As most UX designers may tell you, there is no prescribed path to
becoming a UX designer. Some designers may start with degrees in arts, others
were trained in architecture school, while some even came from entirely different
professions. Not a few designers have been broken into this field without any
formal training, with a genuine empathy for others and the belief of making
lives better through design.
However, it’s not easy to land an entry-level UX position, and many
new-comers may get lost by the interchangeability of design terms, like UX and
UI. So before diving deeper into starting a career in UX, let’s take a quick
look at the two different terms in below.
What Is UX/UI Design?
At the very start, let’s define UX & UI design before moving on to
our point:
UX Design (User Experience Design) - is all about enhancing user satisfaction
and designing the complete user experience. UX requests a solid
understanding of sociology, psychology as well as design to identify and
address the real user problems. Also it requires tactical skills,
including concept iteration, user research, prototyping and usability testing. One of the most critical skills for UX designers would be
communication.
UIDesign (User Interface Design) -
is all about selecting the right interface elements, such as text fields,
buttons, check boxes and drop-down lists, to create the tangible interfaces
that users can readily understand and easily use. In small-sized companies, UI
designers may conduct the entire process from user flows to hi-fidelitymockups; In large-sized companies, they are likely to specialize more in
defining the layout of an app or website (that’s what we call “Sketch” or “Wireframing”).
The ultimate goal of UX and UI design is making the user’s interaction
as time efficient and simple as possible. Also the lines between UX and UI
designers are always blurred in accordance with different company size and
demands. For more information about frequently confused design terms, like UX,
UI, IA, IxD, here is another
post for your read.
How to Become a UX Designer?
There is no need to repeat others’ career path, and below are some
practical advices for those who are thinking of stepping into UX design
industry.
1. Get Yourself Educated
This does not mean you have to go invest in a university degree, but a
formalized education won’t hurt. There are may higher education UX courses
and programs out there, while it’s not a necessary step to break
into the UX field. Just as one UX expert put: “If you are a ‘lifelong
learner’, in other words, if you are paying attention, you will be able to take
previous experience and apply lessons learned from them to your new situation.
That is more important to me than specific skills you might learn in school.”
Here is a comprehensive list of recommended ebooks, which would
form a good starting point. On a more informal level, you can take
participation in various online courses, and following are some recommendable
learning resources.
Interaction Design Foundation The Interaction Design Foundation is an educational organization which produces open content and Open Access educational materials online with the stated goal of "democratizing education by making world-class educational materials free for anyone,
Interaction Design Foundation The Interaction Design Foundation is an educational organization which produces open content and Open Access educational materials online with the stated goal of "democratizing education by making world-class educational materials free for anyone,
General
Assembly - They specialize in today’s most in-demand
skills, offering a complete program in UX design. It’s possible to take
different kinds of workshops and classes, as well as attend as a part-time or
full-time student.
Aside from articles and online courses, you can also engage in design
communities, ranging from visual design websites like Behance and
Dribbble,
to more comprehensive websites, like UX Magazine. Being a part of a
community will make self-learning less intimidating and you can get inspired by
others’ creative ideas. More websites and blog resources to
get you educated.
2. Take Advantage of the Right Tools
Since you have learned the fundamentals, you still need to practice
your knowledge under real environment. UX design is not just working in front
of a screen, and you have to be taught how to create interactive wireframes and
conduct usability testing sessions. Both require software to achieve.
Considering of ease-of-use and included features, here are the most recommended tools:
Axure
Established in May 2002, Axure is considered as the standard in
interactive wireframe software and recommended for professional designers
looking for sophisticated prototyping capabilities. It does help user
experience professionals, product manager and business analyst as well, but is
far from an ideal choice for beginners for its steep learning curve.
Justinmind
As a flexible prototyping tool, Justinmind supports multi-platforms and
can work well for simple click-through prototypes or complex interactions. The
device-specific templates and gesture-based interaction set it apart from other
tools. However, the free version is somehow
limiting and its moderate learning curve still keeps many first-time
users away.
Balsamiq
Founded by a former senior engineer of Adobe in 2008, Balsamiq has
appeared to be one of the best wireframing program providers in the industry.
As is advertised “Life is too short for bad software”, Balsamiq Mockup allows
simple elements and fast design creation for websites & mobile apps. It may
have a top limit on the quality of created mockups and the lack of template
window is another downside.
InVision
InVision is a US-based company that takes many useful customization and
import options from Marvel, with more collaboration features included. A
highlight is you can share completed mockups through the in-built LiveShare
tool, which is more effective than sending a .PDF file. While this viewer app
is only compatible with iOS devices like iPhone and iPad, with no support for
Android and Windows Phone.
Mockplus
Developed by a team of passionate developers from the orient, Mockplus
is a relatively new player in the industry. It’s a rapid prototyping tool to
turn design ideas into functional prototypes faster, smarter and easier. It’s visualized interactions
and drag-and-drop UI largely simplify the design process and keep designer
focused on the graphic quality and content. Live preview can be achieved by
scanning QR code and the most recent 2.19 version will add 3000 vector icons.
Its educational
offer is awaiting for fresh minds.
Beyond any doubt, there will be other alternatives on the market, with
both pluses and minuses existing the same time. For those who are in need of
testing and analytic tools, here are the recommendations:
A/B Testing Tools, which aim to help test one or multiple elements on certain page to see which received the most action. These types of tools can be purchased on monthly basis. Some popular choices are A/B Test Master, Intuition, UsabilityTools.
Web Analytics Tools, which give you better understanding of website traffic and visitor behavior from both optimization and conversion perspective. Google Analytics is my tool of choice.
User Feedback Tools, which enable you to gather user information and feedback. Some general tools include Mechanical Turk, UsabilityHub and Ethnio.
3. Find Yourself a Mentorship
Mentoring is rewarding, and a high-quality mentorship can be an
important part of a designer’s growth process. You don’t need to catch up as
often with a potential mentor, but try to soak up everything that an
experienced UX designer can offer you when talking on Skype or taking a quick
coffee.
It may be daunting to find a mentor as UX professionals are always
busy, but you may find a mentor through some communities you join or some
courses you take. Take a look at this article on how to find
your design mentor and also consider whether you want to pay for
a mentorship service. It’s true that almost anyone you respect can serve as
design mentor, and just talk to everyone you can and be open to different
opinions.
4. Get Some Experience & Hired
No one can become a successful UX designer without building things.
Almost every UX designer starts with some jobs to practice their skills. That’s
where online portfolio comes in handy. Just like a UI designer would have an A3
portfolio that shows posters, logos as well as t-shirts designed by himself,
you need to present examples of your created deliverables.
It’s great to propose an apprenticeship or internship at a company, and
your portfolio will be a great help that tells a story about the process you
follow will be a great help. Generally, the more you’ve learned, the more
opportunities will open up for you. This could be a virtuous cycle in which you
can learn and grow.
Bottom Line
At last, here’s a quote written by Ivan Glass to share with all people
who have been planning or just wondering to break into the UX world. Enjoy the
ride!
"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone
told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good
taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s
just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But
your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your
taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this
phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went
through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we
want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or
you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important
thing you can do is do a lot of work."
Please comment below if you have any further thoughts or suggestions to
share.
About Author
Berry Sarah
Email: bleachmizu@gmail.com
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