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 delightful and effective.
User experience designers specialise 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.
what does a UX designer do?
UX designers create digital products relying on interactive processes rooted in user-centric problem-solving and design thinking. As a UX designer, you work in various companies that rely on digital products. For instance, you could work in technology companies or IT consultancy firms. Some UX designers also work as freelancers assisting various companies in app or software development.
Would working in IT as a UX designer suit your visual awareness? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in a UX designer role.
UX designer jobsaverage UX designer salary
According to National Careers, the starting salary for junior UX designers is £25,000 per year. When you have some experience, your compensation package ranges from £30,000 to £50,000 annually. Senior UX designers earn over £50,000 annually, depending on their seniority and experience level.
Some employers have additional benefits as part of the employment contracts. UX designers' standard benefits include a bonus scheme, transport allowance, private medical insurance and house allowances.
what factors affect the salary of a UX designer?
The compensation package of a UX designer depends on experience and educational qualifications. When you are a junior UX designer, your salary is low due to the minimum responsibilities associated with your role. When you have some experience in the industry, you take on 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 London have higher compensation packages to reflect the demand for UX designers in the area. The cost of living also pushes the amount higher.
types of UX designers
User experience design is a multidisciplinary role with multiple niche specialisations. Some of the areas UX designers specialise in include:
- UX visual design: as a visual 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 maximise a site's usability while adhering to the brand guidelines.
- UX research: as a user experience researcher, 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 behaviours, you assist the design team in making the necessary adjustments to improve the UX design.
- UX writing: when you specialise 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 behaviours, goals, motivations and user needs. Most UX designers collect the 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: as a UX designer, you consolidate and interpret user research findings to construct representative personas. Each user persona highlights a user demographic's 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: as a UX designer, you are the information architect. That means you organise 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, optimising 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: as a user experience designer, you are involved in the design that creates a final interactive version of the pre-development product. The prototype allows users to test the main interactions on the 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 analyse usability, intuitiveness and accessibility. Some UX designers use focus groups to provide valuable feedback on areas that need adjustment.
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work environment
A UX designer works in various fields and business sectors. However, the majority work in IT consultancy or marketing firms. 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 travelling 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
The typical work hours of a UX designer are 39 hours a week. If you work for a company, you are likely to cover the regular business hours with occasional evenings. UX designers rarely work during holidays or weekends unless the project deadline is approaching. Freelancers and contractor set their time based on the projects they work on. For instance, a contractor plans their schedule based on the clients and has the flexibility of working fewer or more hours a week depending on the role's demands.
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job outlook
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 specialise 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.
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advantages of finding a UX designer job through randstad
Finding your UX designer job through Randstad provides important advantages such as:
- a wide variety of training and development opportunities
- an experienced contact person to provide help if needed
- a range of opportunities in your area
- get paid weekly or monthly, depending on the job
- temporary and permanent contracts
Want a permanent contract? 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!
education and skills
Some of the educational qualifications include:
- university course: many people join the role through a university course. It can be a higher national diploma, postgraduate award or undergraduate degree in digital marketing, product design or graphic design. The course should give you the skills to use the latest UX design tools to boost your career.
- college: some people pursue college courses to advance their skills and join the UX design teams in companies. A course like A Level in computing, T level in digital production, design and development and Level 4 Certificate in digital media design is useful for UX designers. They lead to higher qualifications and open opportunities for apprenticeships.
UX designer skills and competencies
Focus on building the following skills to create a solid foundation for your career as a UX designer:
- empathy: as a UX designer, you should 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.
- communication skills: as a UX designer, your job 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: as a UX designer, 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: as a UX designer, 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.
FAQs
FAQs about working as a UX designer
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is UX design a good career?
Working as a UX designer is a great career with promising job prospects. It is one of the most in-demand roles in technology with lucrative growth opportunities.
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what does UX stand for?
UX represents user experience, which means the accessibility and user-friendliness of a website or digital product to end users.
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do UX designers need to code?
As a UX designer, you rarely code, but it can give to a leg up in the competition. Learning to code allows you to design better products since you understand the code's capability.
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what skills does a UX designer need?
A user experience designer requires problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Communication skills also help you handle clients and users during testing and research.
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do you need a degree to be a UX designer?
You don't require a degree to become a UX designer. There are plenty of college courses to get you started in the role.
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how do I apply for a UX designer vacancy?
Applying for a UX designer job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our job offers for vacancies in your area. Then simply send us your CV and cover letter. Need help with your application? Check out all our job search tips here!
