17 Aug How to become a UX/UI Designer
Are you confused about which field to opt for as a career? Do you like to design? Are you a creative person? Then this article will help you a lot to find out how you can bring your creativity into a field which is very much in demand nowadays. From this, you can earn money if you become a professional UX/UI designer.
Let’s first learn about this field and its prerequisites. UI stands for User Interface and UX stands for User Experience.
The key difference between these two fields is that UI is a field where we have to focus on the visual elements, look and feel, and aesthetics of any product we are designing. In easy words, UI refers to how users interact with your product and get attracted by its look and feel.
Whereas UX User Experience means how a person experiences your product. Was it easy to use? Is this product available for a wide variety of people? How enjoyable was the experience with your product?
UI and UX are somehow related to each other because a good (UI) user interface will lead to a good (UX) user experience.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to come into this field; you don’t need to have a degree if you want to become a professional UX/UI designer. You can start any day by working and polishing your skills.
Steps You Can Take to Enhance Your Skills as a UX/UI Designer
Here are a few tips to excel in the UX/UI field.
Step 1: Identify your Interest
When we talk about UX, we are talking about a very broad term. It has many fields in which you can specialize like there are visual designers, product designers, interaction designers, or visual designers. However, it depends on your choice if you want to work as a specialist or a generalist. A good practice is to always start as a generalist because it has more scope to learn about different fields.
When you will work on a lot of different things you will be able to find your interest. You can always Google about other fields of User Experience or read articles to find the one which can best fit your interests.
Step 2: Make yourself available on different platforms
Another step you can take is to create accounts on social platforms or websites that are specifically related to UX/UI designs. You can get inspiration from other designers.
One of the websites is LinkedIn, where you can join groups or communities related to UX/UI. It’s also a good place to see what other people are doing in this field and what their accomplishments are. Also, you can learn about job postings.
Next, you can create an account on Dribble, a place where you can get inspired by other designers, post your designs when you create them and get feedback from other users.
Behance is another platform to follow designers, learn about their work, and showcase your workings.
On Medium, you can read articles published about UX/UI.
Step 3: Socialize with others in the same field
Connect with other people in the same field on the platforms mentioned above. Have a conversation with them about how they proceeded in their career. How do I learn more about this field? What are the essentials to become a professional UX/UI designer? Having a great mentor can greatly help you in this field.
Step 4: Understand the basics of UX/UI
Read articles about the basics of UX/UI or watch some tutorials on Youtube about the basics of UX/UI. A good user experience means any user-centered product. A product is considered to have a good user experience if it has these four key items: usability, usefulness, equity, and enjoyability. You can learn in-depth about the key concepts in the field of UX/UI.
Step 5: Learn different tools
When you want to become a professional in anything you need to learn and practice. If you want to go ahead in this field, learning tools will help you a lot. A few of the recommended tools are:
Figma – will help you with creating wireframes and get feedback on the designs.
AdobeXD – creating designs, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs.
Step 6: Do a certification
To boost up your skills you can always do certifications which will help you to have the strong basics about UX/UI field. Most of the certifications are not free, but you can always refer to Youtube for free tutorials on UX/UI.
Step 7: Practice Designs
Practice is the key in UX/UI. Do as much practice as you can. Think of imaginary projects and go through all the steps in the UX/UI design process.
Step 8: Make your portfolio website
After working on several projects, start creating a portfolio website for yourself and showcase your projects on that website. Create a resume to include in your portfolio website. Include a strong personal statement about yourself, reflecting your interests, what kind of work you do and what makes you stand out from others in the same field.
Keep your website simple and easily navigable which will show the hiring managers that you practice UX/UI rules. Always include an About me and Contact me page so that you will be easily contacted by hiring managers.
Several websites provide the templates for creating a portfolio website. But most of them charge some fees for the templates like Wix and WordPress. You can always go for these options if you can afford them. But if you are looking for a place to develop your website for free, you can go for Google Sites.
If you know how to code, you can create a portfolio website for yourself. Share that website on your social accounts like on your LinkedIn account or Behance profile to attract hiring managers.
Keep Learning about new trends and technology
It is always a good idea to keep yourself up with all the latest technology and trends in the field you are working in. The world is making progress at a fast pace, and you also have to do the same so always try to look for learning new methods and techniques in your field.
Now that you have got the major points about the UX/UI field, it’s time to start the procedure and start a new journey. It will take some time for you to become professional, but it will be a great start for your future.
