Many of us work in wireframes and lightweight interactive prototypes to capture, illustrate, discuss, and refine the layout and behavior of the interface we are working on — to design the user experience. And we recognize that visual design is critical for getting to polished, usable, and delightful user experiences. Sometimes, user experience designers are responsible for executing the detailed visual design, but often that is handled by someone else, a visual design specialist.

What are the best ways to facilitate the understanding of the design intent and the communication between the experience design and visual design roles, throughout the lifecycle of a project? 

Jennifer Chaffee and Rachel Sengers provide practical ideas and recommendations for ensuring a smooth and effective collaboration between people in UX design and visual design roles.