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The differences between lead user experience designers and 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 lead user experience designer and a designer. Additionally, a lead user experience designer has an average salary of $115,214, which is higher than the $66,347 average annual salary of a designer.
The top three skills for a lead user experience designer include sketch, user experience and UI. The most important skills for a designer are sketch, customer service, and graphic design.
| Lead User Experience Designer | Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $115,214 | $66,347 |
| Hourly rate | $55.39 | $31.90 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 53,712 | 52,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Lead User Experience Designers are responsible for providing strategy and direction in designing a user's experience for a digital product or service. They work with cross-functional teams such as user researchers, product design teams, and project managers to deliver a specified timeline. Their duties include developing information architecture, designing wireframes, prototyping, creating content, and performing usability testing of system interaction. Lead user experience designers must know Adobe Suites and specialist wireframing and prototyping design tools such as Axure, Marvel, Invision to translate the design to product. They also liaise with clients regularly to ensure the design meets the business goal.
A designer is someone who creates a master plan of the look or workings of something before it will be made. It could be tangible or intangible objects, products, procedures, laws, events, games, graphics, services, and even experiences. Designers are creative thinkers with a great eye to configure the skeletal and structural properties of the targeted output. They work in several fields, such as fashion, architecture, web graphics, and user experience. In spite of the variety of professionals in the design industry, all of them are artistic, passionate, inspiring, and emotionally connected to their projects and brands.
Lead user experience designers and designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead User Experience Designer | Designer | |
| Average salary | $115,214 | $66,347 |
| Salary range | Between $83,000 And $158,000 | Between $45,000 And $97,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a lead user experience designer and a designer in terms of educational background:
| Lead User Experience Designer | Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between lead user experience designers' and designers' demographics:
| Lead User Experience Designer | Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.5% Female, 25.5% | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% |
| 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% |