Introduction to Being a User Interface Artist
John Pearl · 2016
A UI artist or UI artist’s responsibilities can differ from company to company. Some companies will have a dedicated UI team where responsibilities are broken up along discipline lines; others rely on 1 or 2 individuals to do the entire UI system. Even the title itself can come with different responsibilities depending on the company. In some companies, the UI artist will only be responsible for generating the art for the UI. This means all icons, life bars, power meters, and tutorial-related art. While at some companies they are much more focused on the flow and end-user experience using the UI. Yet at other companies the UI artist is responsible for both and in some cases even some of the programming or scripting. A UI artist at their core is a graphic designer; they must be able to communicate and solve problems through the use of imagery and typography. In addition to this, other skillsets include layout, flow design, and concept art creation. We’ll start out by looking at some of the high-level skills a UI artist must possess. After that we’ll delve into some specifics that should be included in every UI portfolio as well as hear from a professional UI artist.