Main Responsibilities and Required Skills for Visual Designer
A Visual Designer is a professional who is responsible for creating and designing visual elements for a variety of media, including websites, mobile applications, print materials, and marketing campaigns. They propose and provide multiple design directions for projects and execute designs from concept through final production. In this blog post we describe the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for Visual Designers.
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Main Responsibilities of Visual Designer
The following list describes the typical responsibilities of a Visual Designer:
Apply
Apply user-centred design principles and practices to meet user needs and product requirements.
Articulate
Articulate visual design activities and forecast with project team and producers.
Articulate your thinking as you present your work to senior designers and other stakeholders.
Audit
Audit and standardize UI components across Waze mobile, web and in-car products.
Build
Build components for the team in Sketch or Figma.
Build efficient, testable, and reusable PHP modules.
Build landing / marketing pages off wireframes.
Build template designs / landing pages using our CMS system Contentful and prepare for testing.
Capture
Capture and edit camp photos throughout the season.
Collaborate with
Collaborate effectively to get things done, building and nurturing strong relationships.
Collaborate with engineers to ensure seamless handoff of designs for development.
Collaborate with Marketing, Product and Engineering teams.
Collaborate with product owners, engineers, and UX designers on your team to make product decisions.
Collect
Collect and interpret user research and conduct workflow analysis.
Communicate
Communicate conceptual ideas and design rationale effectively to cross functional teams.
Communicate design work and rationale to team members and stakeholders.
Communicate with team members to define, implement, and iterate on designs.
Communicate with the team and support campaigns with design solutions.
Concept
Concept, design and build social assets, display banners.
Conceptualize
Conceptualize graphics based on requirements, prepare rough drafts and present ideas.
Conduct
Conduct layout adjustments based on user feedback.
Conduct web architecture reviews and develops best practices and procedures.
Contribute to
Contribute to a creative, supportive, and humble company culture.
Contribute to design standards, guidelines and usability processes.
Contribute to process enhancements within the visual design discipline.
Contribute to the development of processes and methodology.
Contribute to the development of the design team's culture and quality standards.
Contribute to the evolving payments design system.
Contribute to visualizing, designing and conceptualizing user experiences.
Create
Create assets for every imaginable environment (digital, social, packaging etc.).
Create branded conference presentations, booths, and print materials.
Create clean, crisp, modern designs whilst understanding current usability and design trends.
Create conceptual solutions to design problems.
Create designs to serve and attract users.
Create digital and print assets for marketing and campaigns.
Create elegant experiences from concept to launch that address business, brand and user requirements.
Create high-fidelity mockups, graphics, design patterns, prototypes and demos.
Create illustrations and story-telling elements to support our digital presence.
Create innovative, intuitive and elegant solutions for our users.
Create lasting client relationships based on value, quality, logic, and responsiveness.
Create original design conceptualizations that work towards achieving strategic goals.
Create reusable assets and templates to facilitate and reduce content production effort.
Create storyboards, mood boards and stylescapes in order to refine and communicate design direction.
Design
Design and author pages within a content management system.
Design and maintain patterns and components that fulfill the solution requirements.
Design beautiful and smart native mobile solutions that delight our agents and customers.
Design beautiful and smart responsive web and native mobile solutions that delight consumers.
Design componentry for apps framework.
Design intuitive, modern, accessible products that are consistent with platform-level standards.
Design layout (unless Creative Director has changes).
Design page layouts, visual elements according to framework components and guidelines.
Design pixel perfect, hi-fidelity concepts for a variety of products.
Design user interfaces for web, software, and / or hardware products.
Develop
Develop and implements solutions.
Develop and iterate on wireframes, mockups, and prototypes.
Develop / apply general visual style and consistent interaction patterns.
Develop design systems that translate across responsive screens.
Develop motion graphics for web and social media campaigns.
Develop storyboards, mockups and prototypes to communicate interaction and design ideas.
Develop storyboards, scenarios and design prototypes.
Develop UI mockups and prototypes that clearly illustrate how sites function / look.
Document
Document design guidelines in the team's website.
Drive
Drive data analysis – identifying trends and key drivers of metrics.
Elevate
Elevate the visual design and account for the design details / pixels of building a product.
Engage
Engage in Visual Design work, creating delightful concepts and exploring the art of the possible.
Enhance
Enhance the overall user experience through interactive, elegant visual design.
Ensure
Ensure design consistency and quality across multiple digital channels.
Ensure that solutions follow internal standards as well as industry best practices.
Ensure that the design systems ladder up to the overall barre3 brand guidelines.
Ensure work across the team is on brief, on-brand, and of the highest quality.
Establish
Establish and promote design guidelines, best practices and standards.
Execute
Execute designs from concept through final production.
Execute strategic tasks and monitoring outcomes.
Execute within an existing design system.
Facilitate
Facilitate development and communication of solutions.
Focus on
Focus on both conceptual and detail design.
Focus on social program by supporting updates and creation of new design systems.
Gather
Gather and ideate on feedback in a timely manner.
Gauge
Gauge the usability of new and existing products, and make constructive suggestions for change.
Generate
Generate clear ideas, concepts and designs of creative assets from beginning to end.
Generate creative assets to support our marketing and sales team.
Generate heuristic analysis reports on existing experiences.
Give
Give data meaning through information visualization.
Give quantifiable examples of related achievements.
Help
Help define the architecture, user interface, and end-to-end experience for managing creators.
Help everyone consider the end-to-end experience and connect the dots.
Identify
Identify development challenges or issues.
Identify the appropriate tone, detail, and style for Placement's visual language.
Implement
Implement and updates the style guides regularly.
Inspire
Inspire others with enthusiasm and work ethic.
Integrate
Integrate core tenets of responsive and adaptive design into work.
Iterate
Iterate on solutions to continually enhance and improve the users experience of all our projects.
Iterate on wireframes, mockups, and prototypes.
Juggle
Juggle multiple projects and respond with a 'can do' attitude to tight turnaround deadlines.
Keep
Keep up to date with design / tech trends and ever-evolving social tools.
Keep track of the overall visual brand and make it stand out of the crowd.
Maintain
Maintain a basic knowledge of internet technologies, best practices, and trends.
Maintain a calm presence under potentially stressful or high pressure situations.
Maintain a cohesive style and aesthetic across all customer-facing platforms.
Maintain and update the design system.
Maintain vigilance on usability and flawless execution throughout the process.
Make
Make a difference to real everyday Australian's financial future.
Manage
Manage ambiguity, work autonomously and multi-task in an agile environment.
Manage multiple projects while meeting and prioritizing tight deadlines.
Manage overall aesthetic and visual design of the app.
Manage priorities for extremely time sensitive projects.
Own
Own and create the final design systems used across all barre3's digital experiences.
Own work with little oversight.
Own the review process between multiple teams within Google and address feedback.
Participate in
Participate in and initiate design review sessions with teams and stakeholders.
Participate in critiques, workshops, design studios, and other design activities.
Participate in regular design reviews across design disciplines and provide feedback.
Perform
Perform audits specific to clients' needs that address problem areas and offer impactful solutions.
Perform visual design audits where appropriate.
Prepare
Prepare mockups to Content Strategy and Optimization efforts.
Prepare user experience / interaction specifications based on UX / UI best practices.
Present
Present and pitch your ideas and visual designs to clients.
Present ideas to managers and / or key stakeholders to gain approval.
Present visual design work to more senior stakeholders.
Produce
Produce animations and perform video editing.
Produce design specifications, brand guidelines, storyboards, scenarios and design prototypes.
Produce final production-ready graphics, as well as mock-ups and prototypes.
Produce innovative and contemporary design styles.
Produce presentation materials and interactive event materials, both digital and print.
Produce screen layouts, colour palettes, typography, user interface elements and icons.
Produce site maps, process flow diagrams, wireframes and specifications documentation.
Produce visual assets needed by development team.
Propose
Propose and provide multiple design directions / approaches for projects.
Provide
Provide advice on branding, positioning, communications and other marketing issues.
Provide graphic assets for use in development, according to needs and specifications.
Provide quality assurance of creative deliverables.
Provide senior-level cross training to peer designers.
Provide technical input to project teams and / or product groups.
Redesign
Redesign and refine current curricula in terms of style, brand, and user experience where necessary.
Research
Research and communicate trends and best-practices related to visual design and branding.
Research and make recommendations for solutions and leads the implementation of solutions.
Respond to
Respond professionally to feedback and is able to admit mistakes quickly.
Seek
Seek out unique perspectives, diverse experiences, and disconnected dots.
Shape
Shape editorial content from a design perspective for digital delivery.
Solicit
Solicit feedback and contribute constructively to design reviews.
Source
Source images (from internal DAMs and stock assets).
Stay up to date with
Stay up to date with the latest (digital and graphic) design trends.
Stay up to date with the latest standards, changes, trends in visual design field.
Stay up-to-speed on emerging platforms and technologies and share your learnings with the team.
Stay abreast of innovations in graphic design, technology, and digital trends.
Strategize
Strategize, brainstorm, and define key software features for one or more products.
Support
Support evolution of processes and methods within Design System.
Support Marketing and Leadership with the creation of presentations and company docs.
Support the creation of animations and motion graphics.
Support the creation of branded material for company activities.
Translate
Translate concepts into designs that illustrate simplicity despite system complexity.
Translate user needs into visual concepts and designs using a variety of tools and software.
Turn
Turn user needs and business goals into compelling tools and experiences.
Understand
Understand and respect differing points of view with patience and empathy.
Understand business strategies, user research, and market context.
Understand different industries to better gauge how design issues and users can differ across them.
Understand our programs, how they are deployed and used.
Understand the complex problems our users face and how 8base's products work to solve them.
Understand the value of user testing and is familiar with surveying actual clients when necessary.
Use
Use creativity, design systems, visual communication and follows a user centered design process.
Utilize
Utilize available data and research tool.
Utilize user analytics tools such as Fullstory, Hotjar and others.
Work with
Work closely with creative leads taking feedback and direction.
Work closely with designers and report to Design Director.
Work closely with engineers to translate designs into the final product.
Work closely with front-end developers and understand what they need in terms of assets.
Work collaboratively with the technology team to implement and deliver your design work.
Work directly with front-end developers to implement needed page updates.
Work in a climate-friendly business, sharply reducing the need for business air travel.
Work with content strategists and copy writers to ensure a cohesive narrative.
Work with developers to review the execution of the implementation.
Work with development teams to implement design patterns to spec.
Work within brand guidelines to create layouts that reinforce our brand's style and voice.
Work with internal teams to understand project requirements.
Work within the Marketing Team to develop and execute content campaigns.
Work with our Creative Director to push a new exciting direction for our brand.
Work with our new Design System alongside the team and deploy it across the product.
Work with our product and marketing teams to deliver the best solutions for our projects.
Work with the Research & Analytics team to design Conversion tests.
Work with UX to develop new paradigms to communicate how AI-based features behave.
Write
Write documentation and design system guidelines for designers, engineers, and other partners.
Most In-demand Hard Skills
The following list describes the most required technical skills of a Visual Designer:
Design
UX
Typography
HTML
Invision
Design Tools
Indesign
Graphic
Interaction
Web Design
Motion Design
Layout
Adobe Suite
Visual Communications
Most In-demand Soft Skills
The following list describes the most required soft skills of a Visual Designer:
Written and oral communication skills
Attention to detail
Problem-solving attitude
Creative
Interpersonal skills
Organized
Self-starter
Presentation
Analytical ability
Organizational capacity
Flexible
Detail-oriented
Collaborative
Time-management
Think outside the box
Self-motivated
Build good working relationships
Curious
Multi-task
Communicate conceptual ideas
