Explore Key Roles & Skills in UI UX Design

With the rapid growth of the UI/UX design industry, one should know about the different job descriptions and skills required before applying to any company. As user experience design is such a broad term, hence, a major confusion comes while writing UX designer job descriptions. Also, the position of a UI/UX designer means different roles and skills to a different company. So, one needs to know about roles associated with UI/UX designing.

This happens because of the structure and financial position of the organization. A smaller organization may require an all-rounder UI/UX designer who can conduct user research as well as design the products himself. On the other hand, a larger organization may distribute the tasks into more specific roles like UX researchers, information architects, UX strategists, and so on.

First, let’s see some general skills that all UI/UX designers must have:-

1. UX designer

UI/UX Designer responsibilities include researching user requirements, designing wireframes and prototypes, and building components. UI/UX designers must have experience with design software and wireframe tools. Having a portfolio rich in professional design projects that includes work with web/mobile applications and more will always help the UI/UX designers.

Ultimately, the UI/UX designers are responsible for the overall shaping of the product hence, they decide the success and fail ratio of the project.

A) Responsibilities

1. Research about user needs and conduct surveys
2. Create design ideas using simple sketches, process flows, and mapping
3. Creating prototypes and wireframes
4. Identify user responses and take their feedback to improve the product.
5. Create original graphic designs like images, sketches, and tables.
6. Create interactive style standards on fonts, colors, and images

B) UX designer: Skills and requirements

1. Adaptability
2. Communicate, collaborate, and teamwork
3. Problem-solver
4. Should use aspects related to Design thinking
5. A user-centric mindset
6. Creative, innovative and analytical
7. Understanding of interaction design principles
8. Knowledge of industry tools such as Sketch, InVision, Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, etc.

Despite all these variations, there are some skills and responsibilities that are common for all UI/UX designers. Now let’s understand the different roles and positions.

2. UX Researcher

UX researcher simply conducts all the research work and are experts in human behavior and psychology. They rely on qualitative and quantitative research, employing different techniques that are: observation, understanding, and analysis.

A) Tasks performed by a UX Researcher

1. Identification and observation of user needs and goals
2. Conduct in-depth research both in qualitative and quantitative methods
3. Task and workflow modeling, usability testing, and more formal, in-depth testing
4. Analyzing consumer behavior and also interpret it to make the next iteration better

3) UI designer

A UI designer is responsible for the look of the final product. They consider all the visual aspects of the product like color scheming, buttons, icons, spacing which guides the user through the whole interface.

A) Tasks performed by a UI Designer

1. Master in branding, typography and color theory
2. Knowledge about key industry tools, including Sketch and more
3. Makes things effortless and easy for the user
4. Excellent communication skills to collab UX designers and other teams.
5. Preparing wireframes and prototyping like UX designers

4. Information Architect

UX architects are concerned with content and information across a digital product, and how it makes it feel user-friendly. They ensure that the page or screen is structured in such a manner that makes it easy for the user to navigate. Information architects are also responsible for the overall navigation of the site.

A) Tasks performed by an Information Architect

1. Responsible for planning and designing the overall flow of the website/app and create wireframes to achieve this.
2. Good communication and teamwork skills
3. Understanding of user-centered design to make the user experience better
4. Proficiency in tools like InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and PowerPoint
5. Carry out research of existing information architecture and identify areas for improvement

5. Usability Analyst

UX Analysts have a critical job of improving the engagement rate of consumers by studying the numbers. By analyzing client retention and revenue trends, UX analysts determine the best way to create realistic client goals. Just like UX researchers, UX analysts also are comfortable with consumer research, psychology, and the latest in UX best practices. They conduct research to identify user needs, model workflows, and plan tasks. They also collaborate with Product Managers, Marketing, Customer Success, and Sales to develop a core understanding of user personas.

A) Tasks performed by a Usability Analyst

1. Just like UX researchers, UX analysts should also be comfortable with consumer research, psychology, and the latest in UX best practices. They conduct research to identify user needs, model workflows, and plan tasks.
2. They help in increasing the reach of the product by doing critical analysis
3. Conduct research to identify user needs
4. Ability to work independently
5. Proficiency in HTML5, CSS3, and ES6
6. Excellent communication skills to collaborate with other teams

6. Graphic designer

Graphics designers are those who are involved with graphic designs and art and assembles them together to form images, typography, or motion graphics. They are also sometimes responsible for illustration, user interfaces, and web design. A core responsibility of the designer’s job is to present information in a way that is both accessible and memorable.

A) Tasks performed by a Graphics Designer

1. Managing client proposals from typesetting through to design, print, and production
2. Developing concepts, graphics, and layouts for product illustrations, company logos, and websites
3. Discussing with clients to determine their requirements and budget
4. Innovative and creative
5. Must be good with industry tools like Adobe Illustrator, Figma and more

7. Product Designer

Just like a full-stack designer, a product designer’s role is to take charge of the entire process of creating products and valuable experiences, including UX, UI, coding, project management, and identifying problems. A large part of a product designer’s role is to design solutions to the problems that might arise during the initial iteration of the product’s design.

Product designers also support the developers through the launch process and collaborate with the marketing team. Product designers ensure that the product is relevant, cost-effective, and functional so that all the stakeholders are happy.

A) Tasks performed by a Product Designer

1. They combine UX thinking with design execution, to produce a usable and intuitive user interface
2. Communicate design solutions
3. Collaborate with the design team to evolve and refine the design system, ensuring visual cohesion and engineering efficiency. Also, plan and run user tests and other design research to inform design decisions.
4. A strong command of design tools including Sketch and Invision
5. Problem-solving and analytical skills
6. Solid foundation in layout and design with excellent attention to detail

There are several more role divisions like product manager, UX copyrighter, UX strategist, etc. Hence, one must have the capability to take up any role and shape themself like water.

Conclusion

Remember being a multi-tasker is always important because initially as UI/UX designers you might have to begin with a smaller organization. So, in such a case as a new UI/UX designer one should know how to do all the tasks like user analysis, researching customer needs, and all the tools that are required to do create the final product.

To learn more about UX/UI Design, Design Thinking, Conversational UX Design, and Virtual Reality UX Design, you can check out the Courses and Learning Materials available on Designerrs Academy. Our articles are written with utmost dedication and are based on research done by Designerrs Learning Experience Team. If you found them useful, remember to follow us and give us a thumbs-up!

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