Tilda Education
UI vs. UX Design: Differences, Skill Sets, & Possible Career Paths
A beginner's guide to UX/UI design: Key differences, real-life examples, and practical career tips
Jan. 16, 2026
15 min
Contents:
UX & UI In Plain Terms
UX design (user experience) focuses on creating websites, apps, or digital services that feel clear, logical, and easy to use.
When people say a product has "bad UX," they usually mean that using it feels frustrating or confusing.
The main goal of UX design is to give users a positive experience: Help them complete their task quickly without unnecessary effort. For example, important features shouldn't be buried deep in settings, and signing up for an account shouldn't require filling out a long form when a single step would do.
A UX designer focuses on structure and flow: How text, images, buttons, sections, and categories are organized and how users move between them. The result of this work is usually a wireframe, a black-and-white layout that shows how elements will be arranged before visual design is added.
UI design (user interface) focuses on how the interface looks and feels. This includes colors, typography, illustrations, icons, animations, and other visual details.
The goal of UI design is to express a brand's character through visuals while making the interface pleasant and comfortable to interact with.
How UX/UI design differs from web design
UX/UI design is a broad discipline. It applies to many types of products, including services, apps, and websites. The emphasis is usually on research, analytics, and building clear interface logic. A typical UX/UI task might sound like: "Figure out the most convenient way for users to choose and pay for a service on the website."
Web design is a narrower concept. It usually refers to designing websites or landing pages. Large-scale research and deep analytics are less common here, and specialists aren't always expected to have strong research skills. The focus is on creating a visual layout and bringing it to life. A typical web design task might be: "Design a good-looking landing page for a campaign that converts visitors into customers."
In practice, the line between web design and UX/UI design isn't always strict. The roles often overlap: Web designers may conduct user research, and UX/UI designers may work on simpler websites, not only complex digital products.
UX/UI design is a broad discipline. It applies to many types of products, including services, apps, and websites. The emphasis is usually on research, analytics, and building clear interface logic. A typical UX/UI task might sound like: "Figure out the most convenient way for users to choose and pay for a service on the website."
Web design is a narrower concept. It usually refers to designing websites or landing pages. Large-scale research and deep analytics are less common here, and specialists aren't always expected to have strong research skills. The focus is on creating a visual layout and bringing it to life. A typical web design task might be: "Design a good-looking landing page for a campaign that converts visitors into customers."
In practice, the line between web design and UX/UI design isn't always strict. The roles often overlap: Web designers may conduct user research, and UX/UI designers may work on simpler websites, not only complex digital products.
What UX & UI Designers Work On Daily
Menu
The menu is a core navigation element, usually placed at the top of a website. From a UX perspective, it's about deciding how users move between pages and which sections matter most. The UI designer defines where the menu fits visually and how it looks. Together, UX and UI make navigation familiar, user-friendly, and aesthetically pleasing.
Account login
Logging in is a process users expect to complete quickly. The UX designer focuses on simplifying the flow, reducing steps and friction. The UI designer ensures the layout feels clean and intuitive, often adding helpful visual cues like icons or input hints.
Checkout flow
Checkout is a good example of a complex user scenario. There are many requirements to consider, but the interface shouldn't feel overloaded. The UX designer determines which steps are truly necessary and which can be removed. The UI designer brings structure and visual clarity while staying consistent with the brand's style.
Pricing plans
Choosing a plan directly impacts a company's revenue. The UX designer defines which options to show and how to present them clearly. The UI designer focuses on visual hierarchy to guide attention and help users gravitate toward the plan that's most beneficial for the business.
Product cards
A product card is meant to explain what's important about an item at a glance. The UX designer identifies which criteria matter most to users and brings them forward. The UI designer ensures multiple cards can coexist on a page without blending into visual noise.
What a UX Designer Does
A UX designer is responsible for interface logic and user flow. Much of their work happens before visual design begins. They analyze data, run research, and talk to users through interviews or surveys.
For example, if the task is to design filters for an online store, there may be dozens of categories, but only a few should appear upfront. A UX designer would review competing products, gather user feedback, and propose a structure that balances clarity with flexibility.
UX designers also analyze competitors. They study existing solutions in the market and identify patterns or features that could be adapted. This might mean noticing a useful feature on another website and rethinking how it could work in a different context.
Another key responsibility is building the website architecture. UX designers map user needs and pain points and translate them into Jobs To Be Done (JTBD), determining which pages to create and how users will move between them.
For products with personal account or advanced features, this often includes:
- Designing onboarding flows
- Defining settings and preferences
- Structuring profile sections
- Planning navigation between different areas
A common framework used here is Jobs To Be Done (JTBD). It focuses on what users are trying to accomplish, usually framed as: "When…, I want to…, so that... ." For example: "When I'm about to pay at checkout, I want to quickly see my account balance so I know I can complete the purchase."
JTBD example for an online course interface with specific analytics needs.
Finally, UX designer creates design prototypes. These are usually grayscale wireframes that define layout and key elements. At this stage, the goal is to validate structure and logic, making sure the interface addresses user needs and nothing important is missing.
Example of an online course interface prototype based on JTBD.
How a UX Designer differs from a UX Researcher
In smaller teams, UX designers often handle research themselves: They interview users, run surveys, and test hypotheses. A UX Researcher, on the other hand, focuses solely on research and does not design prototypes or define the structure and logic of the interface. That responsibility belongs to the UX designer. Roughly speaking, where communication with users ends, the work of a UX Designer begins (if these are separate roles in the company).
In smaller teams, UX designers often handle research themselves: They interview users, run surveys, and test hypotheses. A UX Researcher, on the other hand, focuses solely on research and does not design prototypes or define the structure and logic of the interface. That responsibility belongs to the UX designer. Roughly speaking, where communication with users ends, the work of a UX Designer begins (if these are separate roles in the company).
A UX designer is responsible for answering key questions: Is the interface easy to use? How quickly can users complete their main tasks? How many steps does it take to reach the desired outcome? Does the interface actually solve the user's original problem?
What a UI Designer Does
Focus on aesthetics and visual execution. Their work begins after the prototype is approved, when it's time to turn structure into a polished interface. UI designers follow design trends, understand the brand's visual language, and create consistent, appealing visuals within those boundaries.
Work with references. Explore platforms like Behance, Dribbble, and Pinterest to study color palettes, spacing, typography, layouts, and overall visual style.
Reference examples for developing a design concept.
Develop a design concept and, when needed, align it with stakeholders. For example, when working on a product with many screens, they often test the concept on one key page first and then scale it across the entire interface.
Final design concept for online course interface, based on the prototype.
Build a design system (sometimes called a UI kit). This includes defining colors, typography, spacing rules, and reusable components. Well-known examples of design systems include Google Material Design, IBM Carbon Design System, and Shopify Polaris.
A design system is a collection of ready-made components (colors, typography, spacing, elements) and rules that help keep interfaces consistent. Instead of redesigning elements from scratch, designers reuse existing components and adjust only the content. This speeds up work and improves consistency.
UI designers may also handle technical tasks, not just visual ones. For example, they might prepare components for development or design elements that adapt to light and dark themes. In practice, UI design often combines visual and technical work.
A UI designer typically answers questions like: What should this look like? Where should visual emphasis go? Does this match the brandэs colors and typography? Are there too many visual styles, or just enough?
A Career Path In UX/UI Design
A UX/UI designer is a specialist who can take a project from research to handoff. They can analyze competitors, interview users, build prototypes, and develop a visual concept. This role is inherently multidisciplinary: It combines interface logic with visual design.
What a UX/UI Designer Needs To Know
Today, designers are expected to be versatile. A strong UX/UI designer can talk to users, build wireframes, define concepts, and sometimes even create 3D elements. UX and UI are increasingly interconnected: You can't design good logic without understanding visual style, and vice versa. To stand out, a designer needs to be able to create interfaces from scratch and prepare them for development.
A UX/UI designer understands:
- How users expect interfaces to work
- What users need to accomplish
- How to reduce friction and speed up task completion
- Which best practices competitors use
- How to adapt those patterns thoughtfully
Apply visual fundamentals: Spacing, color harmony, contrast, and hierarchy. Importantly, they can explain and justify their decisions based on established principles, not just taste or preferences.
Work in tools like Figma. They create interface layouts, use components and Auto Layout, work with variables, and build or apply design systems to speed up workflows and maintain consistency.
The day-to-day work of a UX/UI designer changes by workplace. In an agency or studio, designers switch between projects, generate concepts, and adapt to different styles and systems. In larger companies, there's usually an established design language to maintain and evolve, and the focus often leans more toward UX: Logic, usability, and long-term consistency.
How To Become a UX/UI Designer
There's no single path into UX/UI design. Some people prefer learning on their own, others benefit from structured courses, and some grow fastest within a professional community. You can start your journey into UX/UI design in several ways:
- Self-study through online materials and video tutorials. For example, foundational UX theory can be learned from the Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g), a widely respected resource with extensive research and best practices that designers often reference in their work.
- An online course that introduces core concepts step by step. When choosing a course, it's important to research carefully: Review student portfolios, read feedback, attend open lectures or webinars, and see how instructors explain real-world problems.
- Internships are another way to enter the field, although landing one without prior experience can be challenging. Still, some larger companies and startups occasionally offer junior or trainee positions for beginners.
- Formal education. While a degree isn't always required, it can provide structure, mentorship, and a strong foundation, especially for those who prefer a traditional learning environment.
A UX/UI designer needs examples of completed work. These don't have to be commercial projects—educational or self-initiated projects are perfectly acceptable as long as they're presented as finished designs. To apply for a studio or in-house role, you'll typically need a portfolio or at least several well-documented case studies.
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Your career path will largely depend on where you want to work. If you plan to freelance, you can start by taking on small projects for acquaintances or nonprofits in exchange for testimonials, then grow through referrals. If you're aiming for a studio, study their portfolio and identify the skills they value most. For in-house roles, it can be helpful to reach out to designers already working at the company and ask about expectations and hiring criteria.
If you're just getting started, here are a few practical steps:
- Read "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information and Envisioning Information" by Edward Tufte. These books introduce core principles of visual clarity, hierarchy, and data presentation that remain highly relevant to interface design.
- Explore strong projects on platforms like Behance and Pinterest. Try recreating interfaces in Figma to better understand layout logic, spacing, and interaction patterns.
- Follow design schools and studios on social media. Many share open lectures, live streams, and practical webinars that are free and beginner-friendly.
- Join the design community. Find designers whose work you admire and ask how they learned and what skills they recommend focusing on today. Not everyone will respond, but thoughtful conversations can be incredibly valuable.
- Take free introductory design lessons. Many schools and platforms offer beginner sessions that help you understand whether UX/UI design is the right fit for you.
UX/UI Designer Salary
A UX/UI designer's salary depends on several factors: Location, company type, employment format, and experience level. In general, in-house designers at established companies tend to earn more than designers at small studios, while junior designers earn significantly less than senior or lead designers.
There are several studies and reports that provide an overview of UX/UI designer salaries:
- indeed (US): The average UX/UI designer salary in the United States is around $110 000 per year, with a typical range from $70 000 to $170 000.
- Glassdoor (Germany): The average UX/UI designer salary in Germany is around €50 000-€55 000 per year, with a typical range from €42 000 and €70 000 with senior roles in larger companies reaching higher levels.
- Coursera (global overview): The average UX designer salary is around $109 000 and UI designer salaries is around $114 000. Entry-level roles typically start in the $70 000-$80 000 range, while senior and specialized positions can exceed $140 000 annually.
Salaries vary widely based on region, experience level, company type, and how well designers position and present their skills. These figures are best viewed as benchmarks rather than fixed expectations.
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