Product Designer vs. UX Designer: Who's the Best Fit?

 In today’s tech industry, titles and responsibilities may be confusing. Designers are no exception. Although the designation and some duties of product designers and UX designers seem identical, a closer look reveals some essential differences between these roles.

Since 2016, Arounda has been helping businesses with product design and UI/UX design. In this article, we will outline the critical distinctions and similarities between the specialists responsible for those two tasks.

Who is Who: Product Designer vs User Experience Designer 

If there is a question about who would better fit your company's needs, a Product designer or a UX/UI designer, let’s check on both career peculiarities.

Product Designers 

A Product Designer is like a jack-of-all-trades. They unite different teams during product development, ensuring the final product is user-friendly, visually appealing, and meets both business and user needs. Their knowledge and skills touch upon various fields, including psychology, user research, marketing, entrepreneurship, and content creation. 

Such specialists should know the duties of various professionals, including UX designers, graphic designers, researchers, analysts, prototypers, marketers, and business strategists. They must know the technologies and frameworks developers use to be efficient and fast. They should be able to perform tests, evaluate results, and make alterations.

Here are the key responsibilities of a product designer at each step of product creation:

• Discovery: researching users' needs and problems to locate the main pain points.
• Ideation: brainstorming ideas, creating initial sketches and wireframes, developing user personas, mapping out user journeys, etc.
• Design: developing and maintaining a design system, conducting usability testing on prototypes, etc.
• Development and testing: providing developers with detailed design specifications and guidelines and working closely with them to ensure correct implementation, reviewing the developed product
• Launch and evaluation: ensuring a successful launch and gathering feedback
• Updates: continuous testing and improvement.

User Experience Designer (UX)

The main job of UX designers is to improve the visual appearance of products and, thus, the user experience. They focus on developing a logical layout, structure, and navigation scheme that enables the user to interact with the product effectively. Their primary function lies in solving users’ issues. UX designers create mock-ups of how the final product would look and work before the targeted audience accesses it. 

Check out our UX/UI Design solutions for a crypto gambling platform Shuffle, and a Web3 finance platform MYSO, to see the Arounda team in action. 

Difference between a UX Designer and a Product Designer

While the roles of a product designer and a UX designer can overlap, the latter is narrower. Product designers work with the same UX tools and methods as UX designers. However, while product designers develop concepts and ideas for the products and guide the product development process, UX designers focus on the product's usability. 

Product Designer vs UX Designer Salary

According to Glassdoor, product designers earn slightly more than UX designers, reflecting their broader scope of responsibilities. Here is the comparison table for your convenience. The information is accurate as of April 2024. All the salaries are calculated as the yearly pay range in the USA. 

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Dual Role Model: Why We Speak about UX & UI together? 

So, we discussed the distinction between Product Designer vs User Experience Designer. You might have noticed that we included an Interface designer while speaking of UX. Let's quickly explain why we put UI together with UX experts. Digital product designers are compared to UX designers and other roles of greater importance in digital product design. However, a single professional often covers UX (experience) and UI (interface). Why it happened? 

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To expand on this, UI designers focus on the visual aspects of a product, such as layout, colors, and typography. In contrast, UX designers ensure the user experience is comprehensive, exceptional, and easy to navigate. Firms value designers who can make both. Efficiently maneuver UI and UX to create highly integrated and user-friendly products. So, one employee uses the combined skills to design visually appealing products with a great user experience. Realizing how UI impacts UX is significant in creating a superior digital product. Here is why so many job-givers require a 2in1 specialist UX/UI designer. 

Intriguing Facts from Stats on UX/UI and Product Design

• According to Clutch 2021-2022 research, 94% of respondents report easy navigation, like clear structure and intuitive design solutions, as the most vital aspect, while 83% consider an attractive, up-to-date website appearance also a must.
• Maze research states that institutions with mature research practices are 1.9x more likely to receive positive feedback on customer satisfaction.
• Grand View Research states that the global product design and development services market was valued at $17.06 billion in 2023. Between 2024 and 2030, it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.08%.
• The Product Design And Development Services Market Report (2018-2023)  found that strategy, research, and concept generation was the leading market segment, accounting for over 39.00% of revenue share in 2023. 

Conclusion

Speaking of the main difference between a UX Designer and a Product Designer, we consider that:

• UX/UI Designer. Creates intuitive and visually appealing user interfaces, focusing primarily on the user experience.
• Product Designer. Oversees the entire product development process, balancing user experience with business goals.

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If you face difficulty choosing a digital Product Designer vs UX Designer, deep dive into the core understanding of each position. The unique contributions of product and UX designers can help you decide which role best fits your company's needs. You may require a wide approach to product development or a specialized focus on user experience. The right designer can make all the difference in creating a successful and user-friendly product.

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Contact us if you need help with product design, redesign, or UI/UX design. Tell us about your challenges and ideas, and let Arounda find the best digital solutions!