UI Design is indeed one of the most trending job careers in 2023. Taking up any service or product-based companies falling under any domain whether BFSI, E-commerce, Gaming, etc. are demanding good and skilled UI designers. As a User interface designer, the prime focus of a role and individual should be on interface design, animation, prototyping, graphics, and illustration. As a UI designer, your role is to make the design communicate the concept at first glance when the user looks at it.
In this article, we’ll be looking into various roles a UI designer can work for, from junior to senior level of expertise. Let’s look into the roles first, to understand what can be done and how to fulfill the requirements for each UI design role.
1. Visual Designer
The role of a visual designer is to design and draft aesthetically pleasing interfaces that incorporate usability. Drafting interfaces including understanding colors, icons, optimal spacings to be used, appropriate placement for each UI element, etc. A visual designer has the responsibility to evoke the brand identity through the designs. As a designer, you’ll be in complete charge of setting the appropriate guidelines for the visual identity of the brand, picking the right screen elements color, and combining them to give the best eye-pleasing experience to the users. Visual designers are also known as communication designers or UI designers as well.
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Requirements to Become a Visual Designer:
- Good visual design skills
- Eye for details
- Sound knowledge of color, text, icons, and graphics
- Should be well aware of Android, IOS, and web design guidelines
- Good to have illustration skills and branding skills
Salary Bracket of a Visual Designer:
- Intern – Avg 5,000 to 20,000 per month
- Fresher (0-1 YOE) – between 2 LPA to 13 LPA
- Senior (2-5 YOE) – Starting from 9 LPA
- Lead (6-9 YOE) – Starting from 12 LPA
2. Graphic Designer
Graphic design falls under the subset of Visual/UI design. The art and craft of generating visual content that engages the public with a concept, an idea, or a brand statement is known as graphic designing. The main responsibility of a graphics designer is to draft amazing logos, artwork, paintings, illustrations, cards, emails, and a variety of other designs that communicate the message to the user looking at it.
A graphics designer needs to have good visual skills, an understanding of colors, and how to make a blend of elements such as the way it looks amazing, solves the purpose, and communicates the importance of the content.
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Requirements to Become a Graphics Designer:
- Good visual design skills
- Good understanding and knowledge of tools like Photoshop, Figma, and Blender
- Eye for details
- Sound knowledge of color, text, icons, and graphics
- Ability to produce amazing ideas
- Good to have an idea about fine arts
Salary Bracket of a Graphics Designer:
- Intern – Avg 1 LPA
- Fresher (0-1 YOE) – Between 2 LPA to 6LPA
- Senior (2-5 YOE) – Between 5 LPA to 10 LPA
- Lead (6-9 YOE) – Between 7 LPA to 17 LPA
3. Motion Designer
Motion design is another subset of Visual/UI design, where the focus is on the dynamicity of the elements. As a motion designer one’s responsibility is to create animation and engaging motion designs to capture the user’s eye. Motion design is a very important skill for any designer to have as an addition to their resume and portfolio.
Requirements to Become a Motion Designer:
- Good knowledge of 2D and 3D animation
- Eye for details
- Ability to come up with engaging motion design ideas
- Good knowledge of software and tools like Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Lightroom, etc
Salary Bracket of a Motion Designer:
- Intern – Around 2 LPA
- Fresher (0-1 YOE) – Between 2 LPA to 8 LPA
- Senior (2-9 YOE) – Between 4 LPA to 14 LPA
4. UI Developer
The difference between a Designer and a Developer is about the technology, a UI developer is someone who is mostly responsible for developing user interfaces using technology. By technology, we mean coding languages and tools like HTML, CSS, Javascript, and popular libraries like Tailwind CSS, React.js, etc. A UI Developer closely works within the tech team and collaborates with backend developers, tech architectures, etc. UI developers are also called front-end developers or front-end engineers. The main focus is to code the interfaces shared by the designers and make them live on a website/app.
Requirements to Become a UI Developer:
- Good knowledge of HTML, CSS, and Javascript
- Design guidelines for Android, IOS, and website
- Understanding of backend technologies – to sync the UI seamlessly
- Collaboration and communication skills
Salary bracket of a UI Developer:
- Intern – Avg 2.2 LPA
- Fresher (0-1 YOE) – Between 4 LPA to 8 LPA
- Senior (2-5 YOE) – Between 4 LPA to 26 LPA
5. UI Writer
The role of a UI writer is to basically write copies and content that are intriguing and easy to read while blending in with the product’s design. Clear textual information on the website or app is very crucial. Even after having elements very self-evident, having a clear piece of information helps users to make a decision, navigate easily, and understand the context of the app or website. A UI writer is likely to write, rephrase, translate, and handle errors in the text. Copies written for notification(i.e. Zomato notifications), onboarding screens, titles, etc. are done by UI writers. They do not just write the content they also make it easy to understand, engaging, and interesting to read.
Requirements to Become a UI Writer:
- Good knowledge of multiple languages – Hindi, English, and one of the native languages to help produce better copies.
- Understanding jargon, slang, and their appropriate use.
- SEO knowledge to help ease content findability on the web
- Sound knowledge of writing styles
Salary Bracket of a UI Writer:
- Intern – Avg 1 LPA
- Fresher (0-1 YOE) – Between 2 LPA to 9 LPA
- Senior (2-5 YOE) – Between 4 LPA to 12 LPA
- Lead (6-9 YOE) – Between 4 LPA to 20 LPA
Pros & Cons of a Career as a UI Designer in 2023
This has been a consistent question about the pros and cons in every career field. For people who are taking their first step in the corporate world or even if someone is making a career switch, it is always a must to ask curious questions. Therefore, we have compiled a list of Pros and Cons as a UI Designer so that you can choose wisely.
Pros
- Flexibility: Most of the time designers are allowed to work from home or remotely work options. This allows them to work from anywhere they want, and bring a lot of good ideas to the table. Freelancers prefer working from home, anyone can reach out to them by scheduling a call or via mail. Design is a very flexible and exciting career for those who want to sit back in their comfy environment and work.
- Experimentation: Every week there is a new trend that hits every awestruck. A designer gets to work on a lot of different things at a given time, whether it’s related to creating amazing interfaces, prototyping, or drawing NFTs, icon sets, etc. Design is a field that is never getting bored of new experiments, this lets people learn new things every now and then.
- Competitive Salary: This is another pro of being a designer that you would get a competitive salary along with which if you’re doing freelancing side by side the earnings are too much. People sell NFTs, UI kits, design templates, etc.
- Potential Growth: For a person starting up with design as a full-time career they have a lot of opportunities to learn, not just about design but concepts like human psychology and perspective, illustration, motion graphics, product management, product lifecycle, and UI development as well.
Cons
- Critique & Workload: Sometimes due to high requirements and urgent deliverables there are chances that designers need to work day and night because the whole development is dependent on the design handover.
- Wrong interpretation of field & OKRs: UI design has recently taken a boom and many people still don’t have a clear idea of what UI/UX design is basically. People misinterpret UI design with front-end developers as well.
- Market and job saturation: Right now the situation in the market is very bad. Companies are not hiring people, there are no jobs available. Design as a field has a lot of opportunities but big companies tend to hire experienced or highly skilled people, in such situations freelancing and content creation is the most reliable option.
Where to Find Jobs as a UI Designer in 2023
Once you have made up your mind about which job suits you and have created your portfolio, it’s time to start looking for a job. Job hunting can be very intimidating at the beginning because one has to deal with a lot of rejections, and critique, and at the same time one gets to learn about the company, the hiring process, and how to present yourself in a better way.
There are a bunch of places where you can look out for a job, apply, and get calls for interviews such as:
- LinkedIn: One of the most useful and handy tools to apply for a job. Not just apply for a job, but one can also connect with recruiters, and designers and ask for referrals from different organizations
- Angellist: Another amazing job-hunting platform where you can apply and get in touch with recruiters. One can check the salary, review, and requirements for the job role
- Indeed: List like angel list, Indeed also allows you to check companies’ profiles, apply for jobs, and read reviews from ex-employees of the company.
- Glassdoor: Similar to other platforms, Glassdoor also provides a wide listing of companies, job postings, and salary comparison charts which helps to make a better decision while applying for a job.
These are just a few popular platforms for job hunting, you can apply via any platform you find which is reliable and trusted. Also, networking is another major factor that plays a role in getting a job. If you know HR, any design team member, or any employee of the organization you’re interested in you can always check with them about the internal job. A portal where they have a bunch of hiring opportunities. They can refer you for a role if you suit the requirements.
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Conclusion
So that’s a wrap for this article. It is indeed true to say that UI design is a highly demanding role and every year the demand is increasing. Designs as a field do not require any specific qualification if you have enough skills to prove your worth. Get to know what suits your interest, hustle for it and you’ll end up getting the job.
FAQs: Best UI Designer Jobs
1. Is UI UX design a good career in 2023?
Yes, it UI/UX designing interests you, its definitely for you. It is a good career option, and according to reports, more than 20% of the jobs are likely to become remote and thus UI/UX gives you an oppurtunity to start the remote work.
2. How to become a UI designer with no experience?
You can start your UI designing career by learning UI design tutorials, read blogs, and attending webinars. Spend time in learning through courses, skill yourself, work on projects and you can become a UI desginer without experience.
3. What is a UI/UX Designer Job Description?
A UI/UX Designer Job Description may include:
- Create the user interface for an app, website, or other interactive media
- Collaborating with product managers and engineers to gather requirements from users before designing ideas
- Process flows or sitemaps