User experience design is a comprehensive concept. There are many logistics involved. Among the aspects of UX design include information architecture, human-computer interactions, interaction design, usability, and visual design.

The purpose of UX design is to improve the business environment by working on the customer’s needs. UX designers ensure the customers are satisfied and remain loyal to the business by providing a product that is easy to use.

UX design creates digital products in a presentable and straightforward manner, making it easy for the users to interact. It is all about improving customers’ overall experience with the product and making sure the product has value for the users’ needs. 

One thing to note is that some smaller companies or teams may employ one person with UX and UI design skills. The primary difference is that UX focuses on how users interact with a product whereas UI design is centered around the graphic, visual side of things.

Salary Range of a UX Designer

Several factors influence the salary of a UX designer. There is the level of experience, the Company, and the country, among other factors.

Salary range by Company:

If you need to work for a particular company or country, you need to research because it varies. To offer a snapshot, we have highlighted several companies and their salary ranges.

Adobe – While working with Adobe as a UX designer, your work is to create great products for others in the field to use for their projects. Expect a salary range between $65,000 – $163,000

BBC – The global production company is based in London. The designer team creates the simplest experience for BBC products. They create engaging content for their audience. The salary range is between $38,000 – $50,000

Adidas – The multifunctional sports company is among the best designers in the world of sports. The designers are passionate while producing their products to change the world of sports. Their salary ranges between $54,000 – $60,000

Microsoft– Designers at Microsoft focuses on producing digital products that have a positive impact globally. You must be highly skilled to become a designer for Microsoft. The salary ranges from $86,000 to $154,000

Alibaba– Alibaba is the largest e-commerce store worldwide with millions of users. The design team has 70 members who are always on their toes to ensure their customers experience the best services while promoting the business. The salary is from $32,000 to $61,000.

IBM– IBM is a well-known research organization specialized in computer software, hardware, middleware, and other services. It is a tech company with a salary range of between $71,000 to $144,000 for the designers.

The Roles of UX Designers

As highlighted before, UX design is a broad topic and covers many aspects. Below are some of the roles of UX designers.

Product Research– Before a UX designer starts on an actual project, they have to conduct extensive research in the market to evaluate customer’s preferences. Research helps them create a unique product that is viable for the customer.

Design– Next, the designers sketch a design related to the research collected. The sketching includes structuring, labeling, and wireframing.

Prototyping– At this point, the UX designer prepares a draft of the product. The process involves experiments and correcting errors. The designer can share the product with other team members for opinions.

Product Testing– When testing the product, the designers check for any possible problem that may arise when the user uses the product.

Measurement– Even if the product is released in the market, the UX designers’ work doesn’t end at that point. When the final product is in use, the UX designers still have other tasks to accomplish. They test the product periodically to analyze the user’s experience.

In some instances, there are needs for improving the overall product performance. So, measurement is essential because it shows how likely the customer is willing to refer the product to others.

Skillsets or interests that are a good fit for a UX Designer

Just like any other profession, UX designers also require some skills to produce the best products. The skill set includes:

Research skills– Since as a UX designer, you must produce what the customers want, you must have adequate research skills to gather the information for your targeted audience.

Analytical Skills-Remember, a UX designer deals with collected data to come up with a design suitable for the customer. Thus, analytical skills are crucial when analyzing the data collected.

Visual Communication– In UX design, visual skills help the designers create interactive prototypes that positively impact the users. The designers must know how to incorporate images, layout, color, design theory, and typography in the final product.

User Empathy– To produce a satisfactory product, UX designers need to put themselves in the user’s place. Being empathetic enables a UX designer to create a product that will offer solutions to the customer.

Collaborative Skills– As a UX designer, you can’t work alone. You need other teams and experts as well to produce the best product. This implies that you must have adequate collaborative skills.

Languages, tools needed for UX Designers

Just like other IT professions, UX designers have a set of programming languages they must know to use while producing the product.

UX designers will require tools such as InVision, Adobe Experience design, Origami Studio, Sketch, Axure, Webflow, Framer, Atomic, principle, just in mind, and Balsamiq Mockups.

UX designers don’t have to take many years learning different programming languages. However, having basic knowledge of programming languages for front-end development could be ideal. To add to that, they must have adequate HTML and CSS knowledge.

What types of courses help get UX Design Jobs

Every professional field requires specific qualifications. For UX design, we recommend the following courses: computer science, UI design, visual design, graphic design, information architecture, and web programming.