What Does a UI Designer Do?
A UI (User Interface) Designer is responsible for the look and feel of a digital product, such as a website, video game, or mobile application. They design user-friendly interfaces that make it easy for users to interact with the product. UI designers are responsible for creating visual elements, such as logos and graphics, as well as layouts and navigation systems. Common tasks include the creation of wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity mockups, as well as conducting user research and testing to validate design decisions.
UI designers collaborate closely with UX developers and product managers to make a user experience as aesthetically pleasing, seamless, and cohesive as possible. Professional designers must be confident in their use of industry-standard software for design and graphical interfaces, creative, organized, and level-headed to maximize quality and efficiency in their work.
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National Average Salary
UI designer salaries vary by experience, industry, organization size, and geography. To explore salary ranges by local market, please visit our sister site zengig.com.
The average U.S. salary for a UI Designer is:
$88,075
UI Designer Job Descriptions
When it comes to recruiting a UI designer, having the right job description can make a big difference. Here are some real world job descriptions you can use as templates for your next opening.
Example 1
[Your Company Name] is currently looking for a UI designer to join their team during the next quarter. The UI designer will be responsible for crafting interfaces that balance form and function while adhering to best practices as established by the community. You will need proven experience as a UI designer or in a related role, be able to craft beautiful interfaces that are intuitive to use, collaborate with team members throughout the product lifecycle to create a cohesive experience for end-users, ensure designs adhere to UI standards and best practices, such as Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines, and have a strong understanding of design principles, user experience, and information architecture.
Typical duties and responsibilities
- Work with UX designers to build storyboards, site maps, and conceptual designs
- Conduct user research to inform UI layout decisions
- Design dropdown menus, site layouts, and other aesthetic elements
- Track human-computer interactions created by particular UI designs
- Present concepts and defend design choices during creative and client reviews
- Analyze consumer responses and monitor website traffic to inform revisions and improved design
- Develop visual design and layout best practices
Education and experience
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, graphic design, web development, or a related field required
Required skills and qualifications
- Expertise in visual design and use-system interactions
- Proficiency in JavaScript, HTML, and CSS
- Proficiency with creative design programs such as Adobe Creative Cloud
- Strong communication and presentation skills
- Robust creative thinking and problem-solving skills
- Ability to work under tight deadlines
Preferred qualifications
- Excellent graphic design skills with a focus on typography, layout, and iconography
- Proficient in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign
- Knowledge of HTML and CSS
- Familiarity with prototyping tools such as InVision
Example 2
The UI Designer will be experienced in Front End Software Development and passionate about User Experience Design. You will be a member of the delivery team, focused on prototyping, testing, and developing user interfaces for large enterprise web applications and actively participate in concept development and design iteration alongside the design team.
UI designer requirements:
- 3+ years of software development experience with Angular, including communication with backend services
- Experience with prototyping user interfaces
- Demonstrated success in software development project delivery
- Proficiency in writing professional, clear, readable, understandable, and well-tested code
- Deep understanding of software design patterns
- Ability to articulate how source control, and agile methods fit within the software development landscape
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills (will be client facing)
- Experienced with Figma, Sketch, Miro, or other design tools
UI designer preferred requirements:
- Has been responsible for large Angular codebases
- Familiar with S.O.L.I.D. principles
- Experience using Bootstrap along with Angular to build large web applications
- Experience creating wireframes and mid-fidelity designs from scratch
- Understands BPM, BPMN, and DMN technologies as well as Camunda
Example 3
Responsibilities
- Create and iterate on UI typography/Motion/FX/Iconography and in-game branding for the end-to-end game experience in partnership with the rest of the UX/UI team
- Partner with UX designers to ensure that form always follows function
- Define best in class in-game experiences by pushing the boundaries of your tools and technology
- Be constantly thinking about the future in terms of finding ways to improve the game experience and the design of the games UI, with strong ownership and minimal direction required
- Serve as an advocate for the UX/UI team by ensuring the best tools, systems, and process are being used to create the in-game experience possible
- Work directly with all disciplines across the game team (dev/design/art/platform/marcom) to bring the brand and your work to life
- Be a thought leader in visual design to ensure we are pushing the edges of what’s possible
- Leverage your years of experience to help bring the culture of user centered design to the entire game studio
- Cultivate design talent on the design team through active mentoring and leadership
Qualifications
- 5+ years professional experience in UX/UI or Visual Design for games
- At least 3 games shipped from concept to completion (PC a plus)
- Experience with Rapid Prototyping using whatever tools help tell the story (Motion Design/3D/In-Engine)
- Experience implementing UX/UI into a game engine, ideally Unreal Engine with in-depth expertise in UMG
- Strong motion design and animation experience
- A passion for gaming and an understanding of what is best in class UX across multiple genres
- Experience with keyboard/mouse UX considerations
- Experience working with localization/internationalization systems and dealing with related issues
- An aptitude for ownership, responsibility and aggressive problem solving
- You’re comfortable with getting into the guts of a game engine
- A mindset of continuous improvement; humble and ambitious
- Prior experience in a startup environment or small business
- Adaptable, with a good sense of humor
Example 4
Responsibilities
- Focus on building the digital experience from the ground up with the ability to architect all acquisition digital touchpoints and end-user interfacing internal systems to support the marketing/customer acquisition value stream
- Collect and analyze user behaviors and needs through qualitative and quantitative user research such as interviews, field studies, surveys, A/B testing, digital experience monitoring, and usability testing
- Participate in the creation of content strategy documents to design solutions to address critical user pain points and opportunities to increase efficiency
- Ability to solve complex business challenges through design thinking, owning, and leading the marketing acquisition digital user experience strategy, testing, and design
- Work with internal analysts and data science partners to evaluate target segments, visitor behaviors and task success, conducting competitive analyses of other websites within banking, fintech, and online experience leaders
- Brainstorm concepts, develop mockups and run usability studies, developing task flow, user storyboards, and other design documents to share vision with others
- Create navigation maps, flows, and diagrams to document design decisions
- Create wireframes for design and development teams
- Work hand-in-hand with UI designer and developers on project builds and product manager in UX ideation and innovation, ensuring work aligns with value stream priorities and meets value stream deadlines, priorities and cadences
- Support agile workflow with timely production and purposeful iteration to track usability goals and prepare reports for senior management
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent experience) in information technology, visual design, interaction design, or related disciplines
- 7+ years of experience in UX or interaction design
- Ability to prototype in Axure, Invision, Adobe XD, or similar tools
- Advanced skills with Sketch, Photoshop, or other design tools
- Experience in UX research and ability to grow into end-to-end study execution
- Must include a portfolio showcasing your end-to-end design process
Candidate Certifications to Look For
While there are no specific certifications required for a UI designer, some employers may prefer candidates with a certification in graphic design or a related field. Certifications that may be beneficial for aspiring UI designers include the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) designation for Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, as well as the UX Certification from Human Factors International.
Sample Interview Questions
- Please show me examples of your work and explain how you made your design decisions.
- What are your methods for ensuring your designs meet the needs of your users?
- Describe a project you’ve worked on that was particularly challenging. How did you handle it? What were the results?
- What is your ideal workflow, and how often do you like to incorporate feedback into your process?
- How comfortable are you with ambiguity?
- Can you describe your design process from initial concept to final execution?
- What is the biggest mistake or regret that you have made in a previous role? How would you handle it differently if given the opportunity again?
- What do you consider essential for creating effective design patterns and best practices? How does this differ from following design trends?
- What are some of the limitations of using Photoshop or Sketch for designing mobile interfaces?
- Have you ever disagreed with a supervisor over an issue related to UI design? What was your reasoning, and what action did you take? Would you handle it differently now?
- Can you describe a time when your personal values came into conflict with a company policy? How did you handle it? What was the outcome, and would you handle it differently now?
- What is your favorite part of working on a UI team? What do you like least about it?
- Do you consider yourself more of an artist, designer, or engineer when it comes to your work? Why?
- How do you stay on top of design trends and new technologies?
