Key Takeaways
- Graphic designers create brand visuals and marketing assets, while UX/UI designers build and optimize product experiences—understanding this fundamental difference helps you hire the right talent for your needs.
- Your business goals should drive your hiring decision: choose a graphic designer for visual consistency in campaigns, or a UX/UI designer when you need to make a product intuitive and user-friendly.
- Exploring talent beyond the US can open access to highly skilled designers at price points that make full-time support feasible for many businesses.
When you’re ready to add design talent to your team, the choice between a graphic designer and a UX/UI designer isn’t always clear-cut. These roles might seem similar at first glance, but they solve completely different business problems.
In this article, we’ll break down exactly what each role does, their key skill sets, and how their responsibilities differ. You’ll see a straightforward salary comparison between US and Latin American markets and get practical guidance on which type of designer makes sense for different projects.
This guide offers the information you need to make a confident hiring decision that aligns with your specific business goals—whether that’s building a brand that stands out or creating product experiences that keep users coming back.
What Does a Graphic Designer Do?
Graphic designers are visual problem-solvers. Their job is to translate brand goals into eye-catching, effective creative.
They shape how your business is seen, remembered, and trusted. From typography and layout to color and visual hierarchy, their work is all about clarity and impact.
In most companies, graphic designers work closely with marketing, content, and brand teams to make sure everything from social posts to print collateral feels cohesive and on-brand.
Here’s what they typically handle:
- Marketing assets: Social ads, display banners, email headers
- Sales materials: Pitch decks, brochures, case studies
- Brand visuals: Logos, color palettes, typography systems
- Print and packaging: Business cards, labels, event signage
- Internal collateral: Templates, presentations, reports
If your business is pushing out regular creative content, a graphic designer ensures every asset looks sharp, polished, and consistent, no matter the format.
What Does a UX/UI Designer Do?
UX/UI designers shape how users interact with your product from the moment they land on your homepage to the second they complete a task. Their job is to make digital experiences intuitive, efficient, and enjoyable.
Here’s what they focus on:
- User experience (UX): Researching user behavior, mapping out user journeys, and structuring information so it’s effortless to navigate.
- User interface (UI): Designing the layout, buttons, and interface elements that make an experience feel polished and on-brand.
- Collaboration: Working closely with developers, product managers, and QA to ensure design flows translate into real-world functionality.
Their work directly impacts key business outcomes like engagement, retention, and conversion. In fact, a Forrester study suggests that, on average, every dollar invested in UX brings a return of $100—a 9,900% ROI.
If your product is clunky, confusing, or underperforming, a UX/UI designer is essential.
Graphic Designer vs. UX/UI Designer: What’s the Difference?
Now that we’ve looked at both roles separately, let’s put them side by side. Understanding these distinctions helps you avoid a common and costly mistake—hiring someone with the wrong skill set for your project needs.
Both roles create visual elements, but their purpose, tools, and focus areas vary significantly. A graphic designer might struggle with complex user flows, while a UX/UI designer might not have the specialized visual skills your brand needs.
Here’s how these roles differ in practice across key areas:
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Graphic designers are often brought in to help build or strengthen brand identity, whether it’s a one-off campaign or a full visual refresh.
UX/UI designers, on the other hand, are central to product design. They make sure the experience of using your app, site, or software is intuitive, frictionless, and functional.
It’s less about “which is better” and more about who fits the job at hand.
Salary comparison: US vs. Latin America
Beyond their daily responsibilities, there’s a significant financial distinction between these roles. UX/UI designers typically command higher salaries than graphic designers at every experience level, reflecting the specialized technical skills and business impact of user experience work.
To give you a complete picture, from our experience, the typical salary ranges for both roles are below. We’ve included Latin American (LatAm) rates alongside US figures because many companies hire internationally for these roles.
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This broader perspective shows how geographical flexibility can influence your hiring budget, especially for smaller businesses or those needing dedicated design support rather than project-based freelancers.
How to Choose the Right Designer
The right hire depends on your product, your goals, and where you are in the process.
Some projects need visuals that stop the scroll. Others need seamless user flows that keep people coming back.
Below are a few real-world scenarios to help you figure out whether a graphic designer, a UX/UI designer (or both) makes the most sense for your team.
Launching a new marketing campaign
If you’re running ads, creating social posts, or prepping a product announcement, a graphic designer is your go-to. Their focus is on visual communication, ensuring that every asset looks polished, feels on-brand, and grabs attention in crowded feeds.
They’ll adapt your messaging to different formats and channels, whether it’s a static banner or a carousel series.
Redesigning a digital product or web app
If you’re improving a platform or building one from scratch, start with a UX/UI designer. They rethink structure, map out user flows, and remove friction at every step.
Once the flow is right, a graphic designer can layer on the visual polish to bring it all to life.
Building a website from the ground up
For full website builds, you’ll likely need both.
A UX/UI designer focuses on structure, navigation, and interactive elements—making sure the site works seamlessly and feels intuitive.
A graphic designer complements that by creating visual assets like branded illustrations, icon sets, and campaign graphics that bring marketing pages or product visuals to life.
The UI designer handles interface styling in tools like Figma, while the graphic designer shapes the broader brand visuals that support your storytelling.
Refreshing your brand identity
Looking to update your logo, refine color palettes, or unify your brand across decks, social media, and packaging? That’s a job for a graphic designer.
They’ll audit what you’ve got, identify inconsistencies, and create a cohesive design system that works across every touchpoint.
Creating a customer portal or content hub
For more complex builds, like onboarding dashboards, gated content libraries, or self-service hubs, bring in both skill sets.
UX/UI designers ensure functionality and flow. Graphic designers provide the visuals that keep everything aligned with your brand.
The result is a user experience that feels seamless and looks credible.
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Final Thoughts
Design isn’t just about aesthetics, as it influences how your business performs. According to McKinsey, companies that prioritize design outperform their peers by 32% in revenue and 56% in total returns to shareholders.
If your focus is on creating compelling visuals for marketing materials, you’ll want to hire a graphic designer. On the other hand, if you’re aiming to enhance user experience and interface design, hiring a UX/UI designer is essential.
For many businesses, particularly growing ones, budget constraints can make hiring challenging. Expanding your search to include international talent pools can help your design budget go further while still securing the expertise you need.
Want to learn more about finding the right design talent for your team? Check out our guide on how to hire a graphic designer. Or, if you’re interested in exploring how hiring from Latin America can help maximize your design budget, read our article on why it’s the smartest way to cut costs and scale your business.
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