What Is a Senior UI Designer? How to Become One, Salary, Skills.

Senior UI designers, or senior user interface designers, oversee and guide the process of developing the visual and interactive elements of a mobile app or website product. Here’s what to know about a senior UI designer’s needed skills, salary and how to become one.

What Is a Senior UI Designer?

In the visual design process, senior UI designers ensure the interactive elements of a digital product work well together to support a seamless user experience.

What Do Senior UI Designers Do?

Senior UI designers manage the process of creating visual and interactive elements that make products aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate for users.

Senior UI Designer Responsibilities

• Conduct research on users, product designs and competitor strategies. 
• Develop ideas for UI design elements.  
• Ensure products follow inclusion and accessibility principles. 
• Work with UX designers, product managers, engineers, developers and other product development process stakeholders.
• Establish and maintain style guide for UI design best practices. 
• Support and coach junior-level UI designers.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities of a Senior UI Designer

• Research user pain points and strategize ways to improve products. 
• Review competitors’ products to anticipate user expectations. 
• Create wireframes and prototypes to brainstorm feel of product. 
• Help design buttons, icons, logos and other visual elements.
• Meet with UX designers, product managers, engineers and other personnel.
• Meet with UI design personnel to answer questions, give advice and communicate UI design style guidelines.

Senior UI Designers Within a Company

Senior UI designers possess years of experience and are located near the top of the UI/UX design team. They may oversee the work of junior UI designers while often reporting to a lead UX or UI designer.

Importance of Senior UI Designers

Senior UI designers spearhead visual design initiatives for creating products that cater to the diverse needs of target audiences. They also help align product managers, developers, engineers, UX designers and other personnel behind UI design and product strategies. Because of these efforts, senior UI designers have a major impact on the success of products and a company’s reputation among users.

What Skills Are Needed to Be a Senior UI Designer?

Qualifications to Be a Senior UI Designer

• Experience working in UX or UI design positions. 
• Familiarity with stages of the product development process. 
• Knowledge of user-centered design principles and approaches. 
• Prior success developing websites, applications and other digital products.

Senior UI Designer Prerequisites

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, information technology or a related field, or the equivalent work experience.
• Master’s degree in design, human-computer interaction or a related field (not required, but helpful for standing out from other candidates). 
• At least five years of professional UX or UI design experience.

Senior UI Designer Hard Skills

• Knowledge in typography, iconography, layout, responsive design and other UI design areas. 
• Experience building user interfaces for websites, mobile apps and other visual formats. 
• Skilled in conducting user research, competitive analyses and product evaluations. 
• Ability to create product wireframes and prototypes. 
• Familiarity with graphic design tools, programming languages and other UI design technologies.

Senior UI Designer Soft Skills

• Collaborative, team-player mentality. 
• Empathy for users, especially those who depend on inclusive and accessible designs. 
• Ability to exercise critical and creative thinking skills. 
• Analytical mindset that thrives on data insights.  
• Strong grasp of how different artistic and visual elements work together.

Tools and Programs Senior UI Designers Use

• Prototyping tools like Adobe XD, Figma and Sketch. 
• Code editors and software like Bluefish, TextMate and Brackets.
• Content management systems like WordPress, Squarespace and Magento. 
• Visual and graphic design tools like Adobe Photoshop, Gravit Designer and Pixlr.
• User research tools like UsabilityHub, Hotjar and Userlytics.

How to Become a Senior UI Designer

Senior UI Designer Education and Experience

Many senior UI designers earn their bachelor’s in computer science, engineering, information technology, graphic design or a related field. Incoming professionals should expect to work at least five years in a UX or UI design role. Many start as entry-level junior UX or UI designers, working their way up to the senior UI designer level. 

Senior UI Designer Certificates and Courses

• UX design and UI design courses. 
• Courses in video game design and other visual design areas.
• Courses covering UX and UI design approaches like design thinking.
• Professional Certificate in UI Design from the UX Design Institute. 
• Product management courses to gain a greater understanding of the product development process. 
• Leadership courses to embrace mentorship aspects of senior UX/UI roles.

Senior UI Designer Career Path

Senior UI designers often start out as junior UX or UI designers, working their way up to mid-level UX and UI design positions. Those who excel in the senior UI designer role may go on to be promoted to lead UX or UI designer.

Senior UI Designer Salary and Job Outlook

Aspiring senior UI designers are likely to receive more opportunities in light of the demand for digital designers. The number of web developers and digital designers will rise by 23 percent between 2021 and 2031, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The full compensation package for a senior UI designer depends on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s experience and geographic location. See below for detailed information on the average senior UI designer salary.