If you are reading this blog, you are either thinking of venturing into UX design or have just begun your career as a UX designer. Welcome on board! You are in luck as for this topic we have an expert, Jan Mráz- the Co-Founder of Atheros Intelligence, who has shared great input in a past group session (Fundamentals of UX/UI Design Industry). This blog will cover the aspect of the UX design industry, the soft skills needed in a UX designer career, the UX process, sources of learning, and more.
The definition of UX Design:
“A process of creating an interface of digital products such as app, web app, or website which is delivering a positive and enjoyable experience for all groups of users.”- Jan.
The 3 aspects of UX Design
Users
Business
Technology
The 8 perks in a UX Designer career
IT world The opportunity to work in a fast-growing IT industry.
Impact A UX designer career has a huge impact on people’s lives. Your work will be seen by people and influence their lives.
Reward The rewards as a UX designer are above the standard compared to other industries.
Diversity Diversity of activities that you will be involved with. Every work that you will receive is unique and challenges you to consider various types of conditions based on different projects.
Freelance/Job A UX designer career opens wide job opportunities such as a freelancer if you prefer to work on your own, or working as an employee in a company.
Scalability You can scale your income from your design activities. The more experienced you are, the higher your salary you will get.
The Global Average UX Salaries
Community The UX community is active in social media and engage with the community such as the ADPList community where you can discuss UX and more.
Competition It is a competitive industry that has attracted many people to pursue this expertise which has opened many job opportunities.
The reason why businesses need UX design
Design-centric businesses increase their revenue 32% faster than industry counterparts. (McKinsey Design Index)
Design-led companies outperform the S&P 500 by 211%. (DMI and Motiv Strategies founded by Microsoft)
8 to 10 consumers are willing to pay extra for a better user experience. (Capgemini’s report)
In a UX designer career, these soft skills are important:
The will to work hard Be ready to work hard and be active in searching for new trends and more.
Communication skills Expect to be working with teams whether you are an employee or a freelancer.
and
Desktop/Laptop Not all tasks can be done on a tablet.
Get started with UX Design (The Process)
Empathize Understand your users better through user interviews, stakeholders interviews, surveys, data analysis, focus groups, competitor analysis, and customer journey maps.
Define Define your design through empathy maps, user stories, personas, surveys, jobs to be done, and problem statements.
Ideate Structure your idea through brainstorming, information architecture, user flows, card sorting, or mind mapping.
Prototype processes Sketches, wireframes, Hi-Fi prototypes, mockups, and micro-interactions.
Jan suggested that you should start your UX Design journey with prototyping as this stage takes lots of practice. You can use Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, InVision, or other preferred prototyping tools.
Testing Usability testing, SUS surveys, A/B testing, Analytics, and Eye-tracking.
Design System
“Design system is a source of inspiration for industry standards that you should follow. It is a collection of components, rules, and principles that companies use across their products.”- Jan.
A UX Designer career is very competitive. These tips could help you to develop and grow in your career:
Build a Portfolio; showcase your design process, explain your case studies, and show how you can help the business grow. It is advisable to build your portfolio on your website.
Build your designer identity using social media platforms: Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Behance, or Dribble. LinkedIn and Behance are the best platforms to find job opportunities and attract clients for future projects.
Key topics to learn
UI Design Topics: Typography, Spacing & Grids, Colors, Buttons, Icons, Forms & Inputs, Image & Illustrations, and Navigation.
UX Design Topics: You can refer to the Get started with UX Design (The Process) to get inspiration on the topics to study.
.png)
.jpg)
