UI Designers use various software tools based on their personal preference, project requirements, or company guidelines, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Figma. They play a crucial role in various industries, creating user-friendly applications that enhance our everyday digital experiences.

Key Insights

  • A UI Designer's role involves designing user interfaces, creating interactive elements, developing prototypes, and refining designs based on user feedback.
  • Industry-wide, UI Designers use various software tools. Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are primarily used for image editing and vector graphics creation, respectively.
  • Figma is a popular tool used by UI Designers to build wireframes, interfaces, and prototypes, and it offers robust collaboration features for design teams.
  • Learning UI design software can be achieved through live classes, on-demand training, and self-learning options, all of which have their respective pros and cons.
  • Other than mastery of software tools, UI Designers need to possess a mix of hard skills (understanding principles of visual and interaction design, wireframes and prototypes) and soft skills (communication, empathy, problem-solving).
  • Noble Desktop offers UI design classes and certificate programs, with options for in-person or live online attendance, to help aspiring UI Designers build necessary skills and a professional portfolio.

If you want to become a UI Designer, you may wonder what software they need to know. Unfortunately, there’s no standard answer. Many software tools fit UI design needs. Which one a UI Designer uses depends mainly on personal preference, project needs, or the preference of the company the UI Designer works for. Any UI Designer may use different tools from another, and UI Designers can learn various tools throughout their careers.

What is a UI Designer?

A UI Designer designs user interfaces, usually for digital applications such as the web, mobile, or video games. They build visual and interactive elements such as buttons, menus, and widgets. They also develop prototypes and refine their designs based on information gained from user research. Primary job duties of UI Designers include:

UI Designers craft designs for various industries, such as financial and banking, healthcare apps, retail apps, education, automotive, and gaming. A UI Designer’s primary goal is to design applications so that users intuitively understand how to use them and perform the actions or find the information they need without learning how to use the application first. UI Designers play a significant role in influencing how we use digital technology in our daily lives. 

Read more about what a UI Designer does. 

What Software Do UI Designers Use?

UI Designers use software to create graphics and build wireframes and prototypes. While there is no set of software standardized by the industry, there is software that is popular or commonly used. 

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a leading software tool for editing, manipulating, and blending photographs and images. While you can create graphics in photoshop, the tool is best used for image editing. This is because Photoshop creates pixel-based raster images. Raster images are more detailed in color, shading, and texture. But they tend to lose quality when scaled up or down.

Adobe Illustrator

Illustrator is another Adobe product that is designed to work with Photoshop. While Photoshop is best for image editing, Illustrator is better for image creation. Images and graphics made in one program can be incorporated into the other. This makes the pair the ultimate graphic design software duo. Adobe Illustrator is primarily used to create vector graphics. Vector artwork can be scaled up or down without affecting image quality or detail.

Figma

Figma is a design tool that UI Designers use to build wireframes, interfaces, and prototypes. Once a UI Designer creates graphics and images in Photoshop and Illustrator, they can import those projects into Figma to develop interfaces and add interactivity, such as hovers, scrolls, and animations. Figma is cloud-based and offers robust collaboration features so UI design teams can work on the same project in real time.

Though Figma is one of the most popular UI design tools for interface creation, there are other tools on the market, such as Sketch or Adobe XD. It is worth learning about their differences as a UI Designer may use either of these or a different software entirely. Thankfully, once you know one interface design tool, if your career demands you learn another, you should be able to pick it up quickly.

How to Learn UI Design Software

There are a number of ways to learn UI design software. The most popular option is learning in live classes, which can be in-person or live online. Live classes offer engagement with an instructor who can answer student questions in real time. However, in-person class options are often limited to locations nearest a student. Live online courses can be taken from anywhere with an internet connection and replicate the feel of in-person classrooms. They also don’t feature a commute, which can be time-consuming and costly. Noble Desktop offers in-person and live online training in Photoshop, Illustrator, and Figma.

A second option includes on-demand training. This learning method is best for students who prefer to learn at their own pace or have work or family obligations that prevent them from attending regularly scheduled classes. Students have more freedom to learn as they wish but lack an instructor, and self-motivation is required to progress through the material. 

Finally, students can self-learn through free seminars, online tutorials, guides, blog posts, or videos. These options are great for individuals wanting to learn the basics of UI design software and tools. However, like other learning options, they don’t feature a proper instructor and will likely not be enough for someone wanting to learn UI design to advance their career. Free tutorials can also be outdated. Noble Desktop offers free seminars in Photoshop, Illustrator, and Figma.

Other Skills Needed to Become a UI Designer

In addition to knowing how to use industry tools, there are a number of soft and hard skills UI Designers need to have as well. 

Hard Skills

UI Designers need to understand the principles of visual and interaction design and how elements such as text, graphics, space, layout, and color affect aesthetic appeal and user interactions. These principles are crucial for the successful design of interfaces and user satisfaction.

While Figma is a tool used to build wireframes and prototypes, UI Designers need to understand the difference between the two and the purposes wireframes and prototypes serve. Wireframes serve as a rough draft of a product's skeletal framework and are essential to understanding a design before development. A prototype is a functional design used for testing and is critical for identifying errors and refining user experiences before finalizing a design. A UI Designer needs to understand the different types of prototypes and wireframes along with their appropriate uses. They may also need to defend these uses among development teams.

Soft Skills

In addition to hard skills, UI Designers need to possess soft skills in areas such as communication, empathy, and problem-solving. Communication is crucial when interacting with stakeholders, users, and design team members. UI Designers need to be able to communicate roadblocks, defend design decisions, and accept constructive criticism.

Empathy allows UI Designers to put themselves in the user's shoes and better understand their needs. This can lead a UI Designer to better create initial interfaces, guide users during testing, and make informed design iterations.

Lastly, a UI Designer needs skills in problem-solving. It’s often said design itself is a form of problem-solving. Designers must understand the need for their product and then build a design that meets that need. Designers must also constantly test their designs, identify errors, and develop solutions.

Learn the Skills to Become a UI Designer at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers several UI design classes for those seeking professional instruction in pursuing a career as a UI Designer. Classes are small and feature expert instructors and free retake options. Courses can be attended in person in NYC or online from anywhere. 

The UI Design Certificate is designed to prepare students to launch a career in UI design. You’ll learn essential design principles as well as how to use the most popular UI design tools: Figma, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Throughout the course, you’ll complete a number of hands-on projects and build a portfolio to showcase your skills to potential employers.

Should you be interested in UX design as well as UI design (the two fields commonly overlap), you can pursue the UX & UI Design Certificate. You’ll learn the design principles and industry tools of both UX & UI design, build a professional portfolio, and receive one-on-one job preparation assistance. 

Bootcamps are also available where you can learn the ins and outs of the most popular UI design tools, including Figma, Photoshop, and Illustrator. These courses are open to pure beginners and are designed to guide you to mastery of the program. 

If you’re not ready to jump into a full UI design course, you can explore Noble Desktop’s learning hubs. These hubs are designed to inform you about a topic and offer learning resources, including free tutorials and self-guided education. UI design learn hubs include: