User Experience Design For Entrepreneurs… Can’t My Visual Designer Do That!?!?
Author: Lis Hubert
One of the mistakes that companies make over and over again is assuming they can save time and money by making their visual designer the same person as their user experience designer. The assumption is that since visual designers and UX designers both deal with the customer facing interface, they both have the same amount and type of knowledge regarding the user. In my experience, nothing could be further from the truth. Just because we work together and produce for the user does not mean that we are using the same skill sets. Most of the time condensing these two roles into one is a huge mistake.
In a previous post, How Do I Know What Type of Designer I Need?, I propose my definition for these two different roles: The visual designer is the person we think of that uses Photoshop and makes things “pretty”. Of course this is a sore underestimation of what this role really does. A good visual designer is not only thinking about the aesthetics of the site, but is also concerned with the layout of the page, how balanced the page weight is, how effectively the branding is reflected and how the look and feel helps the user not only flow through the site, but informs the user which steps are the most important to take. They are able to do all of these tasks, and much much more, with just a “pretty” graphic file. Their job is hugely important in that it is taking all the conversations that the product, UX, and tech teams have had regarding a site and putting them into a functional and pleasing visual representation.
A user experience designer is thinking at a holistic level regarding the enhancements at hand. They are referring to user research and personas in order to empathize with the intended user so that they can put themselves into the user context. For example, let’s say the team is tasked with designing a money transfer application for an investment company. A user experience designer is going to be thinking, who is the intended audience for this design? Where are they when they are transferring money? At home? At work? How does this affect the flow and the information needed on the page? What type of financial situation are they in if they are transferring money? How does this affect their emotional state? And the list goes on. A visual designer may be thinking about how to ensure that the page still looks clean and promotes flow even with all the information on the page. They’ll want to understand the color palette that is available to them, and also how they can visually promote the mission at hand.
One can see that these two lines of thought are not only very different, but in healthy contrast. The UX designer may want to make sure that x, y & z are present in the flow, however the visual designer will be sure to explain why visually all these things may be confusing. Together they reach a healthy compromise that is best for the user both from the experience/information point of view as well as the visual communication and appeal point of view. If these two roles are one in the same, then this healthy contrast gets lost. The person, being human, will usually lean too far to the right or left, and one of the chunks will be overlooked.
This may make you think, what’s the big deal if the experience isn’t perfect as long as it looks good and reflects my brand, or vice versa, who cares about the aesthetics if the experience is dead on. The point is that the experience is reflected in the visual, and the visual reflects the experience. Without them both then you are only telling half of the story, and to me, that is a big deal.
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