App Designer vs UI Designer: What's the Difference
With the popularity of mobile devices and smart gadgets, an untapped opportunity presents itself: apps. Apps are no longer a buzzword; mobile phones have replaced PCs as the most used devices to access the internet.
From a user perspective, they’re also great because they are created based on the user’s preferred way of interacting with their favorite brands. Grandview Research forecasts a close to 14% growth YoY for the mobile app market from 2023 to 2030, and Gen Z’s average screen time on mobile outweighs older generations by twice the amount of time spent.
Apps also unlock new ways for companies to generate revenue and optimize their reach through segmentation based on devices and first-party data gathering. A JMango360 report outlines that apps can decrease costs, increase LTV, and be responsible for most of a company’s revenue.
How can you create and design your apps to get the same output for your company?
The roles: How to pick the right role for your project
So, how do you start designing and creating your app? Do you need an app designer, a UI designer, or an app developer? What is the difference between them? How do you ensure your project’s success by hiring the right team?
We’ll explore and answer these questions right now.
Who is an app designer?
Let’s get into this quickly and simply: The app designer can design an application’s look and feel. This means they’re professionals responsible for defining how the user interface (UI) and experience (UX) will apply to the app.
While the app designer usually has the necessary skills to be both the UI and UX designer, this is not always the case. Sometimes, the app designer checks and coordinates the work of UX and UI designers and ensures that it fits with the application, the business goals, and the technological aspects.
In short, they’re responsible for balancing an application’s functionality, look, and experience.
Who is a UI designer?
The UI designer is the professional responsible for an application’s interface’s interactive elements, specifically the visual aspects. This means they can build high-fidelity designs from wireframes while ensuring the app is attractive to users and maintains the brand identity.
The UI designer’s skill set is related to designing the application. They ensure the app’s interaction and visuals are coherent and that they add to the user experience through well-designed elements.
In short, they ensure the design is beautifully crafted and meets all user and business requirements.
Who is an app developer?
Now, onto the more technical aspect. The app developers handle this technology implementation. This means they’re responsible for building the framework and the app itself.
Some app developers possess the technical prowess to implement UI designs, translating the design requirements into technical ones. In contrast, others are specifically capable of handling the implementation of only features.
In short, an app developer handles the coding of features and sometimes the design of an app. They usually work closely with a design team to deliver everything as intended for the users.
Choosing between app designers, UI designers, and app developers
Now, with a clear understanding of the general scope of the work of each role, you can decide what role you need the most for your application. If you’re building something from the ground up, you’ll probably need all of them. However, you may not want to hire everyone in-house since the costs may be too high.
Your primary need for an in-house full-time app developer may be to build out the application. Still, after release, you’ll require iteration and continuous support at the drop of a hat.
To get an even clearer picture, here are the three main aspects to consider:
- Scope of work: The app designer will create the vision for the design and overall experience; the UI designer will concentrate on creating the visual assets and interactive elements; the app developer will code the functionalities.
- Skill sets: The app designer is proficient in design, UX, and UI; the UI designer is proficient in visual design, typography, and branding; and the app developer is proficient in coding and solving technical problems.
- End goal: The app designer ultimately creates a cohesive and engaging app; the UI designer creates a beautiful and intuitive interface; the app developer builds a functional and reliable application.
Once you have gone through them, rate the goals in priority and importance, attach them to each role, and then build your team based on your end goals. There’s a big chance you’ll need more than one, possibly all three.
You may also consider starting a no-code development process, especially for applications that don’t need many custom features.
Options for building your app team: How to build your app design team
To build an app design team, you’ll most likely look into 3 different options: hiring in-house, freelancers and contractors, and outsourcing to agencies. Another disruptive option is subscription services, such as Awesomic, where you get matched to vetted experts for your projects and tasks.
But before deciding which option is best, let’s explore how app designers, UI designers, and developers collaborate.
Collaborative workflow of app designers, UI designers and app developers
Thinking on a five-phase development cycle, including ideation, design, development, release, and iteration. Here’s how each role interacts with each other:
Initial Concept, Research, and Design Phases
- App designers: Define the app’s purpose, target audience, and core functionalities. They create a blueprint aligning business goals with user needs, often delivering wireframes or low-fidelity prototypes.
- UI designers: Translate the wireframes into visually compelling designs. They focus on aesthetics, branding, and interactive elements that enhance usability.
- App developers: Provide technical input during the concept phase to ensure the proposed designs and functionalities are feasible, given the project’s technical constraints, budget, and timeline.
Development Phase
- App designers: Act as a liaison between designers and developers, ensuring the design vision is maintained throughout the build process.
- UI designers: Collaborate with app developers by providing detailed design specifications, assets, and guidelines. They ensure that elements like button states, animations, and responsive layouts are implemented clearly.
- App developers: Implement the designs and functionalities using coding languages and frameworks. They frequently check in with designers to ensure fidelity to the original vision and resolve any technical challenges.
Testing and Iteration Phases
- App designers: Review the app’s performance and gather user feedback to identify gaps in the user experience. They ensure that the final product aligns with the original goals.
- UI designers: Refine the interface based on feedback and usability testing, making changes to improve the visual and interactive elements of the app.
- App developers: Fix bugs, optimize the app’s performance, and implement any design updates or new features identified during the feedback process.
As you can see, depending on how far into the process you are, you may need each of these to be full-time collaborators or be able to get away with some of them being part-time extensions of your team.
In this case, everything is contextual to the current state of your application. To give a better view of which hiring model would work best for your company, let’s explore the cost of each one.
Cost comparison of in-house, freelancers, agencies, and subscription models
Now that we understand how each role collaborates during the creation and iteration of your application, we can explore the cost comparison of each option you have to build out your team. Here’s the cost breakdown:
In-House teams
- Cost: High initial and ongoing costs, including salaries, benefits, office space, and equipment.
- Pros: Full control over the team, better alignment with company culture, and immediate availability for iterative updates.
- Cons: Expensive, time-consuming to hire, and may lack flexibility for short-term or one-off projects.
Freelancers and contractors
- Cost: Moderate, with payments typically on a per-hour or per-project basis. Rates can vary widely depending on experience and location.
- Pros: Flexible, cost-effective for short-term or specialized tasks, and access to global talent.
- Cons: Lack of long-term commitment, potential challenges with time zones and communication, and varied levels of accountability.
Agencies
- Cost: High, often requiring significant upfront investment. Agencies may charge flat fees or project-based rates.
- Pros: Access to a team of experts with diverse skill sets, streamlined processes, and professional project management.
- Cons: Limited control over the process and outcomes, higher costs, and potential delays if communication isn’t managed effectively.
Subscription models (e.g., Awesomic)
- Cost: Moderate, usually a predictable monthly fee.
- Pros: Access to a pool of vetted experts, flexibility to scale tasks up or down, and cost-effectiveness for ongoing or ad hoc needs.
- Cons: This may not suit highly specialized or long-term projects requiring full-time dedication.
Avoiding mistakes in hiring and outsourcing
Regardless of the approach you choose, there are common pitfalls to avoid when assembling your team:
Not clearly defining roles and responsibilities: Without a clear understanding of what you need (app designer, UI designer, or developer), you risk hiring the wrong expertise.
Ignoring cultural and communication fit: Especially important for remote teams, misaligned communication styles can lead to delays and frustration.
Overlooking the importance of feedback loops: Ensure your team has mechanisms for iterative feedback to refine the app during development. For instance, if you have an in-house team, you need the ability for them to chat with outsourced talent.
Focusing solely on cost: While budget is a key factor, the cheapest option can lead to lower-quality outcomes and higher costs in the long run. Don’t be swayed by the surface-level cost.
Failing to vet talent properly: For all hiring or outsourcing, you must verify portfolios, client reviews, and case studies to ensure credibility. Don’t let a beautiful portfolio with no substance fool you.
Overlooking ongoing support and changing needs: Some roles may evolve rapidly due to AI, 3D, VR, and other trends, as well as projects that need ongoing support. Your best-fit partner should be able to accommodate these, either now or in the near future.
Build your app design and development team today
Now that you understand your options and how you can go with your app design team, you can start crafting a plan. You can use multiple hiring modes, such as having an in-house app developer and UI/UX and app designers from an on-demand talent subscription.
Many of Awesomic’s clients opt for doing just that. Awesomic’s Pro Plan offers updates every 24 hours, vetted app designers and UI designers with industry expertise, matching in less than 24 hours, and unlimited revisions on asset delivery. All of that for a flat price of $1,995 and no hidden fees.
As your team scales, you can switch to more or fewer plans or even have Awesomic match you with a full-time expert for a custom price. If you want to know more about how Awesomic can help you, book a demo with our team and join the 4,000+ companies that trust Awesomic to handle their creative needs.
With the popularity of mobile devices and smart gadgets, an untapped opportunity presents itself: apps. Apps are no longer a buzzword; mobile phones have replaced PCs as the most used devices to access the internet.
From a user perspective, they’re also great because they are created based on the user’s preferred way of interacting with their favorite brands. Grandview Research forecasts a close to 14% growth YoY for the mobile app market from 2023 to 2030, and Gen Z’s average screen time on mobile outweighs older generations by twice the amount of time spent.
Apps also unlock new ways for companies to generate revenue and optimize their reach through segmentation based on devices and first-party data gathering. A JMango360 report outlines that apps can decrease costs, increase LTV, and be responsible for most of a company’s revenue.
How can you create and design your apps to get the same output for your company?
The roles: How to pick the right role for your project
So, how do you start designing and creating your app? Do you need an app designer, a UI designer, or an app developer? What is the difference between them? How do you ensure your project’s success by hiring the right team?
We’ll explore and answer these questions right now.
Who is an app designer?
Let’s get into this quickly and simply: The app designer can design an application’s look and feel. This means they’re professionals responsible for defining how the user interface (UI) and experience (UX) will apply to the app.
While the app designer usually has the necessary skills to be both the UI and UX designer, this is not always the case. Sometimes, the app designer checks and coordinates the work of UX and UI designers and ensures that it fits with the application, the business goals, and the technological aspects.
In short, they’re responsible for balancing an application’s functionality, look, and experience.
Who is a UI designer?
The UI designer is the professional responsible for an application’s interface’s interactive elements, specifically the visual aspects. This means they can build high-fidelity designs from wireframes while ensuring the app is attractive to users and maintains the brand identity.
The UI designer’s skill set is related to designing the application. They ensure the app’s interaction and visuals are coherent and that they add to the user experience through well-designed elements.
In short, they ensure the design is beautifully crafted and meets all user and business requirements.
Who is an app developer?
Now, onto the more technical aspect. The app developers handle this technology implementation. This means they’re responsible for building the framework and the app itself.
Some app developers possess the technical prowess to implement UI designs, translating the design requirements into technical ones. In contrast, others are specifically capable of handling the implementation of only features.
In short, an app developer handles the coding of features and sometimes the design of an app. They usually work closely with a design team to deliver everything as intended for the users.
Choosing between app designers, UI designers, and app developers
Now, with a clear understanding of the general scope of the work of each role, you can decide what role you need the most for your application. If you’re building something from the ground up, you’ll probably need all of them. However, you may not want to hire everyone in-house since the costs may be too high.
Your primary need for an in-house full-time app developer may be to build out the application. Still, after release, you’ll require iteration and continuous support at the drop of a hat.
To get an even clearer picture, here are the three main aspects to consider:
- Scope of work: The app designer will create the vision for the design and overall experience; the UI designer will concentrate on creating the visual assets and interactive elements; the app developer will code the functionalities.
- Skill sets: The app designer is proficient in design, UX, and UI; the UI designer is proficient in visual design, typography, and branding; and the app developer is proficient in coding and solving technical problems.
- End goal: The app designer ultimately creates a cohesive and engaging app; the UI designer creates a beautiful and intuitive interface; the app developer builds a functional and reliable application.
Once you have gone through them, rate the goals in priority and importance, attach them to each role, and then build your team based on your end goals. There’s a big chance you’ll need more than one, possibly all three.
You may also consider starting a no-code development process, especially for applications that don’t need many custom features.
Options for building your app team: How to build your app design team
To build an app design team, you’ll most likely look into 3 different options: hiring in-house, freelancers and contractors, and outsourcing to agencies. Another disruptive option is subscription services, such as Awesomic, where you get matched to vetted experts for your projects and tasks.
But before deciding which option is best, let’s explore how app designers, UI designers, and developers collaborate.
Collaborative workflow of app designers, UI designers and app developers
Thinking on a five-phase development cycle, including ideation, design, development, release, and iteration. Here’s how each role interacts with each other:
Initial Concept, Research, and Design Phases
- App designers: Define the app’s purpose, target audience, and core functionalities. They create a blueprint aligning business goals with user needs, often delivering wireframes or low-fidelity prototypes.
- UI designers: Translate the wireframes into visually compelling designs. They focus on aesthetics, branding, and interactive elements that enhance usability.
- App developers: Provide technical input during the concept phase to ensure the proposed designs and functionalities are feasible, given the project’s technical constraints, budget, and timeline.
Development Phase
- App designers: Act as a liaison between designers and developers, ensuring the design vision is maintained throughout the build process.
- UI designers: Collaborate with app developers by providing detailed design specifications, assets, and guidelines. They ensure that elements like button states, animations, and responsive layouts are implemented clearly.
- App developers: Implement the designs and functionalities using coding languages and frameworks. They frequently check in with designers to ensure fidelity to the original vision and resolve any technical challenges.
Testing and Iteration Phases
- App designers: Review the app’s performance and gather user feedback to identify gaps in the user experience. They ensure that the final product aligns with the original goals.
- UI designers: Refine the interface based on feedback and usability testing, making changes to improve the visual and interactive elements of the app.
- App developers: Fix bugs, optimize the app’s performance, and implement any design updates or new features identified during the feedback process.
As you can see, depending on how far into the process you are, you may need each of these to be full-time collaborators or be able to get away with some of them being part-time extensions of your team.
In this case, everything is contextual to the current state of your application. To give a better view of which hiring model would work best for your company, let’s explore the cost of each one.
Cost comparison of in-house, freelancers, agencies, and subscription models
Now that we understand how each role collaborates during the creation and iteration of your application, we can explore the cost comparison of each option you have to build out your team. Here’s the cost breakdown:
In-House teams
- Cost: High initial and ongoing costs, including salaries, benefits, office space, and equipment.
- Pros: Full control over the team, better alignment with company culture, and immediate availability for iterative updates.
- Cons: Expensive, time-consuming to hire, and may lack flexibility for short-term or one-off projects.
Freelancers and contractors
- Cost: Moderate, with payments typically on a per-hour or per-project basis. Rates can vary widely depending on experience and location.
- Pros: Flexible, cost-effective for short-term or specialized tasks, and access to global talent.
- Cons: Lack of long-term commitment, potential challenges with time zones and communication, and varied levels of accountability.
Agencies
- Cost: High, often requiring significant upfront investment. Agencies may charge flat fees or project-based rates.
- Pros: Access to a team of experts with diverse skill sets, streamlined processes, and professional project management.
- Cons: Limited control over the process and outcomes, higher costs, and potential delays if communication isn’t managed effectively.
Subscription models (e.g., Awesomic)
- Cost: Moderate, usually a predictable monthly fee.
- Pros: Access to a pool of vetted experts, flexibility to scale tasks up or down, and cost-effectiveness for ongoing or ad hoc needs.
- Cons: This may not suit highly specialized or long-term projects requiring full-time dedication.
Avoiding mistakes in hiring and outsourcing
Regardless of the approach you choose, there are common pitfalls to avoid when assembling your team:
Not clearly defining roles and responsibilities: Without a clear understanding of what you need (app designer, UI designer, or developer), you risk hiring the wrong expertise.
Ignoring cultural and communication fit: Especially important for remote teams, misaligned communication styles can lead to delays and frustration.
Overlooking the importance of feedback loops: Ensure your team has mechanisms for iterative feedback to refine the app during development. For instance, if you have an in-house team, you need the ability for them to chat with outsourced talent.
Focusing solely on cost: While budget is a key factor, the cheapest option can lead to lower-quality outcomes and higher costs in the long run. Don’t be swayed by the surface-level cost.
Failing to vet talent properly: For all hiring or outsourcing, you must verify portfolios, client reviews, and case studies to ensure credibility. Don’t let a beautiful portfolio with no substance fool you.
Overlooking ongoing support and changing needs: Some roles may evolve rapidly due to AI, 3D, VR, and other trends, as well as projects that need ongoing support. Your best-fit partner should be able to accommodate these, either now or in the near future.
Build your app design and development team today
Now that you understand your options and how you can go with your app design team, you can start crafting a plan. You can use multiple hiring modes, such as having an in-house app developer and UI/UX and app designers from an on-demand talent subscription.
Many of Awesomic’s clients opt for doing just that. Awesomic’s Pro Plan offers updates every 24 hours, vetted app designers and UI designers with industry expertise, matching in less than 24 hours, and unlimited revisions on asset delivery. All of that for a flat price of $1,995 and no hidden fees.
As your team scales, you can switch to more or fewer plans or even have Awesomic match you with a full-time expert for a custom price. If you want to know more about how Awesomic can help you, book a demo with our team and join the 4,000+ companies that trust Awesomic to handle their creative needs.
