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The differences between lead user experience designers and visual 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 visual designer. Additionally, a lead user experience designer has an average salary of $115,214, which is higher than the $86,495 average annual salary of a visual designer.
The top three skills for a lead user experience designer include sketch, user experience and UI. The most important skills for a visual designer are sketch, visual design, and graphic design.
| Lead User Experience Designer | Visual Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $115,214 | $86,495 |
| Hourly rate | $55.39 | $41.58 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 53,712 | 46,815 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| 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 visual designer is someone who creates designs for a variety of platforms such as Internet and intranet sites, games, and wearables. The duties of visual designers depend on the specific project or industry in which they are working. Duties include creating user-centered interaction models, working with information technology and business teams to resolve complex issues, and designing logos, icons, and infographics. The qualifications to become a visual designer include possessing strong problem-solving, communication, and negotiation skills and obtaining a bachelor's degree in design.
Lead user experience designers and visual designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead User Experience Designer | Visual Designer | |
| Average salary | $115,214 | $86,495 |
| Salary range | Between $83,000 And $158,000 | Between $51,000 And $143,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | ByteDance |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a lead user experience designer and a visual designer in terms of educational background:
| Lead User Experience Designer | Visual Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| 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 visual designers' demographics:
| Lead User Experience Designer | Visual Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.5% Female, 25.5% | Male, 53.1% Female, 46.9% |
| 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% |