22 tasks, each one witnessed by the sources that watched the job — and behind every one, a prompt you can use tonight.
You may start by checking website analytics and bug reports, then fix urgent issues like broken images, slow pages, or JavaScript errors. Expect a mix of hands-on design—making visuals in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator—and coding tasks in HTML, JavaScript, or basic SQL for content updates.
Afternoons often include user-research meetings, sketching prototypes or storyboards, and updating content via Adobe Creative Cloud tools. You’ll also run tests (performance, browser/device) and document server and bandwidth notes for later optimization.
For visuals and layouts you’ll use Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Adobe After Effects for motion. Adobe Creative Cloud links these assets. For the website back end and hosting you might work with Amazon Web Services (AWS) like EC2 and Redshift for data needs.
On the front end you’ll write HTML, XML, JavaScript and sometimes AJAX. For documentation and PDFs use Adobe Acrobat. Those systems cover most tasks: mockups, prototypes, coding, hosting, and analytics.
Focus first on visual tools: learn Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, then InDesign for layouts and After Effects for simple motion. Practice by making moodboards and storyboards to show concepts—those are real pre-production tasks employers expect.
Next, learn HTML, basic JavaScript, and how AJAX works so you can build prototypes and fix site issues. Get comfortable with AWS basics (EC2) and a bit of SQL to read site data. Build a small portfolio site showing both product visuals and simple interactive prototypes.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS 2025), 113,330 people in this occupational category were employed. The median wage is $104,000 per year; the lowest tenth earned $53,750 and the top tenth earned $201,550. Those numbers cover people doing a mix of design and web tasks.
Pay varies by experience, location, and how much you handle technical systems (AWS, JavaScript, SQL). Specialized skills like full-stack web work or AWS management push pay toward the top tenth.
Compared with a UX designer, this role includes more hands-on visual and product accessory work—creating physical-facing layouts, moodboards, and final artwork in Adobe tools—plus website content tasks. You’ll do user research like a UX designer, but also produce final graphics and packaging visuals.
Compared with a web developer, you do less deep backend engineering. You’ll write HTML, JavaScript, and some SQL, and test site performance, but you won’t usually architect whole server systems. You sit between design and code: building prototypes, optimizing graphics, and coordinating with engineers who choose architecture or heavy AWS setups.
Yes. Use AI to speed moodboard ideas, generate asset variations, or suggest HTML/CSS snippets. Always check AI outputs: verify image rights, review generated code for security issues, and test in the real browser. Treat AI as a helper, not a final deliverable.
Keep records of what you asked the AI and why. For any user data or server details (AWS, SQL) never paste private credentials into prompts. Follow your employer’s data rules and use approved tools for production code and customer-facing content.
Both matter, but technical ability often separates good from great in this hybrid role. You need solid visual design (composition in Photoshop/Illustrator, moodboards) plus practical skills: HTML, JavaScript, performance optimization, and basic SQL or AWS knowledge to diagnose site problems.
If you can design and also fix broken pages, optimize images for load times, build prototypes, and write clear technical docs, you’ll be far more useful than someone who can only design or only code. Employers value that mix.