Is UI design equal to art design? What is the connection and difference between the two?

Non-professionals are always used to calling UI designers "artists", and designers are usually angry about it. After all, most people in China still stay in the art of UI, thinking that the job of UI is only to draw lines and strokes, and they lack understanding of the importance of user interaction.

In fact, there are huge differences between these two occupations.

Today, let's clarify the name of UI designer and talk about the difference between "artist" and "UI designer".

Judging from the nature of the work

Artist title, the original occupation is: website art design, graphic art design, which is what we call: graphic designer or network designer. What is more detailed here is that graphic designers generally do logo design, VI manuals, printed materials and so on. Web designers generally refer to designers who can independently complete websites including codes.

UI is the abbreviation of user interface. Generally refers to the user's operation interface, including mobile APP, web page, smart wearable device, etc. With the rise of new Internet technologies, the feelings of UX designers have been introduced from abroad, but the internal collaboration of the company is divided into: UI designers (visual) and UE designers (interactive). Designers say goodbye to code completely and focus on what we call: user experience.

From the perspective of service groups

Art design

Artists serve Party A's customers, and whether the works can pass or not depends entirely on Party A's words. Everyone's aesthetic is different, and what you have worked so hard may not make Party A like it. Gradually, artists began to be deprived of their initiative, getting farther and farther away from independent creation, just making beautiful things with software, more like porters of materials.

User interface designer

UI designers are oriented to product users (users), because the retention of users will determine the life and death of products, so they have to listen to users. Even if the top leaders are very different from your aesthetics, you will never dare to bet on the fate of the product. User retained data, feedback from internal users, etc. That's why you do product iterations. Even sometimes, beautiful and creative interfaces produce poor results.

From the perspective of workflow

Art design

After receiving the boss's demand, I started to do the design. After the first draft, I revised the design according to the boss's opinion, and then revised it according to the boss's opinion ... Do you still remember the online hot word-colorful black?

User interface designer

Before designing the product UI, the interactive interface framework of the application, i.e. interactive wireframe, should be established according to the priority of functions or related research data and combined with the conventional design principles. Interactive wireframe must summarize and sort out the fragmentary functional information that has not been simplified. First, it must explain what is in the application, design a reasonable information structure, and clarify the specific location of these elements. Finally, the interaction between users and interface elements will be described in detail, including how to operate, corresponding operation feedback, jump path and so on.

From the perspective of mastering skills.

Art design

Graphic artist: Use Photoshop or Illustrator to design graphic appearance.

Three-dimensional art design: use 3DMAX and other three-dimensional character models, props models, environmental scene models, packaging and other software to design.

Web page art design: Use design software such as Fireworks or Photoshop to present the visual effect and typesetting of the web page one by one.

User interface designer

Software foundation and vector illustration drawing: Photoshop, illustrator, vector illustration drawing, cinema 4D 3D software, etc.

Website design and production: website overview, theme design, marketing page design, Web front-end and whole-station production, mobile terminal layout, portal website design, H5 marketing design and interactive effect.

Interactive interface design of smart devices: APP introduction and product analysis, APP demand analysis and hand-drawn prototype, multi-system icon design, three platform design specifications, product interaction design, AE dynamic design, labeling, cutting drawings, actual combat of original APP product projects, etc.

From the perspective of salary.

In some cities such as Shanghai, the monthly salary of junior artists is about 3,000 yuan, and the high salary of experienced artists is between 9K-9K-1w.

The salary of junior UI designers is around 4.5k according to different abilities, and the salary is different, so it is generally not capped. Taking Beijing as an example, the recruitment salary of UI designers is basically 10K, and that of senior UI designers is as high as 35K.

Through the above comparison, we can draw a conclusion: UI design is more in line with the design requirements under the Internet environment than art designers, and can be competent for the most basic graphic design, interactive design, user testing/research, and more in line with the employment needs of modern companies. Moreover, it involves a wide range and the demand of enterprises is great, which is also a big advantage of UI design compared with art design.