San Francisco Agency: UI/UX Designers’ Best Choice

It is the best time to be a UI/UX designer. As the cliché goes, the world is their oyster. But even if they have the best opportunities, one city still stands out: San Francisco. According to a report from ABC7 News, San Francsico has the highest salaries in the world.

The report was based on a research conducted by the Deutsche Bank, mapping the world’s prices for 2019. For the first time in years, Zurich, Switzerland was kicked out of the top spot as the city with the highest salaries and disposable incomes after rent.

“Overall, this shows that the rapid growth of the US tech sector is helping San Francisco beat traditional capital cities for income,” the research stated.

There is one clear message here: San Francisco is the best place to work if you are in a tech-related industry. So UI/UX designers should start shopping for a San Francisco agency!

Opportunities in a San Francisco Agency

According to the aforementioned report, the average income in San Francisco is at $6,526 a month. The previous top salary provider, Zurich, figured with an average salary of $5,896, which is still high enough to be on the second spot.

Silicon Valley is really the top tech paradise in California or in the world for that matter. But it has been saturated with the big players like Apple Inc., Facebook, Netflix, Twitter, among others. San Francisco, however, is where the startups congregate. And those startups are where UX and UI designers are badly needed.

Tech startups like those that create websites, mobile apps or enterprise software would generally need design firms to complete their digital product or to create their own online presence. If you know the story of how Facebook was created, then you know how most tech startups are conceived. But for those who don’t know the story, Facebook was created in Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room. He had help from his roommate and other fellow Harvard students.

A lot of the tech businesses start the same. Smart students bond together and create a software that could potentially become a large digital product. But since they are the brains in behind the startup, they might need help with the designing aspect. This is where a design agency is needed. Of course, since these are San Francisco-based startups, it follows that the opportunity for a designer is in The Golden City.

Importance of UI/UX designer in startups

While the brain seems to be the most important asset of the body, know that function is incomplete without the heart, lungs and other vital organs. And without the physical makeup that is called the body, the organs are just those—organs.

When it comes to tech startups, they might be able to function on their own, but without a heart, lungs and body, it is not complete. The brain cannot attract a relationship on its own. So in order for a startup to be able to connect with an audience, and eventually a market, it needs the complete package.

Every business, whether it is a tech on or not, needs a website in order to garner an audience. Online presence is a must in this digital age. Even the biggest tech giants: Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google continue to innovate and update their online presence—from their website to their social media accounts.

Startups need online presence more than these tech giants. They need to get their names out there. They need an audience, because it is the audience that can be easily converted into customers. The UI / UX design will make every startup’s online presence attractive.

Following the “body” analogy—the user experience of the web and mobile design represent the organs that are needed in order for the body to complete function. The user interface, on the other hand, is the physical body.

Creativity blooms in a creative environment

When you are surrounded by tech giants and startups, you only get better with your craft. So a UI / UX design agency is expected to prosper in San Francisco. Whether it is the competition or just the ability to sprout in a place surrounded by like-minded individuals, being in a tech hub will be great for tech employees.

When you browse through digital products, you can immediately see that everything is at its heightened piece. There are no more mediocre projects because a UX team will try to one-up the other when it comes to experience design. The UI designer wants to make sure that the web and mobile look of a company’s web page will be more attractive that its counterpart.

Competition heightens creativity. This is why getting into agencies in San Francisco will only be great for a budding designer. Not only is the city known for its high salaries, it is also known for being home to the most brilliant minds. And brilliants minds need complementary creative minds that design agencies can provide.

Everything moves fast in the digital world

The modern world is quite fast-paced as technology is always upgraded and innovation is just in the next corner. But when you are in the tech industry and in a world’s biggest tech hub nonetheless, upgrades and innovation come even quicker.

For a designer, there is constant challenge to be had. This is one of the biggest misconceptions among millennials—the older generation thinks that millennials just want to Netflix and chill. Actually, millennials move quite fast. They just prefer to do fast in their own time and in their own place. Millennials are keeping the pace in this modern world because they are ruling it through their tech startups.

This is why San Francisco is the best place for startups and for designers, because they are always in-the-know when it comes to current digital trends. This means that they always know the best full-service output according to trend-based digital programs. That keeps designers always ahead in every design project, and that keeps startups more competitive.

Full-service agencies

With digital projects always on the fast track, it is also an opportunity for creatives to launch full-service agencies rather than a fragmented one. Ramotion, for example, is a San Francisco based agency that handles various digital outputs like UI/UX design, branding, and others. This way, clients will just go to one agency for all their digital needs.

A design and build contract with one agency will make things faster, rather than a client having to hire a design agency, marketing agency and a branding agency as well. Then there are also different aspects of design—a design agency might be more focused on the user interface, which means that a company has to hire another agency or at least another designer to focus on user experience.

In the end, hiring one agency to do all the work will be cheaper, unless of course the company has its own organic employees that do some of the line tasks from a full-service agency.

Whatever it is, it doesn’t change the fact that a San Francisco agency—whether a full-service or specific one—will provide great opportunities for UI/UX designers. While San Francisco’s standard of living has increased considerably over the years, this will be balanced by the city’s new reputation of having the highest average salary among all cities in the world.