What You Need to Know as a Ux Director

UX design roles are confusing. You lot might know what a "UX designer" does, but what about a "visual designer", "product designer" or "UX unicorn"? Well, worry no more, considering we'll put an cease to whatsoever confusion you may have. Here, we'll analyze 6 common UX roles through how they contribute to the design process, and smooth a low-cal through the fog of UX roles. Soon, you'll accept a articulate understanding of which job role is all-time for you to aim for.

We designers seem to be inventing new chore titles each year to describe vaguely overlapping roles, so information technology'southward not a surprise if you're feeling lost! The thing is, though, it's essential for you to empathise the different UX roles. Because if you lot want to become your first UX job, or brand a switch in your UX career, y'all need to have a skillful idea of the UX role you'd like to take on. Later on all, if you're unclear about your destination (i.e., the UX role you aspire to), and then y'all cannot take steps to go there. For case, you cannot create your UX portfolio without first knowing which UX part you desire to target. Likewise, you need to know which job function you're aiming for in order to sign up for courses that can teach yous those exact skills and noesis.

Allow's Navigate the Confusing Sea of Chore Titles

Kate Conrick, a designer working for the Australian government, aptly summed up the disruptive state of UX roles with charming humor:

"I built on my background in tech and design, picked up some solid inquiry skills, added some business process and a sprinkle of marketing, and voila! A user feel designer. Or a service designer? A UX researcher? A digital strategist? An experience analyst? Design thinker? Stuff tinkerer? Unicorn? Ability ranger? You tell me. Because I'g not sure I know the answer."
—Kate Conrick

So, if you're confused about UX roles, yous're not alone. Merely don't worry. We'll human activity as a compass to aid you navigate the confusing sea of task titles. Here, nosotros'll become through 6 of the most common UX roles:

UX designer;
Production designer;
Visual designer;
UX researcher;
Content strategist; and
UX unicorn (yes, we're not kidding about this job title!).

For each role, we'll describe the common tasks and deliverables, likewise as give you a rough thought of whether you'll similar the role. Ready to make sense of UX roles?

UX Roles Exist to Serve the Blueprint Process

And so, how do nosotros make sense of this mess?

The commencement stride is to realize that all UX roles be to serve the design process. So, a great way for u.s. to understand them is to examine how they contribute to the design process. Nosotros perform a whole slew of UX tasks as nosotros go through a pattern procedure to create a terminal design. For instance, we unremarkably commencement with gaining a deep agreement of users before we continue to create designs and exam them with users. Different UX roles simply take charge of different subsets of these UX tasks.

Nosotros'll use the design thinking procedure from hither onwards to illustrate our points, but we could have used any iterative design procedure to brand our points. Nigh all UX design processes share the same phases, fifty-fifty though some might differ slightly from i some other.

UX roles are created to fill different parts of the design process. As you can see, the stages are closely connected; they overlap and are iterative by nature, and that'due south partly why task roles are ofttimes and then difficult to ascertain and dissever completely.
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Every bit you lot can see, the blueprint process involves 5 phases that feed into ane some other:

Understand: where you learn about your users;
Define: where y'all identify problems and user needs;
Ideate: where you generate pattern ideas to solve the issues;
Prototype: where you lot create mock-ups and, somewhen, the final product; and
Test: where you examination your designs with users to better them.

Let's take a look at some of the key UX tasks we perform in each of the phases:

Each UX role takes charge of a unlike range of key UX tasks, depending on what phase(s) of the design process they handle.
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation. CC By-NC-SA 3.0

Each UX office nosotros'll examine below will perform a slightly different range of these key UX tasks. For instance, a UX designer is a generalist who takes charge of all the UX tasks, while a visual designer focuses on the image phase and creates pleasing and useful interfaces.

Why practise we get through this seemingly roundabout style to understand UX roles? Well, it's because it's of import to see the big pic—this way, when a new job championship pops up, you'll be able to understand it in the context of the pattern procedure. On acme of that, companies might define UX roles differently, but once you understand UX roles as "how they contribute to the design procedure", yous'll exist less confused when you go chore-hunting and portfolio-building. In other words, this is the map that will assist you lot navigate the different UX roles.

Enough talk; allow's sail through the 6 most common UX roles!

What Is a UX Designer?

UX designers are generalists who embrace a lilliputian of everything in the entire design process. As a UX designer, you'll understand your users' needs, generate ideas to solve their problems, prototype designs and finally test them with users. In other words, UX designers participate in all 5 phases of the design thinking process.

UX designers contribute towards all parts of the design process.
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

In large companies, a UX designer typically works with other designers such as UX researchers and visual designers. In smaller companies such every bit start-ups, UX designers tend to handle all the pattern work.

UX Designers Are Too Known As…

Interaction Designers;
UI/UX Designers; and
Experience Designers.

What Tasks Will You Perform as a UX Designer?

Equally you would imagine, a UX designer conducts all kinds of UX activities to perform their job well. As a UX designer you would:

Conduct user research through interviews, observations and other research methods;
Clarify and identify pain points from the users' perspective, based on your user research;
Generate ideas through ideation techniques such every bit brainstorming and worst possible idea to solve the users' needs in a mode that provides value to the company;
Select the about promising idea(southward) based on their feasibility, desirability and viability, amid other criteria;
Prototype designs, which can range from simple paper sketches to high-fidelity and interactive digital mock-ups;
Provide and solicit critique on your designs as well as the designs of your team-mates;
Bear usability and user tests to make up one's mind if your blueprint(s) can be farther improved; and ultimately
Push a design solution out into the world that will benefit both your visitor and your users.

What UX Deliverables Will You Produce as a UX Designer?

While each visitor—and indeed, each squad within a visitor—expects dissimilar deliverables from a UX designer, the near common ones are:

User enquiry reports;
User personas;
User journeying maps;
"How might we" statements, which capture a problem that your pattern aims to solve;
Newspaper prototypes;
Wireframes;
High-allegiance, pixel-perfect mock-ups;
Usability reports;
Heuristic evaluation reports;
User testing reports; and
Design pattern libraries, mode guides or design systems.

You'll Love Being a UX Designer If Y'all…

Savour taking charge of the entire design procedure, from the initial stage of understanding users to the last stage of producing a high-fidelity prototype;
Accept sufficient understanding of broad topics in UX, such equally information architecture, psychology, emotional pattern, interaction design and visual design;
Find it fulfilling to clarify circuitous data to produce blueprint goals that you and so work towards;
Honey to create intuitive and useful solutions to solve the problems users face in their lives; and
Can perform—to a proficient level—a broad range of tasks from user research to designing prototypes.

Courses That Help You Become a Bang-up UX Designer

Become a UX Designer from Scratch
Design Thinking: The Beginner'southward Guide
User Enquiry – Methods and All-time Practices
Accessibility: How to Design for All
Mobile User Feel (UX) Design
Conducting Usability Testing
UI Design Patterns for Successful Software

What Is a Product Designer?

The product designer role is relatively new and overlaps in many ways with the UX designer role. Withal, a key distinction is that, as its name suggests, a product designer pays special attention to the product, on top of the user's experience.

This ways as a product designer, you assist create the product'due south designs likewise as the production goals and roadmap. A product roadmap is essentially a high-level summary of the futurity management of the product's offerings and features. While all UX designers consider business organisation goals when they pattern experiences for users, product designers must consider non just today'southward business organisation goals only also those of the long term. Product designers tend to also focus on ensuring that their designs get implemented well and on fourth dimension—while UX designers should of grade care nigh this besides, it isn't exactly their role to ensure the timely delivery of new designs.

Production designers not only take charge of all phases of the blueprint thinking process; they also help shape the product roadmap.
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation. CC By-NC-SA iii.0

Product Designers Are Besides Known Every bit…

In that location aren't really any synonyms for product designers, although some companies define product designers as identical to UX designers. Other companies view production designers as senior UX designers who have the added responsibility of charting a product's goals and roadmap.

What Tasks Will Y'all Perform equally a Product Designer?

All tasks mentioned under "UX designer" to a higher place;
Inform and program the product's roadmap six–12 months into the hereafter; and
Collaborate closely with evolution and marketing teams to ensure that designs can be successfully implemented.

What UX Deliverables Will Y'all Produce as a Product Designer?

All deliverables mentioned under "UX designer" in a higher place; and
Production roadmaps (which you will likely co-develop with other stakeholders such as team leaders, the production managing director and/or the CEO).

You'll Love Being a Product Designer If You…

Enjoy developing and integrating business goals into blueprint and product decisions;
Love participating in the entire design process;
Possess deep cognition in blueprint and a expert agreement of concern; and
Tin can clarify complex data to synthesize designs that satisfy business goals and user needs.

Courses That Assist You Become a Great Product Designer

Become a UX Designer from Scratch
Blueprint Thinking: The Beginner's Guide
User Research – Methods and Best Practices
Accessibility: How to Design for All
Mobile User Experience (UX) Pattern
Conducting Usability Testing
UI Design Patterns for Successful Software
UX Management: Strategy and Tactics

What Is a Visual Designer?

Unlike a UX or product designer, a visual designer is a specialist. As a visual designer, yous focus on creating pixel-perfect prototypes that are consistent with the rest of the product. In this sense, visual designers focus on the later phases of the blueprint procedure, and in detail the epitome phase.

Visual designers are specialists who focus on the prototype phase of the pattern process.
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Pattern Foundation. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Visual Designers Are Also Known As…

UI Designers; and
Graphic Designers.

What Tasks Will Yous Perform as a Visual Designer?

As a visual designer, you would:

Transform UX goals—east.thou., let a user sign up for an business relationship successfully—into a set up of cute, like shooting fish in a barrel-to-use and accessible designs, such every bit a set of app screens;
Create and/or maintain a library of icons, colors and fonts that will be used throughout the product;
Employ branding guidelines into your designs in a way that serves both the brand and your users; and
Utilize your knowledge of typography, color theory, Gestalt principles and other design concepts to create pleasant graphical user interfaces.

What UX Deliverables Will You Produce as a Visual Designer?

Some common deliverables you'll produce as a visual designer include:

Pixel-perfect prototypes;
Interactive prototypes;
Visual way guides;
Icon libraries;
Design specifications, so your frontend developer team-mate can produce the live lawmaking needed to implement it; and
Branding materials or guidelines that supplement the product.

You'll Dearest Existence a Visual Designer If You…

Love working on creating visual, pixel-perfect mock-ups of a product;
Have a deep noesis of and/or passion for typography, color, utilize of space and other graphic pattern concepts; and
Are nifty at applying consistent, meaningful and pleasing visuals beyond a wide range of user flows and contexts.

Courses That Aid You Become a Bang-up Visual Designer

UI Design Patterns for Successful Software
Gestalt Psychology and Web Design: The Ultimate Guide
Design Thinking: The Beginner's Guide
The Applied Guide to Usability
Information Visualization
Accessibility: How to Pattern for All
Mobile User Experience (UX) Design
The Ultimate Guide to Visual Perception and Blueprint

What Is a UX Researcher?

Just like a visual designer, a UX researcher is a specialist. UX researchers use qualitative and quantitative user research methods to provide real user information which other designers and so employ to inform their designs. As a UX researcher, you'll take function in the showtime phases of the design procedure. Yous'll understand with users to gain a holistic agreement of their needs and help ascertain the problems that the product should solve. UX researchers likewise accept part in the testing phase and assistance validate and improve designs.

UX researchers are specialists whose findings volition influence the empathize, ascertain and test phases of the design procedure.
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation. CC By-NC-SA 3.0

UX Researchers Are Likewise Known As…

User Researchers; and
Researchers.

What Tasks Will You Perform equally a UX Researcher?

If you're a UX researcher, y'all'll be doing these tasks:

Gain a rich and total agreement of users through qualitative user inquiry methods such every bit user interviews, user observations and field studies;
Piece together a realistic (and even statistically pregnant) agreement of specific traits of users by conducting quantitative user research, using such methods as surveys and bill of fare sorting;
Analyze the data you've gathered on users to synthesize key findings and make design proposals;
Advocate for users' needs and perspectives towards various internal stakeholders, such as other designers, developers, marketers and executives;
Help inform product goals by presenting your research findings to other designers, developers and marketers in your company; and
Examination and improve designs past conducting evaluative enquiry, such as usability and user testing.

What UX Deliverables Will You Produce equally a UX Researcher?

These are the main deliverables you'll create as a UX researcher:

User enquiry reports (for a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods);
User personas;
User stories;
User journey maps;
"How might we" statements;
Usability reports;
Heuristic evaluation reports; and
User testing reports.

You'll Love Being a UX Researcher If You lot…

Have a potent passion for human psychology and the written report of people;
Enjoy stepping into the shoes of others to empathize with them and piece together a rich and deep picture of their perspectives and bug;
Are well-versed in psychology or interested in learning deeply about it; and
Love generating and analyzing complex qualitative and quantitative data.

Courses That Help You lot Become a Great UX Researcher

User Research – Methods and All-time Practices
Conducting Usability Testing
Design Thinking: The Beginner'due south Guide
The Applied Guide to Usability
Accessibility: How to Pattern for All

What Is a Content Strategist?

Content strategists play a role in a critical area that we often overlook every bit designers: words. Copy is one of the most important parts of a design, so nosotros should not be surprised to find a role specifically targeted at copywriting. As a content strategist, yous'll contribute to the prototype phase of the design procedure, and y'all are crucial in finalizing the product earlier launch.

Content strategists are specialists who craft the right copy for use in the image stage of the design thinking process.
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Content Strategists Are Also Known Equally…

Copywriters; and
UX Writers.

What Tasks Volition You Perform as a Content Strategist?

You'll write effective copy for your product, for example:

Write re-create for user interfaces and then that people can navigate, use and troubleshoot the product hands;
Create constructive page titles and navigation menu item names so that users can intuitively go to the page or screen they desire;
Write error letters that are simple, effective and arraign-free; so, in the unfortunate result of an error, users experience assured rather than annoyed;
Craft effective emails and newsletters to achieve product goals (such equally to get people to sign upward for an business relationship);
Weave a cohesive narrative throughout the product, so users volition experience a consistent tone of vocalism and direction no thing which screen or page they access; and
Define and maintain a vision for the production's linguistic communication that volition exist applied beyond the lath.

What UX Deliverables Will You lot Produce as a Content Strategist?

As a content strategist, you'll find that about of your work will be direct applied to the production and thus will non appear as a standalone deliverable. Therefore, your most common deliverables are:

Copy, which you will contain into the product itself; and
Editorial guidelines or product language guidelines that set the tone and content style for the product.

You lot'll Love Being a Content Strategist If You…

Love to help users achieve their goals with the least cognitive load. That ways yous should be attracted to empathizing with your users and understanding their goals;
Likewise, you're passionate about achieving your product'southward and business'south goals;
Possess deep cognition in writing every bit well as a solid understanding of UX design; and
Enjoy using empathy, data, business goals and logic to inform your writing.

Courses That Help You lot Become a Smashing Content Strategist

User Feel: The Beginner's Guide
Accessibility: How to Design for All
The Practical Guide to Usability

Okay, What Exactly Is a UX Unicorn?!

In the globe of tech start-ups, the word "unicorn" refers to someone who possesses not only the usual ready of skills required for a role but likewise additional skills in another domain. These additional skills multiply the amount of value they contribute to a business concern—hence the legendary proper name. A UX unicorn typically refers to a UX designer who's skilful in design and front-finish development.

UX unicorns are extremely rare—only people talented plenty to practise existent frontend work are considered proper UX unicorns. UX unicorns thus take charge of the unabridged design process, and more—they too translate their designs into live code.

UX unicorns are a rare and special breed of people who can not only contribute to all phases of the blueprint process; they can also take charge of frontend development.
© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

UX Unicorns Are Also Known Every bit…

UX Engineers.

What Tasks Will Yous Perform as a UX Unicorn?

All tasks mentioned under "UX designer" above;
Develop alive frontend prototypes, which you can apply to test on users for more than realistic results; and
Implement the forepart-end code of a design.

What UX Deliverables Will You lot Produce as a UX Unicorn?

All deliverables mentioned under "UX designer" above;
Frontend prototypes; and
Frontend code that is ready for launch.

You'll Love Being a UX Unicorn If Yous…

Well, to be honest, the UX unicorn isn't something near people can realistically strive towards. It simply takes too much time to be proficient in UX design and forepart-end coding. This is the sort of phenomenon that comes from, for instance, having been an agile hobbyist for years. If you lot've got a strong passion for and deep knowledge of front-cease development, y'all might detect this function a feasible pick. All the same, we recommend that you aim for the 5 other UX roles we've covered above.

Courses That Help You Become a Great UX Unicorn

Become a UX Designer from Scratch
Pattern Thinking: The Beginner's Guide
User Inquiry – Methods and Best Practices
Accessibility: How to Pattern for All
Mobile User Experience (UX) Design
Conducting Usability Testing
UI Design Patterns for Successful Software
Dynamic User Experience: Blueprint and Usability

So, Which Role Should You lot Go For?

At present that we've gone through the 6 primary UX roles, you should take a much clearer idea of the 1 that appeals the most to y'all.

If you lot cannot determine whether to be a generalist UX designer or to specialize, Stephen Gay'due south advice might help you lot. Stephen Gay is the UX Lead of Google AdWords, and he recommends that y'all choose your blueprint part based on your passion and skills.

Video copyright info

Stephen Gay suggests that you play to your passions and strengths when you make up one's mind whether to exist a generalist or specialist designer. Author / copyright holder: The Interaction Design Foundation. Copyright terms and license: CC BY-SA-NC 3.0.

If yous're even so unsure, we recommend that you get for the UX designer role. Yous'll then go to experience the different specializations; if you come to like one of them especially, yous can then swoop into that one.

Call back That UX Roles Are Ever-Changing

Our final word of advice: UX roles are in flux—and we predict that they ever will be. Afterwards all, we designers seem to take a limitless amount of creativity that makes us reinvent and redefine roles every few years.

Thankfully, you lot now possess a map to navigate the sea of UX roles! When you know how UX roles exist to make full gaps in the blueprint process, you'll emerge clear-headed no matter how chaotic the field seems.

When you go chore-hunting, remember that different companies might define roles differently, also! Large companies, for example, tend to hire specialist designers, so they often have specific roles such equally "User Researcher" and "Visual Designer". Small and medium-sized companies, on the other hand, tend to prefer generalists and will have roles such equally "UX Designer" or even "UI/UX Designer". Ever carefully read the job description of an opening before you apply, and make sure it's a role that you are able and willing to perform.

The Accept Away

UX roles sound disruptive and overlap in some ways, but all exist to serve different parts of the design process. A swell way to empathize UX roles is to identify which phases of the design process they contribute towards.

Here'southward a quick summary of the 6 common UX roles:

UX designers take charge of the whole design process and work on all 5 phases of the design thinking process;
Product designers are like UX designers, but additionally, help to nautical chart a vision of the product's mid-to-long-term roadmap;
Visual designers specialize in the prototype phase and create pleasant, useful and usable interfaces and visuals;
UX researchers focus on understanding and advocating for users, and take part in the empathize, ascertain and test phases;
Content strategists are all about crafting pieces of copy that are persuasive, articulate and consequent, and contribute towards the prototype phase;
Lastly, UX unicorns are rare people who handle both UX design and frontend development.

We recommend that you aim for a design job that matches your passion and skills. If that's hard to make up one's mind only yet, nosotros advise yous to go for the broad UX designer role so narrow downward your focus as you find out what you love doing.

"The simply way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is bang-up work, and the merely way to practice great work is to love what yous exercise. If you haven't found it yet, proceed looking, and don't settle. Every bit with all matters of the heart, you lot'll know when y'all notice information technology."
—Steve Jobs

References and Where to Learn More

Kate Conrick's thought-provoking article on UX roles, aptly titled "We need to talk about UX roles", can exist read hither: https://uxdesign.cc/guys-we-need-to-talk-about-ux-roles-bf86a003f642

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Source: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/the-ultimate-guide-to-understanding-ux-roles-and-which-one-you-should-go-for