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The differences between lead user experience designers and head 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 head designer. Additionally, a head designer has an average salary of $116,986, which is higher than the $115,214 average annual salary of a lead user experience designer.
The top three skills for a lead user experience designer include sketch, user experience and UI. The most important skills for a head designer are product design, UI, and sketch.
| Lead User Experience Designer | Head Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $115,214 | $116,986 |
| Hourly rate | $55.39 | $56.24 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 53,712 | 53,876 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| 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.
The Head Designer is the overall command over the creative team's design and the entire company. The heads of the organization look toward the head designer to provide insights into the artistic path the company will take to achieve a unique brand in the market. The head designer is highly-creative, good in management, and can articulate abstract ideas clearly and relay them to company administrators, customers, and clients. A head designer's responsibilities are to handle the creative team, train each member, and provide guidance in every part of the designing process.
Lead user experience designers and head designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead User Experience Designer | Head Designer | |
| Average salary | $115,214 | $116,986 |
| Salary range | Between $83,000 And $158,000 | Between $71,000 And $191,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a lead user experience designer and a head designer in terms of educational background:
| Lead User Experience Designer | Head Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| 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 head designers' demographics:
| Lead User Experience Designer | Head Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.5% Female, 25.5% | Male, 50.1% Female, 49.9% |
| 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% |