Have you ever wondered why some websites and apps feel like home to navigate and others are a complete frustration? It is the invisible art of UX design that stands behind digital product success.
UX designers are storytellers who give a human touch to technology and transform confusing interfaces into intuitive flows. They are the silent force that guides your clicks and taps and creates flawless user experiences. UX designers conduct user research, craft prototypes, and collaborate with developers to ensure every interaction feels natural. How do they do it? Let’s take a look beyond the typical UI/UX designer job description!
The concept of UX/UI design is not new. It has its roots in the early days of human-computer interaction. Originally, the focus was on the technical aspects of software development. However, with the increasing complexity of interfaces, designers began to realize the importance of creating solutions that were not only functional but also user-friendly.
The term “UX design” appeared in the mid-1990s when Don Norman joined Apple as a “User Experience Architect.” He became the first person to officially hold the title of UX designer. As a cognitive scientist, Norman understood the role of user interaction design: “Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible.”
Initially, user experience design focused on websites and desktop applications, but today, it covers all aspects of user interaction with technology. Mobile apps, wearables, voice interfaces, and even virtual reality experiences - all require skilled UX designers.
UX design has transformed from a niche concept to a powerful aspect of digital product creation. UX design professionals have become a link between technology and the user. They translate user needs into intuitive interfaces and smooth user flows. Overall, UX designers stand behind user satisfaction with the product.
At first glance, it may seem that this job is only about creating a nice user interface (UI) design. But, in fact, UX designers are product advocates responsible for the entire user journey. Their work starts well before the product development and consists of many crucial stages and tasks.
1. Competitor analysis
UX research starts with learning industry standards and user expectations. It allows UX designers to benchmark their designs' performance against the market. Seeing what others do can inspire new features and fresh design concepts. As Pablo Picasso said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Competitor analysis serves as a constant source of inspiration—their strengths and weaknesses identify opportunities for a better user experience.
2. Creating user personas
To succeed in user-centered design, UX designers craft user personas—fictional characters that represent core user groups with their goals, needs, and pain points. They become true user detectives who piece together user behavior from interviews, surveys, and heatmaps. Many renowned designers say that empathy mapping is a must. If you don't know your users, you are designing for your own ego.
3. Information architecture
UX designers organize, classify, and label content items (text, images, videos) based on their similarities to develop a clear structure. Then, they establish the information hierarchy and design intuitive navigation systems, like menus and search bars, that allow users to explore the product efficiently.
4. Wireframing
Designers create low-fidelity sketches that focus on the layout and functionality of the product that serve building blocks of a UX design process. With the help of simple shapes and boxes that represent different UI elements like buttons and menus, UX specialists enable quick iteration and feedback on the core structure.
5. Prototyping
UX designers build prototypes or more advanced models that simulate the actual user experience with some level of interactivity. Users can tap, click, and navigate through the prototype to get a feel for how the final product might work. They can be low-fidelity (using tools like Figma) or high-fidelity (almost resembling the final product).
6. Testing and iteration
UX designers use various methods, such as usability testing, surveys, and analytics, to gather data on various user scenarios. Based on user feedback, they iterate on their designs. This might involve adjusting layouts, simplifying functionalities, or adding missing features.
7. Coordination with UI designers and developer
UX designers are a part of a cross-functional team. They partner with UI designers and developers. A UI specialist gets a clear UX spec to translate it into a visual design. Finally, UX designers work with developers to ensure a smooth handover and get a product that's both functional and delightful.
To build a successful career in UX, a designer must have a blend of empathy and technical prowess. Let’s see what hard and soft skills are a must for this profession.
Hard skills
User research methods. A UX designer should know how to conduct surveys and interviews and apply usability testing UX tools to gather user data.
Information architecture basics. UX experts must be well-versed in card sorting and user journey mapping to organize content for intuitive navigation.
Prototyping and wireframing. It is crucial to master tools like Figma or Sketch for the seamless creation of wireframes and prototypes.
Usability testing analysis. A UX designer should be familiar with testing techniques and main UX metrics to identify areas for improvement.
Design principles. Key design principles and guidelines of accessibility in UX (WCAG) are basics for crafting user-friendly and inclusive interfaces.
Soft skills
Empathy. A crucial skill for a UX designer is the ability to evaluate the product through users’ eyes. Understanding users' challenges enables designers to develop effective solutions.
Time management. UX designers face deadlines set by clients, business owners, or product managers. Good time management skills will help them catch up with the schedule.
Critical thinking. UX designers must know how to gather and analyze important information to apply it effectively in their designs.
Communication skills. Regular interaction with colleagues, management, and customers is a part of the job, so strong communication skills are vital for collaboration and clarity.
Stress resistance. UX designers should be prepared for critiques of their ideas and work. They must learn to accept feedback calmly and make necessary adjustments.
The main thing about UX designer skillset is constant learning and development. UX designers cannot improve their design skills by using the same bag of tricks over and over again. So, it’s crucial to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies.
There are a variety of special tools and software designed specifically for UX designers. These tools are meant for different stages of the UX design process.
Platforms like SurveyMonkey and Google Forms help UX designers conduct surveys and questionnaires to find out user demographics and preferences. For a deeper interaction like an interview, UX specialists use Lookback and UserTesting software. What is more, Hotjar and Crazy Egg offer powerful analytical tools for user behavior analysis.
Figma and Sketch are industry-standard software for creating low-fidelity wireframes that focus on layout, user flow, and core functionalities. Miro represents a great collaborative space to brainstorm ideas and sketch out wireframes. Lucidchart is ideal for mapping out user journeys – it visualizes paths users take within the product.
Adobe XD and Proto.io enable UX designers to create interactive prototypes with varying levels of fidelity. They encourage users to interact with the product and provide early feedback. After Effects and Principle software comes with animation tools for highly functional prototypes. Marvel and InVision are the best for low-fidelity prototypes.
UsabilityHub and Hotjar help UX specialists to capture user interactions with prototypes through screen recording and receive valuable insights into user behavior. OptimalSort helps understand how users categorize information and refine content organization for intuitive navigation.
Many UX tools allow for real-time collaboration and enable designers to work together seamlessly on projects. There are many options to everyone’s taste – Trello, Monday, Asana and more. Project management and communication tools make the design process transparent, improve stakeholder engagement and overall outcome.
The UX design field is really diverse. There are many routes UX designers can take once they have made up their mind to devote themselves to this profession. Here is roughly how the vertical progression may look like:
Entry-level. This is a starting point for a junior designer role. The beginner works on a team and learns from senior designers. The focus is on core design tasks like wireframes and prototypes.
Mid-level. At this stage, a UX designer gains more independence—responsibilities increase but with less supervision. There are no high-risk decisions yet, but it is time for the first UX strategy.
Senior level. Usually, it means several years of experience behind. A senior UX designer can lead projects from start to finish. Managing stakeholders, task analysis, design systems, and handoffs to developers become part of the job.
Lead or Head of Design. This is when a UX designer becomes the boss who manages design teams. This role typically requires over 5 years of experience, sometimes with leadership experience.
What’s interesting is that the profession of a UX designer has not only a vertical direction but also a horizontal one that lets UX designers specialize in a specific area. Here are a few options:
UX researcher. The key responsibilities include conducting user research, understanding user needs and turning pain points into actionable design challenges.
UX design expert. This specialist knows everything about design systems, how a design thinking project works, UI design, and how to prepare a spec for a developer.
UX writer. As the name suggests, this professional focuses on creating content for the interface. It includes button labels and various instructions to simplify the user journey.
UX strategist. This path requires strong communication and influence. It implies collaboration with stakeholders and making serious business decisions.
Hopefully, this article has given you a better understanding of what a UX designer does. If you need professional design help or have further questions, the DreamX company is ready to help. We are a team of UX/UI designers with dozens of successful projects across various industries. Whether you are a startup founder with a brilliant idea or an established company looking to revamp your user experience, we are ready to become your design partners!
What does a UX designer do?
Veronika is a UX/UI design team lead driven by a passion for user-centric design. She spearheads the creation of innovative and effective design solutions that elevate the user experience.
Get weekly updates on the newest design stories, case studies and tips right in your mailbox.
No junk or spam. Only useful information. We promise!
