I'm sure that you heard about UI design before and have seen many job searches where they ask for UI designers. But, have you ever wondered what UI design is and the UI designer job description?
In this article, we will see what UI design is, the UI designer job description, the skills and responsibilities, and what can make you a great UI designer.
What is UI design?
To start talking about the UI designer job description, we must first know what UI design is.
UI is short for the user interface. The user interface consists of the graphical layout of an application, in a more straightforward way, the texts they read, the images they see, the buttons they can touch, and everything they can see and interact with.
UI design is the discipline that takes care of every visual element that users will use to execute the webpage. With this process, designers build interfaces in software or computerized devices to create an accessible way to interact with the user.
UI designer job description
UI design is undoubtedly an essential job to the success of a webpage. A good idea but with a non-viable design will end up not working. There are some skills and responsibilities to understanding the UI designer job description.
Skills
- One of the essential UI designer skills is quite apparent and is knowing how to use a design program. The most popular and the ones that almost every job requires are Photoshop, Illustrator, and OmniGraffle. Each has strengths and weaknesses, so the more you know, the better.
- Creativity is another fundamental skill. Good ideas, innovating, and thinking outside the box are the key to good design results.
- Although a UI designer doesn't need to be a coding expert, it is important to know at least the basics of some coding language (HTML, CSS…). This will help you while working and get some extra points in the job application process.
- The last but almost mandatory skill for a UI designer is to know how to work with a large team. UX designers, copywriters, and developers are some professionals you will share work with.
- The flexibility and problem-solving ability can be distinguished skills in UI designers.
Responsibilities
A UI designer's responsibilities will be everything related to the visual functioning of the web page. This means that the UI designer must be able to interpret the best option to design a web page so the user can use it most pleasingly and effectively. To achieve this, a UI designer should use wireframes, prototypes, style guides, and user flows.
The UI designer is also responsible for tracking how the actual designs work so they can make the necessary changes at any time.
What makes you a great UI designer?
- The skills and responsibilities mentioned before are mandatory to work as a UI designer, but some other aspects can make you great at this job.
- One of the most distinguishable habits that a great UI designer can have is the ability to do good research. The majority of times, when designing a web page for a brand with several competitors—doing a deep analysis of how the competitor's UI design work, the reason behind the decisions, and some failures will let you achieve the same or better results.
- Do not be arrogant. Always remember that the goal of a UI designer is to develop an accessible way to interact with the user. Keeping it simple it's almost always the best option. Designers who only want to show off and create some unique but extremely complex designs can be a con.
- Attention to detail is a crucial characteristic of an outstanding UI designer. It is always better than a bug, or the designer finds an unfunctional piece of the webpage than a user trying to navigate the webpage.
- Modesty: designers are people, and people can be wrong sometimes. If a team member makes a constructive criticism of your design, remember that it is not personal; it is something necessary to the sound development of the webpage.
Bottom line
Now you know what UI design is and the UI designer job description. Almost every job skill and responsibility can change due to where you work, but in this article, we mention some of them.
Remember that interdisciplinary skills will always help you in jobs like this. We all have hobbies and abilities that can help us distinguish ourselves in our work. Design is a broad discipline in which our experience and background play a fundamental role.
