Leaping from graphic design career into UX design can be challenging yet rewarding. For a graphic designer looking to explore more career opportunities, it makes sense to take a chance and go for UX design – specialized and in demand too. However, what can one really expects out of UX design?
UX designers are paid more
It’s a known fact. UX designers earn more than graphic designers. According to Payscale, the average salary of UX designers is USD 74,159 whereas graphic designers only earn USD 44,176. Being a UX designer means your expertise are fairly compensated by major corporations while you earn more than your former peers.
Positive career growth
In this day and age whereby technology is rapidly changing and it’s becoming an essential part of life, design interfaces are everywhere whether one likes it or not. We see it in smartphones to lifestyle wearables, dongles, websites, and anything that runs on electricity plus Internet. One may be hired as in-house UX designer for recurring work within organizations. In contrast, one may also be sourced from independent agencies for vast exposure in a variety of projects.
Greater work stability
Graphic design requires one to brainstorm ideas and conduct pitching to convince potential buyers. While one may have good choices in design, the client makes the judgement call and this may result disparity between expectations and results. This is because preferences can be very subjective. In comparison, UX design is backed by valid reasoning that is often difficult to dispute due to UX designer’s experience and rationale plus certification of expertise that goes beyond aesthetic.
Transferable skills
Graphic designers have an added advantage when they transitioned into UX designers. Selected skills such as design, prototyping, and front-end coding skills are invaluable for productive UX design. For graphic designers, they are in possession of these expertise and thus, they can carry over them to a career in UX design. This actually helps to fill the skills gap between graphic and UX design while one is also equipped with experience on such transferable skills.
Should you make the switch?
Graphic designer has a place in virtually all organizations because good design inspires good perceptions towards the brand. In contrast, UX designer helps users to engage with the products and services which further amplify the effect of a graphic designer’s good work. Certainly, good engagement with users is not expendable in a competitive market.
