Why You Might Prefer App Design Over Web Design

You might be considering whether to focus on app design or work with web products only. This question is fundamental once you start to think about your job search. You want to become a UX/UI designer, but you need to understand what direction you like more — app or web.

“The key is to plan out the entire user journey and build your product creation off of it.” — IntelliPaat

It’s essential to understand at the very beginning of your job search to make your portfolio relevant. If you’d apply for a job with app products having web projects in your portfolio, it’s not a fit for you.

Also, if you apply with app case studies in your portfolio for a role with a web product, it’s not a fit either.

This is why you need to identify your direction in the beginning. The more specific your career is, the more chances you have to land a job you want.

App Design Products vs. Web Design

How to decide between app design and web products? Both are so interesting, you want to do all the products you can work with.

But if you want to stick to one company for years, you need to do 2 things. First, you decide what the primary product of this company is. Is it an app or the web?

Then you need to start working on your portfolio to make yourself a perfect fit for this company. Your case studies should be relevant to the product of the company you’re working with.

If your choice is app design, here is what you can expect from it.

App design consists of many screens that are connected. It is called flow. There are multiple screen sets connected by one functionality they perform for a user.

When you design app products, they are more complex because of the device size.

In comparison to web products, app designers are limited by device size which is way less than desktop ones.

As a result, app designers need to decide what functionality is the most important and what features can be skipped.

This is why you might see the inconsistency between desktop and mobile versions when some features are present on the desktop but not on the mobile.

The MVP logic is a great way to think about your app design when you translate your product from a desktop version to a mobile.

If you love to work with challenging tasks, app design is a more interesting area.

In case you’re interested in web design or looking for a product company with a web product, there is another complex product type that you can consider. This is a CRM system or dashboard.

Dashboards are used mainly for web versions and consist of many data inside them. There are charts, graphics, a lot of text, and digit information.

A traditional dashboard is a web product with a top navigation and a left sidebar. In the main part, you usually see widgets with infographics or other heavy data.

Designing for the web can be also challenging because you have huge space to work with and heavy data. Your major task is to create a well-balanced layout that is easy to navigate over.

Product Design Career vs. Web Design

Being an active mentor on ADP List, I often hear the question of what a product designer career means. Today, I want to compare a career of a product designer with a web designer.

While most companies are looking for UX/UI designers, I can easily divide a product design career from a web design one.

There is a specific reason for such distinguishing.

A product designer is usually a person, who works with the same product again and again for a long time. His or her task is to improve the product with particular results from users.

A web design career is when you create multiple products in a short period. For example, you can create corporate websites, even complex dashboards. But in most cases, it will be project-based work.

There is no right or wrong career. It’s more about what you want to create, what company are you looking for, and how you plan your career. Again both app design and web are good for it.

When you ask these questions, you can easily understand the direction you need to move in.

For example, I started as a graphic designer, transitioned into the web, and finally became a UX/UI designer.

As you can see I tried all these experiences to understand what I like and what I want to stick to for many years.

If you don’t want to do as me by switching companies and positions over and over again, you can do a small exercise.

Spend one-month designing and improving one concept project over and over again. Select app design or web product and start your work. Make research, talk to people, create surveys, and improve your project based on feedback.

Furthermore, spend one month on 2–3 quick projects. Don’t dig too deep into research, and other details, but rather concentrate on MVP methodology. Create fast projects that resolve particular problems.

Once you spend these 2 months, compare your experience. What did you like? What type of work is more pleasant for you? Are you ready to continue the first or second path?

This interesting and challenging exercise can help you understand what path is a good fit for you and plan your future career.

Why Recruiters Love App Case Studies Over Web Ones

Now let’s talk about the technical part of the work. What type of portfolio should you have?

This is obvious that you need to be a perfect candidate for a web position with web case studies, while you need to have app cases for the position of app designer.

There is one interesting thing about app design. Most case studies are usually about app products. Yes, there are dashboards or complex CRM systems, but they aren’t as popular as app design.

If you check Behance, you’ll see that app design is the first go-to place for your work inspiration, even for web design.

When recruiters reach out to me, they are usually more interested in app case studies rather than the web.

What is the secret?

App design is more complex by default. You need to work with small device sizes, create many screens, and connect them. Don’t forget that you have a list of features to include in your app.

As a result, app products have more screens, which makes IA more complex and interesting for a recruiter.

Another reason why recruiters are looking more at app case studies is to see one thing from you.

Recruiters want to see how you’re thinking about mobile design. For example, you will work on a web project. How can you do responsive design? This is where recruiters are interested to check your app case studies.

Of course, there are differences between native apps and mobile optimization. But more or less the logic is the same. You need to create a well-balanced layout with a user-friendly flow.

This is why being able to design apps is more valuable today. Especially it’s a valuable experience because people spend more time on smartphones than on laptops.

According to DesignRush, in 2017, mobile traffic made up 53.64 percent of global online traffic.

Being mobile-first is mandatory for businesses to have more sales, attract users or increase engagement. You need to consider these factors for choosing the right path for you as well.

Final Thoughts

App design and web design are both interesting, but because of many reasons, it seems that app design is more valuable today.

If you’re thinking about whether to stick to a web or app direction, consider multiple factors for your career, your interest, and your business needs.

You can also do a 2-month experiment that can help you choose between an app and web designer career.

Remember, there is no right or wrong career. Everything depends on your expectations and personal interest.