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The differences between digital 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 digital designer and a user experience designer. Additionally, a user experience designer has an average salary of $91,159, which is higher than the $72,987 average annual salary of a digital designer.
The top three skills for a digital designer include sketch, digital marketing and graphic design. The most important skills for a user experience designer are sketch, UI, and user research.
| Digital Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $72,987 | $91,159 |
| Hourly rate | $35.09 | $43.83 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 61,109 | 52,582 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A digital designer is an individual who is responsible for creating digital assets for multimedia and graphic projects that can include mobile applications, video games, and interactive displays. Digital designers must collaborate with project managers, design teams, and content experts to interpret the team's concepts into a design that will deliver an effective user experience. They must be experts in using computer software and applications to create digital designs and convert data to a graphical interface such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Digital designers must also have a bachelor's degree in graphic design or fine arts.
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.
Digital designers and user experience designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Digital Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Average salary | $72,987 | $91,159 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $114,000 | Between $65,000 And $127,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Lyft | BitGo |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a digital designer and a user experience designer in terms of educational background:
| Digital Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | 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 digital designers' and user experience designers' demographics:
| Digital Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0% | 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% |