Skills & Competencies for UX Design Director

UX Design Director job profile

JOB SUMMARY for UX Design Director

Directs a department of UI designers who apply user-centered design principles to improve the workflow, expand the functionality, and enhance the visual appeal of websites and mobile apps.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES for UX Design Director

Oversees the development of the overall design philosophy for improving the workflow, functionality, and visual appeal of the organization's online presence. Establishes new projects and initiatives, ensures requirements are gathered from users and stakeholders, and oversees projects at a high level. Ensures UI design projects align with and support broader organizational initiatives and direction.

UX Design Director SALARY RANGE

BASE 50%
$220,328
TOTAL 50%
$254,950
Job Level
M04
Job Code
IT10000721
Education/Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Reports To
Top Management

UX Design Director Skills and Competencies List

Proficiency Levels and Behavioural Indicators
Salary.com identifies five increasing levels of proficiency for each skill/competency. Some jobs require only a relatively low level of proficiency in each skill/competency, while other jobs will require a more advanced level of proficiency in the same skill/competency. These levels rate the degree of proficiency (skill level, expertise) we expect the incumbent to perform in the given skill/competency for the given job. Note that we intentionally do not associate timeframes or years of experience in performing the skill/competency because that can be misleading. Proficiency levels identify what the incumbent knows and can do rather than how long they have been doing it. Also, note that the proficiency levels are cumulative, e.g., a level 4 proficiency implies the ability to perform all the behaviors at the lower levels.
Check each UX Design Director skill and competencie below to view definitions.

3 hard skills or competencies (industry competencies) for UX Design Director

1 Industry Competency – User Experience Design
Proficiency Level -3
Skill definition-Creating and enhancing user-centered designs to establish branding, optimize usability, and improve user experience throughout product development.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Cites the driving factors that describe and influence user usability and experience design.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Applies the UX design principles to document the stages of the overall design process.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Executes UX audits and tests to iterate across existing designs and optimize the user experience.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Creates a clear vision of defining interaction models to guarantee product consistency.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Adapts best practices in user experience design to optimize usability and drive product success.
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2 Industry Competency – User Interface Design
Proficiency Level -4
Skill definition-Anticipating user needs and preferences to create interface and interaction designs to build a user interface that is intuitive, easy, and aesthetic.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Identifies the design elements that influence the usability and likeability of the user interface.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Gathers functional specifications and user requirements for the development of interface designs.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Utilizes visual guidance systems to create graphical user interface representation for on-brand contents.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Sets technical specifications for user interface designs that interpret brand values and reinforce users' trust.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Leads the development of a user-centered designs process to drive highly usable and accessible designs.
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3 UX Design Director - Skill and Competency
Proficiency Level - 3
4 Skill and Competency - UX Design Director
Proficiency Level - 4
5 Competency for - UX Design Director
Proficiency Level - 5

4 general skills or competencies (Job family competencies) for UX Design Director

1 Job Family Competencies – Design Thinking
Proficiency Level -3
Skill definition-Developing software solutions to understand and target customer needs in a repetitive process.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Lists importance of having strategic design thinking to achieve business goals.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Supports design thinking workshops and related activities to uncover clients' needs.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Uses critical thinking to translate requirements, and user-centered goals, and analyze user data into high-level designs.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Schedules design thinking and other workshops to continually increase customer empathy across the broader organization.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Shares latest design systems thinking across our organization to attain an edge over competitors.
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2 Job Family Competencies – HTML
Proficiency Level -4
Skill definition-Ability to use this computer language for creating, updating and maintaining text, graphics and links in a website.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes the HTML functions in creating various solutions for open-source eCommerce platforms.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Collects and assembles data to secure website protocols using HTML.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Executes HTML optimizations and content updates to client websites using HTML editor.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Directs the implementation of advanced HTML features and functionalities in creating custom websites.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Develops UX/UI solutions using HTML to improve usability and accessibility of the website's user experience.
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3 UX Design Director - Skill and Competency
Proficiency Level - 3
4 Skill and Competency - UX Design Director
Proficiency Level - 4
5 Competency for - UX Design Director
Proficiency Level - 5

13 soft skills or competencies (core competencies) for UX Design Director

1 Core Competencies – Budgeting
Proficiency Level -3
Skill definition-Applying specific policies, tools and practices to plan and prepare projected revenues, expenses, cash flows, and capital expenditures.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes the concepts and principles of budgeting operations.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Gathers data from financial statements to help create budget plans and improve budgeting strategies.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Implements strategic operational efficiencies and techniques for conducting successful budgeting.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Determines system capabilities and needs to improve the process for financial budgeting.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Develops financial models to support the strategic improvement of our budgeting processes.
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2 Core Competencies – Planning and Organizing
Proficiency Level -4
Skill definition-Managing and prioritizing resources and workloads by creating well-organized plans to attain organizational goals and objectives.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Cites potential challenges and workplace issues in delegating tasks that may impede well coordinated work.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Assists in identifying and breaking tasks into a sequence of steps for a more organized task plan.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Aligns tasks and priorities with business goals and objectives.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Creates programs to improve planning and organization of work to achieve business objectives.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Builds and designs organizational systems and planning tools to enhance overall productivity.
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3 UX Design Director - Skill and Competency
Proficiency Level - 3
4 Skill and Competency - UX Design Director
Proficiency Level - 4
5 Competency for - UX Design Director
Proficiency Level - 5

Summary of UX Design Director skills and competencies

There are 3 hard skills for UX Design Director, User Experience Design, User Interface Design, WebSite Mapping.
4 general skills for UX Design Director, Design Thinking, HTML, JavaScript, etc.
13 soft skills for UX Design Director, Budgeting, Planning and Organizing, Coordination, etc.
While the list totals 20 distinct skills, it's important to note that not all are required to be mastered to the same degree. Some skills may only need a basic understanding, whereas others demand a higher level of expertise.
For instance, as a UX Design Director, he or she needs to be skilled in Budgeting, be skilled in Planning and Organizing, and be skilled in Coordination.

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