UI/UX and graphic design use visual design elements in web development. The two career paths sound similar but are not. So, it is essential to know both roles before you pursue a career in web design.
A graphic design expert uses visual components to convey a design message. In contrast, a UX designer concentrates on how users interact with web products.
Both career paths are marketable, but UI/UX is in high demand worldwide. You can hire a UX design company to develop a great product for your business. This article discusses the connection between UX/UI design and graphic design. We will also delve into the specific roles required for each profession.
What Is UI/UX Design?
User interface design entails creating appealing interfaces to maximize usability and interaction with a product. You can incorporate illustrations, voice-to-text, and other functional features to improve user interaction. Conversely, UX design is about creating accessible products with an exceptional user experience.
UI/UX design generally boosts user satisfaction through user-friendly, appealing, and accessible web products. User experience focuses on human-centered products. You can count on high UX if you develop simple and delightful apps.
One essential factor is to master the essential UX design skills that help develop exceptional product experiences. Thus, it would be best if you always focused on your app’s appeal and functionality.
What Is Graphic Design?
Graphic design is a popular career that uses visual communication to convey messages to specific audiences. You can use imagery, typography, color, or form to communicate ideas or solve user issues.
Experts promote businesses and market products using visual design. Besides, the visual component is central to proper branding and product recognizability across channels. That is why graphic design is a competitive profession. Graphic designers need to analyze the current visual trends, choose the colors and shapes for your project, select the fonts that ideally meet your business specifics, and unify all of these components into a consistent product.
How UX Design Connects with Graphic Design
You need a team of experts when you plan to develop an app or a website. UX design is part of the process of creating a great product. You might be wondering if a graphic designer might come in handy in web development. Yes, graphic experts are important because their skills are essential in fine-tuning visual details and achieving visual consistency.
Moreover, a graphic expert can work on UX design. There are specific skills that a graphic designer can leverage to become a UI/UX expert. Let us explore some skills and aspects that connect the two careers.
Emotional Design
Graphic and UX design experts use emotions to connect with consumers and achieve an intended emotional association with the brand. Color combinations, striking images, and appropriate fonts are the elements you can use to communicate a message and evoke the user’s emotions.
Moreover, UX design is not limited to emotions through the visual aspect. User experience entails how the information is arranged on the interface. Users feel connected to apps or websites that are appealing and easy to use.
Attention to Detail
Design communicates well when you pay keen attention to details. That is why designers should do rigorous planning and analysis in the process of aligning elements, picking the right fonts, and text organization, among other aspects. It is critical for both UX experts and graphic designers to have an eye for detail.
Creative Thinking
Design requires a person who can solve issues through creativity. UX and graphic design thrive in a creative thinking practice.
The process usually entails steps the designer should follow until the final product is ready. Below are the design phases:
- Empathize. It involves investigating what the consumer needs.
- Define. It identifies the users’ desires, gaps, and expectations.
- Ideate. Brainstorming is done to find innovative solutions.
- Prototype. Design models are developed for the final product.
- Test. User testing is done to gather first-hand feedback.
The entire process relies on creativity and logic to develop a great design for each project. You must tap into intuition to create an exceptional outcome that will benefit the user. Developing innovative designs that convey the right message is paramount. So, you need to understand the phases to allow you to deliver top-notch digital designs.
Design Conventions
Conventions are a recognized way of doing certain things accepted by professionals in design work. Both graphic designers and UX designers have conventions that are convenient and agreeable to users, such as color, shapes, icons, CTA buttons, or any recognizable pattern.
User experience designers ensure that the interface has all the needed elements and color schemes. These elements boost user interaction with a design by making it predictable and intuitive.
Design Aesthetics
Another common skill you can find in the two professions is the ability to create appealing products. Aesthetics is a crucial aspect that can impact user experience and product usability. Graphic designers have an innate talent for developing artwork with strong aesthetics. It could be picking striking fonts, aligning elements, and applying visual hierarchies.
Modern consumers are picky and tech-savvy, so they prefer to use products that make them feel good. Thus, graphical skills are a plus when you are tackling a UX task.
Prototyping
Prototyping is the intermediary work on the digital product. UX designers usually develop preliminary, simplified models for testing and refining the product before its final release. Likewise, graphic designers create sample visuals before submitting the final design for review. Thus, prototyping allows designers to demonstrate their skills, get feedback, and polish the final product before investing much time and effort in its full-scale development.
Conclusion
People perceive UX design as a separate career that requires extensive experience and high qualifications. However, graphic designers can easily transform their expertise to become UX designers. Even though the two professionals have different roles and skills, it is not entirely impossible.
The main focus of graphic design is on the digital product’s visual components, while UX experts work on the product’s likeability and ease of use. Still, these aspects of digital design often overlap and go hand in hand in the design process. Thus, you should note that both professions are crucial in web and product development.
