With so much change in the design industry, job titles are becoming more dynamic than ever before. What used to be called an Information Architect or Interaction Designer is now generally known as a UX designer - and even Product Designers were typically working with physical products up until recently. And while it's easy to get caught up debating these changes, one thing remains clear: if you're designing something interactive today–you should know that your work has tremendous value no matter how you label it! So don't let what's "in" determine what kind of designer you want to become; find out which title works best for YOU and make sure everyone knows exactly who they're dealing with.


Product Designers and UX Designers are often confused with one another, but the roles have distinct differences. Contrary to popular belief, UX designers always include business needs in their designs - not just user needs as assumed by many people. An analysis of job description keywords further reveals this fact which has now been acknowledged in various camps throughout the industry that use different terms for those who do or don't incorporate business requirements into design processes.

When it comes to the design process, UX Designers and Product Designers follow a similar approach - from defining user needs all the way through validating solutions. But where does each team’s work begin and end? According to industry experts, UXDesign revolves around projects prior to launch while Product Designs focus on post-launch product updates. For example: after launching an application or website, UX Designers may revisit their project as a “redesign" initiative but this isn't necessarily part of ongoing responsibilities for these professionals; that task is entrusted solely with the Product Designer who has ownership over its continued development long term.

To ensure our analyses were backed up by evidence, we accessed 20 job postings from Indeed for New York City - 10 UX Designers and 10 Product Designers (excluding any with Junior or Senior prefixes). A keyword frequency analysis revealed a number of similarities between the two roles.

Commonly mentioned design method keywords included Principles, Processes, User Flows as well as Prototypes for Mobile/Web Wireframes. Leadership was also highlighted in both groups along with Collaboration and Communication to emphasize teamwork skills have essential importance regardless of your profession within the field of product design and user experience.

The Differences

The following is a rundown of the keyword categories that differed greatly between both data sets:

• Product Design environments like to leverage reusable, scalable platforms to increase capabilities and efficiency.

• Product Designers are responsible for ensuring that designs are developed as intended (i.e. Quality Assurance.)

• Product Design environments are very process-oriented and try to identify and reduce problems within their workflows.

• UX Designer Indicates that UX Design environments are primarily “project-based.”

Visual Design vs UI Design Terminology: UX Design environments used the term “ Visual Design” whereas Product Design environments referred to the same skill as “UI Design.”

Are you confused about the differences between UX Design and Product Design? Whether you are a professional in search of a career change or a student who is looking for more information, let's explore how each job differs. By going point-by-point through their distinctions, we can begin to understand just what sets them apart in IDNZ - learn more on how to become a hireable digital product designer!

An exciting and innovative design environment awaits you when starting a new job. If your role is UX Design, then this could involve developing something fresh or reinventing an existing idea; while Product Design requires continuing to perfect what has been built before. Both roles’ remits focus on providing the best user experience possible given time constraints and development resources – with usability challenges varying too: for UX these are often introducing users seamlessly into the product, whereas in a product there's more emphasis placed on ensuring the current customers stay well-versed with changes over time. A great challenge that accompanies any kind of design work is discovering novel solutions to intricate problems – allowing for truly inspired results every step of the way!