,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | General Motors | BitGo |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a custom designer and a user experience designer in terms of educational background:
| Custom Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between custom designers' and user experience designers' demographics:
| Custom Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.4% Female, 55.6% | Male, 59.6% Female, 40.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 13% |