How to find game UI/UX design work
Game UI and UX work comes from IndieGuild, Work With Indies, ArtStation, r/gameDevClassifieds, r/INAT, LinkedIn and studio careers pages, and game jams, where plenty of teams have nobody on UI at all. If you come from app or web design, a lot of your skills carry over. What's new is controllers, game feel, and HUDs that have to work in the middle of a fight.
I founded IndieGuild, so keep that in mind when I talk about it. I've tried to be fair to everyone here, because each of these is the right pick for somebody.
- Show game UI in motion, with flows and states, not just flat screens.
- Want a studio role? Work With Indies, LinkedIn and studio careers pages list UI and UX jobs.
- Want freelance clients? Find indie games whose demos could use help and pitch one screen.
- Just starting? Join game jam teams as the UI person, and do redesign case studies.
- Want devs to find you? Put your screens, styles and rates on a free IndieGuild profile.
| Where | Better pick when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| IndieGuild | You want indie devs to find you by the screens you make and your style. | It's new, so there are fewer roles than on the big boards. |
| Work With Indies | You want a paid role at an indie studio. | UI roles come up less often than art or code roles. |
| ArtStation | You want a portfolio where art directors already look, plus a jobs board. | It leans toward art, so put your UX thinking in the project text too. |
| You want a free [FOR HIRE] post on r/gameDevClassifieds, or a rev share team on r/INAT. | Read each sub's rules, and check rev share teams carefully. | |
| Game jams | You need real game UI in your portfolio, fast. | It's unpaid, so pick jams you'd enjoy anyway. |
| LinkedIn and studios | You want a full-time or contract role on a bigger team. | They usually want shipped games or strong case studies. |
Where game UI/UX work actually comes from
IndieGuild
This one's mine. You make a free profile with your work on it: HUDs, main menus, inventories, settings screens, icons, wireframes, UX flows and UI animation. You pick your styles, like clean, pixel, diegetic or hand-drawn, add your rates and tags like "Rev share OK" or "Human-made", and devs find you on Discover or with Find my match. When a dev posts a role that fits you, it lands in your inbox. Every role on the Job board shows the pay type up front, and some show a budget. It's free, and I don't take a cut.
Better pick when you want indie devs to come to you. Not the best pick if you want the biggest pool of jobs today, since it's newer than the big sites.
Work With Indies
Work With Indies is a job board for indie studios. When I checked in October 2026, it had UI/UX designer roles, plus programmer roles that cover gameplay UI. Studios pay to list, so these are usually real, paid roles.
ArtStation and Behance
A lot of art directors browse ArtStation, and it has a jobs board too. Behance is popular with UI and UX designers in general. Wherever you post, write a few lines on each project about the problem you were solving, not just the final screen.
r/gameDevClassifieds and r/INAT
r/gameDevClassifieds is for paid work, so make a [FOR HIRE] post with a few screens, a short clip of UI in motion and your rates. r/INAT is for rev share and hobby teams. Read each sub's rules first, because they remove posts that break them.
Game jams
Jam teams almost always have a programmer and an artist, and often nobody thinking about menus, the HUD or how a new player learns the game. Joining as the UI person gets you shipped game UI in a weekend, and the people you meet are your future clients. Itch.io lists jams all year round.
Pitching indie devs
Play demos, especially around a Steam festival, and look for games whose UI could be clearer. Pick one you love and send a short note: who you are, one or two things you'd change and why, and an offer to do one screen as a small paid job. Don't send a free full redesign nobody asked for. My guide to pitching a game dev has a first message you can adapt.
What your portfolio should show
Devs want to see that you get game UI, not just pretty screens. I'd show:
- The core screens. A HUD, a main menu, settings, and an inventory or shop.
- Flows. How you move between screens, with wireframes next to the final look.
- States. Hover, selected, disabled, empty, error and long text.
- Motion. A short clip of your UI in a build or prototype, since game UI moves.
- Controller and Steam Deck. Focus order, button prompts, and text that's readable on a small screen. Valve's Steam Deck rules have a text size check worth knowing.
- Accessibility. Text size, contrast and colorblind-friendly choices. The Game Accessibility Guidelines are a great place to learn.
- Implementation, if you do it: Unity UI Toolkit or uGUI, Unreal UMG, or Godot's Control nodes.
Redesigns are fine, if you label them. A redesign of a real game's inventory is a great case study, as long as it's clearly marked as a personal project and not client work.
From first gig to steady work
Here's how I'd climb:
- Do two or three jams as the UI person. Real games, real deadlines, real teammates.
- Write one or two deep case studies. A redesign or a jam game, from problem to wireframe to final, with what changed after playtests.
- Take small paid jobs. One screen, an icon set, a HUD pass. Each one is a credit and a client who might come back.
- Learn one engine's UI tools. Designers who can also build their screens are easier to hire for small teams.
- Stay in touch. Every update adds screens, and devs would rather call the person who already knows the game.
Rates
I won't make up numbers. Game UI designers usually charge per screen, per icon set, per hour or per project. What moves the price is how many screens and states there are, whether you also build it in the engine, the style, and how many platforms the game supports. When you quote, ask for the screen list, the platforms and who implements it.
Red flags
- A "test" that's the whole UI. One screen is a normal test. Every screen isn't.
- No screen list and no build. You'll keep redoing work as the game changes under you.
- "Just make it pop." With no references, no style and no answers to your questions.
- Rights left vague. Get in writing who owns the source files and when you can show the work.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find game UI/UX design work?
Game UI and UX designers find work on Work With Indies, ArtStation and its jobs board, r/gameDevClassifieds for paid work, r/INAT for rev share teams, LinkedIn and studio careers pages, and game jams. A free IndieGuild profile with your screens and styles lets indie devs find you too.
How do I get into game UI design with no experience?
Join a few game jams as the UI person, and write one or two case studies, like a clearly labeled redesign of a real game's inventory, from problem to wireframe to final. Then pitch small paid jobs like one screen or an icon set.
What should a game UI portfolio include?
A HUD, a main menu, settings, an inventory or shop, the flows between screens, every state of a screen, a clip of your UI moving, controller and Steam Deck thinking, accessibility choices, and engine implementation if you do it.
How do game UI designers charge?
Usually per screen, per icon set, per hour or per project. The price depends on how many screens and states there are, whether you build it in the engine, the style and the platforms.
Is IndieGuild free for game UI designers?
Yes. Making a profile is free, and I don't take a cut of your gigs. You and the dev agree on pay and rights directly.
Let devs find you
Make a free UI/UX profile with your HUDs, menus and flows, your styles, your rates and what you're open to (paid, rev share or hobby). When a dev posts a role that fits you, it lands in your inbox. It's free, and I don't take a cut of your gigs.
Make my profileMore guides
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- How to pitch a game dev (for creators)
- How to find game art work as an indie artist
- How to find game programming and game design work
- How to find a UI/UX designer for your indie game
- Game UI and UX designers on IndieGuild