The difference between graphic designer and UI UX designer is a good topic of discussion, as these two terms often go unnoticed. But when choosing a career for your future, it is important to be well aware of all aspects of every field.
When choosing a career field, it is important to compare all major aspects, such as career opportunities, skill set required, work life balance, earning potential, and more. Keep a note of all major differences between UI design vs graphic design and ux design vs graphic design.
There is more than one difference between a graphic designer and ui ux designer and both of them must collaborate together to deliver an appealing design to the stakeholders. In this tutorial, we will learn more about the difference between a graphic designer and ui ux designer.
Who are UI UX Designers?
The UI UX designers are experts who make our application designs more lively and appealing. UI designers ensure that the designs we make are user-friendly and people interacting with the application can do so without any trouble.
While UX Designers work with a broader team where the main responsibility is to fix the overall user experience and usability of the application. They enhance user satisfaction rates and ensure simple and easy to use interactive components in the product.
Also, check, What is UI UX Designer Salary in India (2024)?
Who are Graphic Designers?
Graphic design has been a widely sought field for the last few years but what are their roles exactly? Well, graphic designers are responsible for creating visual communication and aesthetics and displaying them visually using illustrations, branding, logos, thumbnails, e-marketing, etc.
Some of the popular Graphic Design tools are Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Coreldraw, etc. These experts are generally hired to plan digital marketing campaigns for brand and visual campaigns. There are many times when we often confuse between the major Difference Between Graphic Designer And UI UX Designer.
UI Designer Significant Roles of Designers Based on Profile
These three “Design” roles are often used interchangeably on the job application form. Some hiring managers use them interchangeably but they have different specific roles to play. Let us take a quick overview of their roles.
- Graphic Designers: They are responsible for creating visual content for online platforms using different combinations of elements. These designers create advertisements, logos, product packaging, branding, and more.
- UI Designer: These designers create appealing user interfaces and interactive visual content on which humans interact and perform different operations. You must be well aware of the similarities and differences when comparing UI design vs graphic design.
- UX Designer: They are responsible for using design principles and strategies to ensure easy to use and meaningful digital experiences for the users of the application.
Also, check, 10 Best Courses for UI UX Design 2024
Similarities Between Graphic and UI UX Designers
Both these career options have significant difference between graphic designer and UI UX designer, but they share some similarities that must be known when choosing a better career option for your future.
- Both Graphic designers and UI UX designers are creative roles where experts solve design problems and communicate them with developers, stakeholders, and other important elements in the organization
- They are very well aware of the design principles, layout rules, color theory, etc. This is the reason they are often used interchangeably.
- They often use similar tools to accomplish multiple tasks like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.
- They collaborate with developers, project managers, and stakeholders to collect feedback and ensure the usability of the end application
Difference Between Graphic Designer and UI UX Designer
Let us note some of the major difference between graphic designer and ui ux designer in the table below.
| Graphic Designer | UI/UX Designer |
| Graphic designers are primitive versions of UI UX designers | UI UX Designers are responsible for the visual design and overall user experience of an application |
| They communicate ideas and conduct promotion visually through both digital and print methods. | They create visually appealing and enhance user satisfaction on digital platforms only. |
| They design logos, branding, illustrations, marketing, and other elements in the promotion | They design components of web applications like buttons, icons, wireframes, and prototypes |
| They use tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and CorelDraw | They use tools like Figma, InVision, Axure, Sketch, etc. |
| Their main objective is to communicate a message and promote a brand or acknowledgment. | Their main objective is to ensure usability and facilitate easy to use interfaces. |
| Their visual elements are typography, color, images, layout, fonts, etc. | Their elements are interactive components such as buttons, forms, tables, animations, etc. |
| It involves very minimal user research and testing | It involves user research planning and usability testing before approval |
| A graphic designer does not to know coding languages | UX designers must be familiar with a programming language to communicate effectively with developers, operations, and management teams |
UI UX Designer Vs Graphic Designer: Roles and Responsibilities
The roles of a UI UX Designer and graphic designer share major differences as they focus and spend their time on different product design approaches. Let us check some of the major responsibilities of a graphic designer and UI UX designer.
Role of UI/UX Designers
The roles of graphic designers are listed below.
- Their main focus is to enhance user interaction with the application through interactive and appealing design.
- They develop wireframes, prototypes, user flows, guides, and mockups.
- Their main workflow starts from researching user behavior, creating personified designs, and testing the usability of the output.
- They must interact and build strong relationships with product managers, developers, UX researchers, and stakeholders.
- The most important design tools for UI UX designers are Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, Axure, InVision, etc. Most of them have limited access features for individual subscriptions
Role of Graphic Designers
The roles of Graphic designers are listed below.
- They are responsible for creating visual content to communicate messages effectively.
- They are responsible for delivering logos, brochures, social media content, thumbnails, brand assets, packaging icons, etc.
- They give deep thought to the concept of the design, and branding, and finalize the print or digital media designs
- Work with the marketing teams and other managers to create a visual representation that best represents the common objective of the organization.
Also, check, Find 10 New UI UX Internships in 2024 for Freshers
UI UX Designer Vs Graphic Designer: Tools and Software
The tools used by both Graphic Designers and UI/UX designers have specific functionalities. Let us know some of the common tools used and some common differences between graphic designers and ui/ux designers below based on the tools used.
Tools Used by UI/UX Designer
- Figma
- Adobe XD
- Sketch
- Axure RP
- Balsamiq
- Marvel App
- InVision
- Proto.io
- Zeplin
- Abstract
- Supernova
- Hotjar
- Principle for Mac
- Adobe After Effects
- LottieFiles
- Flinto
- Google Analytics
- Slack
- Miro
- FIGJAM
- Amplitude
- Mixpanel
- Stark
- Color Oracle
- Axe
Tools Used by Graphic Designers
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- CorelDRAW
- Affinity Designer
- Canva
- Procreate
- Sketchbook
- Adobe InDesign
- QuarkXPress
- Lucidpress
- Adobe After Effects
- Blender
- Cinema 4D
- Adobe Animate
- Adobe Lightroom
- GIMP
- Slack
- FontForg
- FontLab Studio
- Glyphs
- Miro
- Dropbox and Google Drive
UI UX Designer Vs Graphic Designer: Salaries
Let us compare the average salaries of graphic designers and UX/UI designers in different countries. Check the comparison table based on the average salaries to highlight important differences between graphic designers and ui ux designers below
| Country | Graphic Designer Salary | UI/UX Designer Salary |
| India | ₹3,00,000 – ₹6,00,000 | ₹5,00,000 – ₹12,00,000 |
| USA | $40,000 – $58,000 | $70,000 – $100,000 |
| Canada | CAD 45,000 – CAD 60,000 | CAD 70,000 – CAD 100,000 |
| UK | £23,000 – £35,000 | £35,000 – £65,000 |
| Australia | AUD 50,000 – AUD 65,000 | AUD 80,000 – AUD 120,000 |
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Difference Between Graphic Designer and UI UX Designer FAQs
Q1. Who are graphic designers?
Ans: Graphic designers are people with the expertise to create visual representations for online platforms using different combinations of elements. These designers create advertisements, logos, product packaging, branding, and more.
Q2. Who are UX Designers?
Ans: UX designers are professionals who design the overall experience and usability of an application. They use journeys, wireframes and prototypes to ensure user satisfaction and ease of use. Their main focus is problem solving and satisfying users' needs.
Q3. Who earns more? Graphic designer or UI UX Designer?
Ans: In most of the IT Companies, the workload on the UI UX designer is more, as they start from the planning, discovery, building wireframes, prototypes and more. These are crucial software development processes that require skilled professionals and hence are paid well.
Q4. Can a graphic designer become a UI Designer?
Ans: Graphic designers are professionals, which can be applied with UI design. There are many graphic design tools that are also used to accomplish the user interface of an application. Hence, a professional can transition from graphic designer to ui designer.
