Many novice designers who want to work in the visual field do not understand the difference between UI design and graphic design; There are also many graphic designers who want to switch to UI after work, but do not know how to proceed, resulting in career selection and career development hindered, in fact, the core problem is because they have not figured out what is the difference between UI design and graphic design.

Let's start with this, UI design and graphic design are two completely different design fields.

UI designers focus on solving the user habits and easy-to-use experience of products, while graphic designers focus on more attractive information communication, and the underlying thinking of the two is different. However, there is a relatively large intersection between the two majors, and the core basic skills of information communication are similar, so it is easy to cause confusion.

So, what is the difference between UI design and graphic design? What do they have in common? Which one has better prospects? Don't worry, this article has the answer for you.

What is Graphic Design?

Graphic design, also known as visual communication design, English is graphic design, as the name suggests, its work content and visual performance is strongly related.

Graphic design uses graphics, images, words and colors to convey information, express concepts and arouse emotional resonance, and it plays a key role in information communication, visual attraction, brand building, emotional expression, marketing promotion and artistic aesthetics in various industries and fields, helping individuals, organizations, and enterprises to present ideas, products and services to audiences.

Graphic design is a visual art and means of communication that is widely used in the following fields:

Promotional posters: For example, promotional posters for concerts attract the attention of potential audiences through bright colors, attractive typography, and relevant images.
Magazine covers: Present a sense of fashion and brand character with beautiful images, catchy headlines, and appropriate typography.
Brand Identity: Design a unique logo, icon or monogram combination, choose the right graphics and fonts, and create a unique image of the business.
Packaging design: Food packaging, for example, uses color, images, and typography to highlight the product's features and brand.
Social media ads: Create ads for social media platforms with clear designs, images, and short text that lead audiences to click and interact.
Business Card Design: Design a professional business card, including personal name, contact information and company information, to create a business card with a professional image.
Book cover: For example, the book cover of a novel reflects the theme and emotional atmosphere of the book through images, colors, and typography.
Event Flyer: Design an event flyer that includes event details, date, time, and location. Engage people to the event through visual elements and typography.
Exhibition Display: Design an exhibition display board that presents the information and historical background of the exhibits with images and text, while visually attracting the attention of the audience.

Graphic design

What do graphic designers mainly do?

The core work of graphic designers is to create a variety of visual works, through the flexible use of images, graphics, text, color, typography and other design elements, and play artistic and creative to present information and concepts in a visual way to meet the needs of different clients and projects. In the process of working, graphic designers need to use a variety of design tools, such as Stream DT, Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Generally speaking, graphic designers are mainly engaged in the following work:

Creative Design: Propose unique and attractive design solutions based on customer needs, project objectives and audience characteristics, and determine the overall style and visual concept.
Visual work production: Use design software (such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.) to produce visual works, such as posters, logos, brochures, advertisements, business cards, website interfaces, etc., to transform creative concepts into actual design works, including image processing, typography, text editing, etc.
Brand design: Design the company's brand identity, color scheme, icons, etc. to ensure the consistency and recognizability of the brand image.
Typography and layout: Responsible for the arrangement of text and images, ensuring that the page layout is neat and clear, the text is easy to read, and the images are coordinated with the text.
Color and Image Selection: Choose the appropriate color scheme and image assets based on the project requirements to create specific emotions and visual effects.
Social Media and Digital Media Design: Produce designs for social media platforms, websites, and mobile apps to meet the needs of different media.
Communicate with clients: Work with clients to understand project needs, goals and preferences, understand their desires, and translate them into creative design solutions.
Revision: Revise and modify designs based on customer feedback, adjusting colors, images, text, and layout to meet customer expectations.
Self-learning and improvement: With the field of graphic design constantly evolving, new design trends, software tools and techniques emerging, designers need to constantly learn and stay updated to stay competitive in the industry.

Engaged in graphic design

What is UI?

UI design, also known as user interface design, English is User Interface, which covers the functional architecture, page layout, content information and other content of the product, including graphic elements, buttons, menus, text input boxes and other visual and interactive elements that users see on the screen. The aim is to create user-friendly, easy-to-use, aesthetically pleasing interfaces that users can directly perceive and operate so that users can easily interact with applications, websites, mobile applications, or other software.

UI design covers multiple aspects, including the following key points:

Visual design: Pay attention to the appearance and visual elements of the interface, including colors, icons, button styles, font selection, layout, etc., to ensure that the overall appearance of the interface is beautiful, consistent, and easy to understand.
Interaction design: Focusing on how users interact with the interface, including actions such as clicking, scrolling, dragging and dropping, and how the interface responds to these operations, it is necessary to ensure that the interaction process of the interface is smooth, intuitive, and in line with user expectations.
User Experience Design: Focus on the overall feeling of users when using the interface, provide users with a pleasant and effective user experience, so that users can easily complete tasks while being satisfied and satisfied.
Responsive design: Responsive design is a UI design method that ensures that interfaces are well presented across different screen sizes and devices, including desktop, tablet, and mobile.
Design for accessibility: Ensure that the interface is accessible to all users, including those with special needs, such as those with visual or hearing impairments, with due consideration for appropriate color contrast, font readability, keyboard navigation, etc.
Animations and transitions: Animations and transitions enhance the dynamic and interactive nature of user interfaces, allowing designers to draw attention, provide feedback, and enhance the user experience.

UI design

What do UI designers mainly do?

UI Designer (User Interface Designer) is mainly responsible for user interface design, especially the user interface of digital products, such as mobile applications, mini programs, websites, etc. UI designers translate user experience into visual representation, creating intuitive, beautiful, and easy-to-use interfaces to provide a pleasant user experience.

In the actual design work, UI designers mainly use UI design tools to quickly create high-fidelity interface designs, and perform image editing and processing to optimize the visual effects of products. In addition, when it comes to creating icons, illustrations, and other vector graphics, UI designers also use vector graphics editing.

Overall, the main responsibilities of a UI designer include:

Visual design: Create the overall visual style of the product, including colors, icons, fonts, etc., to ensure the beauty and consistency of the appearance of the product.
Interface layout: Design the layout and layout of the product interface so that the information is presented clearly and easily understood.
Icon design: Design icons that are easy to identify and understand to improve the operational efficiency of users.
Interactive effects: Create animation effects of interface elements to enhance user experience and interface feedback.
UI specifications: Develop UI design specifications and style guides to ensure that the product is consistent across different interfaces.
Work with the development team: UI designers work with the development team to ensure that the design can be smoothly translated into an actual interactive interface, and the UI designer needs to provide design specifications, cutout resources, etc. for developers to realize the design.

UI designer is currently a very hot career development direction, and I have also seen friends ask girls on platforms such as Zhihu whether they are suitable for UI design. UI design focuses on creativity, technology and user experience, gender does not determine a person's ability, creativity and skills in the field of design, women can also be successful in the UI designer profession, gender does not affect the performance and development in this field.

Successful UI designers of both men and women need to have good design literacy and skills, and only by deeply understanding the knowledge of design principles, color theory, typography and interaction design can they go further in professional ability and advance in career development.

Engaged in UI design

What are the main differences between UI and graphic design and what do they have in common?

UI design (user interface) and graphic design both need to convey information through visual design, are two intersecting but very different fields, here we will focus on their main differences and commonalities.

Key differences between UI and graphic design:

1) Different objects and uses:

UI design: UI design focuses on the user's interaction interface with digital products, such as applications, websites, mobile applications, etc. UI design covers a wide range of content, including prototyping, interaction design, visual design, etc., and produces ways for users to interact with interface elements to provide a high-quality user experience.
Graphic design: Graphic design is widely used in print, advertising, signs, posters and other fields, mainly involving the creation and communication of still images. Graphic designers convey information and concepts through elements such as images, graphics, text, colors, and more.

2) Different interactivity:

UI design: UI design, also known as user interface design, consists of two parts, user and interface, emphasizing the interaction between users and interfaces. In addition to being responsible for the beauty of the interface, UI designers also need to design interface elements and processes for users to click, swipe, input, and so on to achieve an intuitive and smooth interactive experience.
Graphic design: mainly "visual", emphasizing expression and communication, usually does not directly involve interactivity, design works are static, do not need to consider the real-time interaction between users and the interface. The focus is on presenting the designer's ideas and messages through a combination of symbols, images and words.

3) The medium is different:

UI design: mainly electronic screens, that is, online virtual carriers, such as websites, pages, mini programs, APP, etc.
Graphic design: mainly printed media, such as logos, posters, business cards, street signs, brochures, exhibition shelves, banners, packaging, etc.

4) Different ways of working:

UI design: visual design should take into account interaction design at the same time, need to consider adaptation, cutting, adaptive and other deeper problems, need to use professional UI design tools and collaborative design platform, in order to cooperate with upstream and downstream work undertaking, the design is delivered to development.
Graphic design: focus on typography painting, including color, layout, typography and other visual effects, mainly using graphic design software for work.

5) The output style is different:

Graphic design: mostly paper static, such as a picture, a logo and other visual displays that do not move, and communicate directly by sending documents.
UI design: dynamic visual display, including clicks, jumps, inputs, film and television, animation effects, videos and other dynamic outputs, and communication through the presentation of design drafts.

UI design and graphic design are different

What UI and graphic design have in common:

1) Visual aesthetics: Whether it is UI design or graphic design, you need to pay attention to visual aesthetics, and make reasonable use of color, typography, image processing, etc., to create attractive design works.

2) Creativity and creativity: Both UI designers and graphic designers need to be creative and creative to present unique visuals in their designs.

3) User experience: Although UI design emphasizes user experience, graphic design works can also affect the perception and emotions of the audience, both of which consider the needs and expectations of the user or audience.

4) Design principles: all need to follow certain design principles, such as balance, contrast, hierarchy, repetition, alignment, etc., to ensure the visual effect and integrity of the work.

5) Brand identity: In UI design and graphic design, the design of brand identity may be involved. In UI design, brand identity will appear on interfaces such as applications and websites; In graphic design, brand identity may appear on printed materials such as advertisements and brochures.

What UI design and graphic design have in common

Which has a better prospect of graphic design or UI design?

Whether you are a UI designer or a graphic designer, there are broad career prospects, and which field to choose depends on personal interests, skills, and market needs.

Here are some suggestions and analysis on whether to pursue a career as a UI designer or graphic designer:

1) Prospects for graphic design:

Graphic design is widely used in advertising, print, brand identity and other fields, with the increase of enterprises and brands, the demand for visual identity and marketing is also increasing, the demand for graphic designers is still stable.
Graphic design can cover a wider range of media types, including print, packaging design, display boards, and more, so graphic designers can look for opportunities in different fields of work. Even in some specific fields, such as book publishing, advertising agencies, design companies, etc., graphic designers may have more career opportunities.

2) Prospects for UI design:

With the rapid development of mobile applications, websites, and digital products, the demand for UI designers is increasing. With the growing importance of digital transformation and user experience, UI design has become especially critical in the technology industry.
User experience (UX) design has become a core element in digital product development, UI design and UX design are closely related, and more and more companies have begun to set up separate UX design and UI design positions.
Mobile apps, e-commerce websites, social media platforms, and other areas require a lot of UI designers because they need to provide intuitive, easy-to-use, and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces.

3) Combine personal hobbies and self-analysis

Do you prefer to work with digital products or static media such as print and images?
Are you interested in user experience and interaction design?
Which area is in higher demand locally?
Are you willing to continuously learn and stay updated to keep pace with changing technology and design trends?

4) Salary level

The salary level will vary depending on the actual situation, such as the region, the size of the company, personal experience, etc. Take Shanghai as an example, the average salary level of UI designers on Boss is ¥12620, the average salary level of graphic designers is ¥8573, only from the data, UI designers salary level is a little higher.

UI designer salary

Graphic designer salary

summary

Graphic design and UI design are two major directions in the field of visual design, and there is no difference between high and low, and even the core basic skills of UI designers and graphic designers are similar. Therefore, whether you are engaged in graphic design or UI design, you need to continue to learn and improve, continue to improve your skills, in order to have the opportunity to succeed in their respective fields, and to have more opportunities to achieve transformation, and even become a design god who masters both graphic and UI.

What is the difference between UI design and graphic design? After reading this article, I understand it once