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What does a user experience designer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Sarah Satterfield Ph.D.
What does a user experience designer do

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.

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User experience designer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real user experience designer resumes:

  • Lead Ektron CMS implementations and content migration projects.
  • Lead UX/UI design, personas research and emphatic analysis, participate in user story creation.
  • Lead and administrate the creative direction of WorkFusion crowd computing platform and its iOS apps.
  • Lead design working sessions, create storyboards and a Visio wireframe library for all project elements.
  • Work with the Java developers/programs to achieve timely development and review of assignments to assure on--time project completion.
  • Design and code original and cms-base websites / user interfaces using HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP
  • Support clients in troubleshooting and application use for all android and windows base systems.
  • Key responsibility for evaluating new client side technologies relate to HTML5, mobile, CSS3 and JavaScript frameworks including Google AngularJS.
  • Produce wireframes & prototypes to demonstrate user interface designs and interaction flows.
  • Lead usability tests incorporate with rapid prototyping to validate concepts and integrate designs.
  • Provide user testing, persona creation, usability evaluation, UI prototyping, graphical design, corporate identity creation
  • Create interaction models in response to functional requirements and usability data, and produce both low- and high-fidelity interactive UI prototypes.
  • Design complex interactions and interfaces in Axure.
  • Serve as SME on various Cigna applications.
  • Benchmark, compare, recommend BetterCMS open CMS.

User experience designer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 18% of User Experience Designers are proficient in Sketch, UI, and User Research. They’re also known for soft skills such as Artistic ability, Computer skills, and Time-management skills.

We break down the percentage of User Experience Designers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Sketch, 18%

    Translate business requirements into prototypes using Sketch and Marvel.

  • UI, 7%

    Conducted user and stakeholder interviews, created competitive/comparative analysis, and new UI for client.

  • User Research, 6%

    Worked with user research and usability testing groups to synthesize user research and feedback into continuous improvement of product and usability.

  • Visual Design, 6%

    Work as user experience and visual designer developing user flows and crafting recommendations into design specifications and content requirements.

  • Invision, 4%

    Iterated prototypes after conducting usability testing through InVision.

  • Interaction Design, 4%

    Collaborated with an interdisciplinary team that included interaction designers, researchers, product managers, and engineers.

Most user experience designers use their skills in "sketch," "ui," and "user research" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential user experience designer responsibilities here:

Artistic ability. One of the key soft skills for a user experience designer to have is artistic ability. You can see how this relates to what user experience designers do because "graphic designers must be able to create designs that are artistically interesting and appealing to clients and consumers." Additionally, a user experience designer resume shows how user experience designers use artistic ability: "coordinated with the artistic director to integrate ui requirements with the visual identity of the game. "

Computer skills. Another essential skill to perform user experience designer duties is computer skills. User experience designers responsibilities require that "most graphic designers use specialized graphic design software to prepare their designs." User experience designers also use computer skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "consulted with computer engineers on user interface considerations and current conventions. "

Time-management skills. This is an important skill for user experience designers to perform their duties. For an example of how user experience designer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "graphic designers often work simultaneously on multiple projects, each with a different deadline." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a user experience designer: "designed visualization queues to speed up reaction time for surgeons to reduce surgical errors. ".

Analytical skills. A big part of what user experience designers do relies on "analytical skills." You can see how essential it is to user experience designer responsibilities because "graphic designers must be able to perceive their work from their consumers’ point of view to ensure that the designs convey the client’s message." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical user experience designer tasks: "synthesized comparative analysis, design thinking sketching, a/b testing, iterating and usability testing to prioritize features and designs"

Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in user experience designer job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what user experience designers do. User experience designer responsibilities rely on this skill because "graphic designers must communicate with clients, customers, and other designers to ensure that their designs accurately and effectively convey information." You can also see how user experience designer duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "designed wireframes and site maps for the redesigned my account section for cox communications. "

Creativity. Another skill commonly found on user experience designer job descriptions is "creativity." It can come up quite often in user experience designer duties, since "graphic designers must be able to think of new approaches to communicating ideas to consumers." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day user experience designer responsibilities: "participated in creative ideation, strategy, and brainstorming. "

Most common user experience designer skills

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Compare different user experience designers

User experience designer vs. Graphics specialist

A graphics specialist is an expert at conceptualizing and developing visual art for businesses or individuals, typically for marketing or information purposes. Moreover, there are also opportunities for employment in the web and media industry. As a graphics specialist, their responsibilities include liaising with clients to identify their needs, understanding the purpose and message of the project, developing proposals, coordinating with team members, and conducting revisions as needed, all while adhering to the goals and deadlines set by the client or management.

If we compare the average user experience designer annual salary with that of a graphics specialist, we find that graphics specialists typically earn a $35,152 lower salary than user experience designers make annually.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both user experience designer and graphics specialist positions are skilled in user interface, graphic design, and visualization.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, user experience designer responsibilities require skills like "sketch," "ui," "user research," and "visual design." Meanwhile a typical graphics specialist has skills in areas such as "adobe indesign," "photography," "posters," and "brochures." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Graphics specialists really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $67,322. Comparatively, user experience designers tend to make the most money in the start-up industry with an average salary of $113,676.graphics specialists tend to reach lower levels of education than user experience designers. In fact, graphics specialists are 11.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

User experience designer vs. Layout designer

A layout designer is responsible for designing and creating attractive layouts for publications and marketing materials. Layout designers utilize various software design applications and systems, requiring them to have excellent computer skills for efficient navigation. They work closely with the whole design and graphic teams for content consistency and adherence to quality standards and requirements. A layout designer evaluates the current market trends to identify media elements and modify designs that meet public demands and interests.

A career as a layout designer brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a user experience designer. In fact, layout designers salary is $3,350 higher than the salary of user experience designers per year.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, user experience designer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "sketch," "ui," "user research," and "visual design." Meanwhile, a layout designer has duties that require skills in areas such as "cad," "cmos," "layout design," and "cadence virtuoso." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Layout designers earn lower levels of education than user experience designers in general. They're 12.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for user experience designers in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Sarah Satterfield Ph.D.

Department Chair Visual and Performing Arts, Professor of Music and Humanities, College of Central Florida

Technology is constantly evolving and changing the way we experience the arts, generally for the better. I anticipate great strides in the fields of digital media and digital music. Technology affords us the opportunity to connect with a larger, more global audience on the one hand, and also kindle, in a younger generation, an interest in the arts.

User experience designer vs. Graphic design specialist

A graphic design specialist utilizes their artistic expertise in creating imagery and designs that convey a particular message. Their responsibilities revolve around liaising with clients to determine their needs and goals, developing concepts and subjecting it for client approval, and revising designs as necessary. In a company setting, a graphic design specialist may work with a team, coordinating with them while sticking to budgets and deadlines. Furthermore, as a team member, it is essential to report to managers or supervisors, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

An average graphic design specialist eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of user experience designers. The difference in salaries amounts to graphic design specialists earning a $35,234 lower average salary than user experience designers.Using the responsibilities included on user experience designers and graphic design specialists resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "sketch," "html css," and "javascript.rdquo;

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a user experience designer is likely to be skilled in "ui," "user research," "visual design," and "invision," while a typical graphic design specialist is skilled in "integrated marketing," "brochures," "adobe indesign," and "project management."

Graphic design specialists earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $67,457. User experience designers earn the highest pay from the start-up industry, with an average salary of $113,676.graphic design specialists typically earn lower educational levels compared to user experience designers. Specifically, they're 12.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

User experience designer vs. Designer

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.

Designers average a lower salary than the annual salary of user experience designers. The difference is about $24,812 per year.According to resumes from user experience designers and designers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "sketch," "invision," and "html css. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A user experience designer uses "ui," "user research," "visual design," and "interaction design." Designers are more likely to have duties that require skills in "customer service," "revit," "design concepts," and "project management. "In general, designers earn the most working in the technology industry, with an average salary of $87,754. The highest-paying industry for a user experience designer is the start-up industry.In general, designers hold lower degree levels compared to user experience designers. Designers are 10.6% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of user experience designer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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