How to Find the Right UX/UI Designers and Create Your Remote Dream Team in 2023

To stay ahead of the competition, it’s important to be aware of new trends and techniques. This can only be done by hiring the right professionals to conceptualize, design, and deliver compelling solutions. This ensures that customers get a high-quality product that meets their needs. And this is what UI/UX designers can help you with. 

However, finding the right UI/UX designer for hire to help you succeed can take time and effort. Here, ProCoders will discuss some of the best practices to hire a UI/UX designer, what skills they should possess, and how to ensure they are the right fit for your project so you do not waste your budget and end up facing outdated website and app design. We will also share tips on how to find UI designers right for you and your project. So, let’s keep reading!

Challenges in Hiring UI/UX Designers in 2023

There’re many challenges in hiring UI/UX designers you must be aware of:

Lack of designers for a reasonable price in the local market

In 2023, finding UI/UX designers for your business will be difficult because of the local talent shortage. This issue is particularly prevalent in big cities where the cost of living is higher, and there’s a greater demand for designers than skilled professionals. 

ProCoders can help you solve this problem by providing top-quality professionals from Estonia, Croatia, and Poland – countries where the cost of living is lower than in the USA and the UK. Our hiring process ensures that we only hire high-quality talents who meet your needs.

It takes a very long time to find and hire UI/UX designers

The hiring process for UI/UX designers is lengthy, complex, and time-consuming. Multiple interviews and skills assessments are necessary to find the right candidate who may already be employed elsewhere. In addition, the talent shortage makes it difficult for businesses to secure the talent they need. 

However, businesses can overcome this challenge by developing efficient hiring processes and utilizing various recruitment strategies. If you don’t have enough time for all of it, you can simply call or get help from such outstaffing companies as ProCoders – we already have professionals onboard who will be happy to start the work on your project.

Hiring a new UI/UX designer is expensive

Hiring a new UI/UX designer can be a challenge, especially if you need someone with specific skills. To overcome this challenge, companies must carefully assess their budget and prioritize their hiring needs to secure the talent they need while still staying within their budget. 

One way to avoid this challenge is outstaffing companies (like ProCoders). Usually, outstaffing companies have already checked specialists onboard for any project, and you can “rent” them for as much time as you need without additional hiring expenses.

It’s hard to test a designer’s technical skills with references only

While references and portfolios can provide insight into a designer’s past work and experience, they do not necessarily reflect their technical abilities or how well they will perform on a specific project. A good web designer is not only about creating beautiful websites, they are also about creating designs that developers can easily implement.

Crucial Skills for UI/UX Designer

The first thing to consider is that UI/UX design combines many skills. It’s not just about having a good eye for design – it also involves gathering and analyzing data, communicating ideas effectively, working well with others, and more. Here are some key skills for UI/UX designers:

Understanding human behavior

If you’re building a website or an app, your designer needs to be able to anticipate why people will want to use it, what could attract them, and what they’ll be looking for. 

Ability to communicate effectively

As an expert in this field, it will be up to a designer to lay out precisely what they want from the in-house development team and why so everyone else knows what they’re doing too. 

Confident knowledge of design software

UI/UX designers should know how to use Photoshop, Figma, and Illustrator, to be able to convert PSD to WordPress themes. These programs are essential for a UI/UX designer. 

Expertise in wireframing

Project wireframes are visual designs for digital products (like websites or apps) that show what each page or screen will look like and what kinds of interactions will occur on those pages or screens. They must be easy enough for stakeholders and other team members to understand quickly, so one of the main tasks for UI/UX designers is ensuring their wireframes are clear and easy to read!

Layout

UI/UX designers need to know how to lay out a site to make it easy to read, understand, and navigate. 

Typography skills

Assisting users in concentrating on the essential aspects of the screen plays a significant part in improving the user interface.

How to Define Functions of UI/UX Designers and Seniority Level to Create Strong Design Team

Let’s start with the basics: the functions of UI/UX designers. 

Junior UI/UX designers

Junior UI/UX designers (less than 3 years of experience) are new to the field and have little or no experience in graphic design, product design, and user interface. They have a good understanding of UI/UX design basics but are still learning about the industry and need time to develop their skills.

Junior UI/UX designers perform simple tasks like creating wireframes and mockups.

Middle UI/UX designers

Middle UI/UX designers (3-5 years of experience) are responsible for creating mid-fidelity prototypes and working on high-level design concepts. They can also help with project management tasks such as stakeholder expectations and tracking progress.

Senior UI/UX designers

Senior UI/UX designers (5+ years of experience) have extensive experience in the field and can lead teams while handling complex projects independently. They have extensive knowledge of best practices and can quickly adapt their style to fit any project’s needs.

Senior UI/UX designers can perform all the tasks mentioned above. They can also manage other team members, including juniors and middle-level designers, and report directly to the C-Suite.

Hiring a UI/UX Designer: Common Mistakes to Avoid While Remote Hiring

There are many things to consider when hiring for this role. If you are going through the process yourself, here are some common mistakes you may make:

• No precise job requirements. Your job description should include specific details about the projects your future UI/UX designer will be working on, what technologies they’ll be using, and how much experience they need. If you don’t include at least these points, you risk hiring a graphic designer by chance instead of UI/UX one.
• Avoiding checking references. When interviewing candidates, you must ask them for references from other companies where they’ve worked remotely so that you can get feedback from those companies about their performance.
• Not checking the portfolio. Make sure UI/UX applicants have experience working on projects like yours. Also, make sure that their work is relevant and up-to-date. If you don’t do it, you may face an inexperienced candidate who doesn’t know how to develop your product (for example, an online casino)

Best Hiring Practices for UI/UX Designers Dream Team

Freelance

If you are looking for a UI/UX designer who can work on your project, it is always possible to hire a professional freelancer. However, there’re some advantages and disadvantages.

The engagement models suitable in case you decide to work with a freelancer

• Time&Material
• Fixed Price

Advantages

• If you hire UX designer freelancer through such platforms as Fiverr, Upwork, etc., they ensure you won’t get scammed by blocking the money until you confirm everything is going as planned on your project. 
• Freelancers are generally cheaper than other options due to their usually small orders.

Disadvantages

• It’s hard to tell if a freelancer will disappear after they receive the money.
• Freelancers often have multiple projects at once and may not be able to dedicate themselves to your project fully.

You may ask yourself: how can you avoid these cons? Working with a company such as ProCoders allows you to work with more than one UI/UX designer. In case of a problem, we always have even more UI/UX designers who can help fix it, whereas when you work with a freelancer, it’s up to them to fix any problems that arise. 

And who will compensate you for losses if a freelancer doesn’t have enough experience or skill? When you work with a company, you may not worry about it, as ProCoders signs a contract with every client we work with, and we’re fully responsible for the project quality and flow. 

Outsource

Outsource UX/UI design transfers an activity or task to a third party. Outsourcing can be a cost-effective way for organizations to focus on what they do best while still getting the job done.

The engagement models suitable in case you decide to work on an outsourcing basis

• Time&Material
• Fixed Price

Advantages

• Usually in outsourcing companies, UI/UX designers are already screened and assessed in terms of their knowledge and skills.
• Hiring a company with employees already on staff keeps costs down because you aren’t paying hidden hiring costs. This is a good choice if you want to outsource product development.

Disadvantages

• When clients don’t understand anything about UI/UX design, unscrupulous companies sometimes use it: for example, they may provide you with a junior UI/UX designer for the middle one’s cost.
• You can lose a lot of money if, in the end, you’ll stay unsatisfied with the result of outsoursing. For example, ProCoders have much experience of working on clients’ projects after they have unsuccessfully outsourced it.
• Since UI/UX designers aren’t interacting directly with clients, communication problems can arise when project managers can’t properly communicate customer requirements to their teams.

In-House

The engagement model suitable in case you decide to hire in-house

• Dedicated Designer

Advantages

• An in-house employee will be more reliable than freelancers, who sometimes may appear irresponsible and disappear after some days of work. 
• In-house UI/UX designers can be fully dedicated to your project. This means they will have the time to do research, user testing, and other tasks that help create a better product.

Disadvantages

• It may be difficult to find someone with the right skills and experience. If you don’t hire someone already familiar with UX design principles, you will have to provide them with training and support.
• You face hidden costs like employee benefits, insurance, sick leaves, etc.

Staff Augmentation

The engagement models suitable in case you decide to work on the outstaffing basis

• Dedicated Team
• Time&Material contract

Advantages

• People in outstaffing companies have been there for a long time and have confirmed their skills on various projects.
• Hiring is fast enough—you can start within a week. 
• The company will always be interested in hiring good employees because, after the end of your project, this UI/UX designer will remain an employee of the company.
• The SA model lets the client manage the team. 

Disadvantages

• Lack of research. Outstaffing companies may not research enough before hiring, leading to low-quality UI/UX designers. ProCoders, on the other hand, conducts extensive research on the market to find affordable and highly-skilled designers. We have a thorough candidate evaluation process, including pre-screening, assessments, and interviews. Only those who pass all these stages become a part of our team.

• Lack of proper management. When using staff augmentation, the client is responsible for managing the augmented staff daily, which includes providing direction, assigning tasks, and overseeing their work. Proper management is crucial for the project’s success, and the client may need to appoint a dedicated team lead or manager to ensure that the project stays on track. 
• Different time zones. Working with offshoring developers in different time zones can challenge effective communication and collaboration. However, ProCoders offers flexible working hours for employees to better align with the client’s schedule, allowing for increased collaboration. The client can also opt for round-the-clock development to improve efficiency and production speed.

How to Hire UI/UX Designers Remotely and Successfully

If you’re mulling over how to hire a UX designer, ProCoders can say that it can be daunting. However, we have already succeeded in hiring the best designers for 5+ years, and here’s how we do it:

Step 1. Requirement listing

When we hire a UI/UX designer remotely, we must clearly define the requirements for the role. ProCoders need to consider the experience and expertise needed, specific technical skills (such as proficiency with design software or experience in user testing), soft skills like communication abilities, and a strong sense of collaboration. 

Step 2. Research

Our hiring process for UI/UX designers involves thorough research of the market to find talented individuals who are both affordable and of good quality. We review resumes and assess candidates based on their experience level, including the companies they’ve worked for and the duration of their employment. 

Step 3. Pre-screen

ProCoders pre-screen candidates to determine their ability to work well within our team and to ensure they align with our company culture. We also assess their English proficiency to meet our client’s expectations. 

Step 4. Thorough interviews

ProCoders’ practicing designers with a good understanding of current trends conduct comprehensive interviews to evaluate the candidate’s knowledge and relevance.

You can go through all the steps yourself or hire already selected developers from ProCoders!

Costs to Hire a UI/UX Designer

Hiring a UI/UX designer is an investment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t afford it. The price depends on a couple of factors: 

• location;
• designer seniority;
• the complexity of your project. 

If you need to figure out how much the design part of your project will cost, ask your prospective designer their hourly rate or ask them to provide an estimate based on what they know about your project. At the same time, you can call for help from ProCoders with our Discovery Phase service (read further).

We at ProCoders have compiled a table for you with the average salary of a UI/UX designer in different countries depending on seniority, so you can see where to find UI/UX designers for a reasonable price:

Average monthly salary:

Country	Junior	Middle	Senior
US	$3,908	$7,500	$9,889
UK	$3,320	$4,282	$6,722
Germany	$3,500	$4,665	$6,220
France	$3,128	$3,665	$4,743
Estonia	$2,030	$2,895	$3,596
Croatia	$1,821	$2,565	$3,164
Spain	$3,540	$4,980	$6,150

How ProCoders Can Help in UI/UX Discovery Phase?

ProCoders offers a step-by-step approach to the discovery phase of user experience design and software development. Our team will work with you throughout all project stages—from defining your goals and strategy to prototyping and testing and refining ideas based on the results. We use tools like Hotjar to gain insight into how users approach products like yours and then plan out ways to improve them, taking into account our expertise in UX strategy and prototyping tools like Figma or Axure Prototypes.

ProCoders’ designers have more than ten years of experience, and we have already held the UX discovery process with lots of cool projects, for example, Expandigo and SDCN. For example, SDCN had a reputation as a high-tech solution for transport companies—but as the years passed after their initial build, SDCN needed to build a new tech infrastructure to maximize its mobile reservation opportunities. So, they came to ProCoders to help get them there to develop a roadmap of new ways to improve and achieve their project’s KPIs. So, if you already have a project and feel something can be improved, we can do that too. 

Whether you have a startup or an ongoing project, ProCoders are ready to analyze your product, find the main problems, and give you solutions. Moreover, after the discovery phase of UX, you can hire a dedicated team or order IT staff augmentation services that will help you develop your product! UI / UX designers, front-end and back-end developers – all these professionals can be hired with ProCoders. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, finding and hiring UI/UX designers can be challenging for businesses today due to the high demand and competitive market. However, with the availability of outstaffing or freelancing, businesses can access talented designers from anywhere in the world. It is important to take a strategic approach to hiring, including researching the market, pre-screening candidates, checking their English level, testing their basic knowledge and hard skills, conducting thorough interviews, and optionally interviewing with a client. 

If you are struggling to find the right designer for your project, don’t hesitate to contact ProCoders for expert assistance at any stage of your project. Our experienced professionals will provide a remote dream team for you and take your project to the next level!