what is a UX designer?
As a UX designer, you make a product or service usable and accessible. Whether users are interacting with a digital product, like browsing a website and navigating a mobile app or using a service, user experience is vital. A user experience designer ensures that all aspects of interacting with company products are satisfying and effective.
User experience designers specialize in building intuitive and simple interaction experiences by providing fun and aesthetically pleasing formats. To solve user problems and provide a positive experience, you research the needs of end users. For instance, you seek to understand users' motivations, attitudes, desires and expectations. Learning the pain points of the company's customers helps you create a seamless customer experience.
Would working as a UX designer suit your passion for design and talent for understanding the needs of product users? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in a UX designer role.
view jobs near youaverage UX designer salary
Would you like to know what a UX designer earns? Where the highest salaries are paid to UX designers? Then check out this salary page and find out all about the salary of a UX designer in the USA.
factors affecting UX designer salary
The compensation package of a UX designer depends on experience and educational qualifications. When you are an entry-level or junior UX designer, your salary is (comparatively) lower due to having lesser responsibilities associated with your role. When you have some experience in the industry, you take on more complex roles, which warrant a higher salary. Senior UX designers are experts in the field and negotiate a higher salary for their in-depth knowledge of the subject matter.
The location also influences your earnings based on the existing demand in the market and the cost of living. Large cities like Los Angeles have higher compensation packages to reflect the demand for UX designers in the area. The cost of living also pushes the amount higher.
Finally, the company you work for significantly matters when it comes to your salary and benefits package. Working for tech industry giants will typically pay more than working for smaller start-up companies.
types of UX designers
User experience design is a multidisciplinary role with multiple niche specializations. Some of the areas UX designers specialize in include:
- visual design: As a visual UX designer, you rely on visual elements and graphics to solve user experience problems. For instance, you develop wireframes and prototypes for testing products or websites to ensure a better user experience. You also add design elements that maximize a site's usability while adhering to the brand guidelines. If you’re interested in visual design, you may be interested in learning more about UI design, a job with a lot of overlap with UX design, though with different end purposes.
- UX research: With user experience research, you use various research methods like conducting focus groups, surveys and usability testing to understand the user experience on a digital product. After studying human behaviors, you assist the design team in making the necessary adjustments to improve the UX design.
- UX writing: When you specialize in UX writing, you create all the content that users interact with when they use an app, engage in a service or visit a website. You understand the audience and use words to encourage users to interact with the company's products.
working as a UX designer
As a UX designer, you create products based on a user-centric problem-solving approach. That means a single concept requires regular refinement and testing to ensure it achieves the desired goals. Here's a look into the duties and work environments of UX designers:
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UX designer job description
The tasks of UX designers depend on the company size, seniority and industry. Here are some of the standard duties in the role:
- conducting user research: As a UX designer, your main role is to learn about the users of a digital product or service. You learn the behaviors, goals, motivations and user needs. Most UX designers collect user research data through interviews, online surveys, focus groups and competitor analysis. You create qualitative and quantitative data from user research that guides decision-making.
- creating user personas: Creating user personas means you consolidate and interpret user research findings to construct representative personas. Each user persona highlights a user's demographic information, including needs, motivations and potential responses. The persona assists designers in getting a clearer picture of the person the product will help and making adjustments to improve the experience.
- determining the information architecture of a product: UX designers are information architects. That means you organize content within a website to guide users to accomplish tasks and educate them about a product. When you create a structure, users easily find the information they need, optimizing their encounters and interaction with the digital product.
- designing wireframes and user flows: Wireframing is one of the key functions of a UX designer as it builds the final product. Wireframes are design sketches representing the stages or screens of a website throughout the user journey. As a UX designer, you include various elements like buttons and images to create the ideal user flow.
- creating prototypes: In order to create the best end-product possible, you are involved in the initial designs of the pre-development product. The prototype allows users to test the main interactions on digital products. You can also use prototyping tools to create videos that guide users through the user design functions. From the prototype testing, UX designers identify areas for improvement.
- conducting user testing: A UX designer conducts user testing after releasing the final product or launching a website. User testing allows users to interact with the final design to analyze usability, intuitiveness and accessibility. Some UX designers use focus groups to provide valuable feedback on areas that need adjustment.
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UX designer work environment
A UX designer works in various fields and business sectors. However, the majority work in the computer, software and IT industry, as well as for finance, insurance and consulting agencies. As a user experience designer, you work across different teams, from production to marketing and customer support. Most companies have interactive offices for designers and developers to promote creativity. While you work a desk job, the interactive and climate-controlled work environment boosts productivity and sharing of ideas. When you work for a consultancy, expect to be contracted out to different companies to assist on specific projects. Hence, your role is likely to involve traveling to clients' premises. Some UX designers also work from home and accomplish all the tasks from a remote location.
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who are your colleagues?
As a UX designer working in various industries, your colleagues might include product designers, UI designers and UX analysts. You might also work in proximity to web designers and graphic designers, as well as other specialists like user researchers, front-end developers, full-stack developers and software developers.
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work schedule
UX designers work a typical 40-hour week, usually on a schedule of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is very rare for UX designers to work overtime, holidays or weekends, but occasions may arise if there is a big project with a tight deadline.
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job outlook for UX designer
User experience design is a changing field that requires overlapping skill sets to progress. Many professionals possess graphic design, information architecture and software development skills. Hence, as you gain experience, you have the opportunity to specialize in graphic design, web design or user research. If you want to advance in the role, consider becoming a UX expert or consultant before moving to managerial roles like product manager, project manager or director of user experience.
As for the outlook on job market growth, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the demand for UX designers to grow 23% over the next decade. That is much, much faster than most other professions. As technology and tech companies continue to grow exponentially, UX designers and their skills will be ever more sought after.
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benefits of working for randstad as a UX designer
Working through Randstad offers you a range of benefits:
- being paid weekly
- flexibility
- always a contact person you can fall back on and ask for help from
- many training opportunities
- a range of jobs in your area
Want a permanent contract? But you wonder why it would be interesting for you to work with a staffing company? A temporary job as a UX designer is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Every year, thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers, thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad, too!
UX designer skills and education
While there is no one single path to becoming a UX designer, most UX designers share a college education and have certain skill sets. A typical UX designer will have, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree specifically in UX/UI design or a degree in an adjacent field of study such as computer science or graphic design. Many UX designers gain their first experience in the field through internships or entry-level jobs.
Increasingly, however, it is becoming easier for aspiring UX designers to gain entry into the field without a degree. Some accredited universities offer “bootcamps” or certification courses in UX design and can even assist you in finding an entry-level job. It is important for the aspiring UX designers who choose this route to build a strong portfolio of work and sharpen their skills.
skills and competencies
Here are some of the most important skills you will need to advance in the field of UX design:
- empathy: It is necessary as a UX designer to put yourself in other people's shoes. Empathy helps you understand users' problems and challenges when interacting with a website and ideal solutions from a user's point of view. Empathy lets you obtain the best information from user research sessions with focus groups.
- user research: User research is a critical aspect of UX design. You will need to conduct user research to gain insights into user needs, behaviors and preferences.
- communication skills: Your job in UX design involves interviewing users during research and communicating feedback to the management team. Communication skills help you present your findings and solutions eloquently to clients and the management.
- collaboration skills: Team work is an important aspect of UX design. You require collaboration skills to work in harmony with your team. You can leverage others' expertise when exploring solutions and take feedback when you have collaboration skills.
- critical thinking: For UX designers, critical thinking skills are important for innovating new solutions and challenging your assumptions. User experience roles also require creative and critical thinking that keeps you on top of your game.
- continuous learning: As a UX designer, it is important to stay up-to-date with the latest design trends, technologies and user needs.
FAQs about working as a UX designer
Here you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions about being a UX designer.
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is being a UX designer a good career?
UX design is a great career for people who are interested in designing products and are passionate about user-centered experiences. The job growth outlook for UX design over the next decade is 23%, and the pay reflects this growing demand. The median pay in 2021 for UX designers was $78,300 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, UX designers can earn well north of $100,000 in some of the U.S.’s biggest cities!
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do UX designers need to know coding?
While it can be helpful for UX designers to have a basic understanding of coding languages such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript, it is not typically required. UX designers focus more on the actual design and usability of a product. That said, having some knowledge of coding can help UX designers better communicate with developers and understand the technical aspects of a project.
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is UX designing a satisfying job?
UX designers are problem solvers and intuitive thinkers by nature. They find their work to be very satisfying because they are able to use their creativity and problem-solving skills to design products that improve the user experience.
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what is the difference between UX and UI?
UX (User Experience) and UI (User Interface) are closely related fields, and UX and UI designers often work in similar environments and on similar projects. The key difference, however, is that UX focuses on the direct experience a user has when interacting with a product, webpage or piece of technology. UI design, on the other hand, focuses on the visual and interactive elements of a product.
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how do I become a UX designer?
Most UX designers go to college and earn a bachelor’s degree in UX/UI, graphic design or computer science and gain entry into the field through internships. However, a college degree is not absolutely necessary. There are many avenues for getting into the field of UX design such through certification courses, bootcamp courses or even working your way up from an entry-level position.
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how do I find a job as a UX designer?
Applying for a UX designer job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our UX designer jobs for vacancies in your area. Then simply send us your CV. If you do not have a resume, no worries. Just check out our resume builder. This state-of-the-art tool will help you to create your own resume. Need help with your application? Check out all our job-hunting tips!
