What Is a Visual Designer? (+ How to Become One in 5 Steps)

Key takeaways

• A visual designer plays a pivotal role in shaping an organization’s brand identity by designing and overseeing its visual elements across all touchpoints.

• According to Glassdoor, a visual designer's salary is $106,000 [1].

• A visual designer establishes the look of an organization’s digital interfaces, sources image and video assets, collaborates with other departments, and designs logos, infographics, and icons.

You can become a visual designer by earning a bachelor’s degree in graphic design or fine arts, developing your communication skills, learning how to use visual design tools, and building a portfolio. Discover more about the visual designer role and key strategies for launching your career in this field.

If you’re ready to begin developing your design skills, enroll in the Google UX Design Professional Certificate to learn about design thinking, usability testing, responsive web design, and design software.

What is visual design?

Visual design focuses on enhancing the aesthetic and usability of a digital product. It is the strategic implementation of images, colors, fonts, and layouts. Although many visual design elements deal with a product's look, the product's feel is equally important. Visual design aims to create an interface that provides users with the optimal experience.

What is a visual designer vs. a graphic designer?

Visual design and graphic design share many similarities. However, visual designers and graphic designers have notable differences. First, graphic design may encompass print publications and other non-digital media forms. Visual design typically refers to web-based and digital product enhancement. The goal of graphic design is to communicate a specific idea or message. In contrast, visual designers are responsible for shaping the larger brand image.

Visual design vs. UI design

User interface (UI) design is the creation of an application’s visual elements. It has two primary focus areas: interaction design (how elements are organized in an interface) and visual design. UI designers tend to focus on creating a seamless, visually pleasing user experience. Conversely, the primary goal for visual designers is to effectively demonstrate the image a brand wants to convey to its consumers through its digital designs.

What is a visual designer?

Visual designers work in many different industries across various platforms, with companies or organizations hiring them to design websites, games, movies, and other digital design projects. Certain specializations require knowledge of a specific business sector. The following section is a sample job description for a visual designer role.

What does a visual designer do?

• Work with a brand’s guidelines to establish the look and feel of their digital interfaces.

• Source image and video assets.

• Collaborate with marketing, development, information technology (IT), and operations teams.

• Create and manage data visualization, production assets, interaction models, mockups, and more.

• Manage multiple projects and strategize deadlines.

• Design logos, infographics, and icons.

Learn more: What Is an Infographic?

Is a visual designer a UX designer?

User experience (UX) design focuses on helping users complete tasks efficiently by planning user flows and journeys. Visual design focuses on creating aesthetically pleasing designs that follow brand standards while also enhancing overall user experience. UX designers can benefit from understanding visual design elements and principles, while visual designers must also be familiar with UX principles to create a cohesive user experience.

Visual designer salary

The median total pay for a visual designer in the US is $106,000 per year [1], and the figure includes base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation. According to Glassdoor, visual designers report additional yearly pay between $15,000 and $28,000 [1]. Base salary, however, can range from $67,000 to $111,000 [1]. Several factors can influence a visual designer's salary, including industry, specialization, expertise level, and company.

How to become a visual designer in 5 steps

In the US, 75 percent of visual designers hold a bachelor’s degree, and 12 percent have an associate degree [2]. Common areas of study include visual communication, graphic design, and fine arts. You can learn more about pursuing this career path in the following walkthrough.

1. Build the essential skills: Creativity is a critical component of a visual designer’s role. You must be able to strategize the use of color, lines, typography, and white space. Since visual designers often work closely with design teams and companies to create brand imagery, you must also possess excellent written and verbal communication skills.

2. Familiarize yourself with visual design tools: A few of the popular visual design tools include Figma, Adobe Photoshop, and Canva. You can get started with Canva and practice creating your own digital products with the following Guided Project:

3. Enhance your resume: Transitioning into a new role can be a rewarding experience, even without on-the-job experience. In lieu of experience, you can build portfolios of your best work. These portfolios are an opportunity to showcase specific skills and knowledge. You can build your portfolio by working on projects independently or enrolling in a Guided Project like the one mentioned above.

4. Choose an area of focus: Another way to increase your competitiveness as a candidate is to choose a specialization. For example, suppose you plan to become a visual designer specializing in UI design. In that case, you may consider earning a UI/UX Design Specialization from the California Institute of the Arts or a UX Design Professional Certificate from Google.

5. Stay current with the industry: When you stay updated with the visual design industry, you can demonstrate expertise to employers and learn about the latest trends and technologies. You may follow industry experts on social media or subscribe to relevant blogs and YouTube channels. In the design field, you can check the website of AIGA, the professional association for design. You’ll find updates on design industry events like upcoming conferences and awards. Check out relevant Slack channels like the Designed Slack discussion to explore design processes and tools, visual design jobs, and more for peer-to-peer connection.

Stay in the loop on career trends and tips

Discover fresh insights into your career or learn about trends in your industry by subscribing to our LinkedIn newsletter, Career Chat! Or if you want to keep learning more about visual design, check out these free resources:

• Watch on YouTube: AI in UX Design: 5 Ways to Elevate Your Design Process

• Hear from an insider: Meet the Video Game Designer Who’s Leveling Up with AI

• Take a quiz: Which UX Course Should You Take? Find Out in 1 Minute

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