How to become a UX designer. There is a broad range of fields related to design which are not limited to a graphic design only. If you are looking for a new profession and have a design background, we recommend considering UI/UX design. Even though these two fields are always separated by objective reasons, the latest IT tendencies show the necessity of combining them into one job. That being said, if you want to become an outstanding specialist, you’d better learn both UI and UX design. This will increase your chances to work with a top company and make a buck.
Wonder how you can become a hotshot UI/UX expert? Then, you’ve come to the right place because we’ve done our best to pick all the needed information. Further, you’ll learn things from basics of the profession to a checklist for becoming a professional in UI/UX design. Hence, read the article carefully not to miss the important details.
First things first, so let’s take a closer look at what UI/UX design is. Despite the fact that UI and UX mean all its own, both elements exist to make the on-site experience better. UX stands for user experience, accentuates on how something performs, and how people react on it. In the meantime, UI or user interface design works with appearance and layout. According to Matthew Cogswell, senior art director, and UI/UX designer at Modop: UX is “the way a car drives, shifts gears or protects you in an accident”, while UI is “the color and design of that car”.
In short, UX designers are responsible for analyzing the target audience and making its experience with the product the most pleasant. Besides handling the development of the digital product, they also work on:
As you may see, UX designer is like a universal soldier simultaneously managing the projects, handling marketing and design. But, if you think that UI design is much easier, that’s far from true. Thus, let’s move on further to find out what responsibilities UI designers have.
UI experts are responsible to make the interface intuitive which is a quite challenging task. Depending on their work, the visitors will choose their product over the other or not. Do you know why people prefer Apple phone to Samsung? The answer is quite obvious. Due to the fact that it is more intuitive. Continuing with Apple devices. It is necessary to mention that UI is integrated with UX so good that no one will even feel like it’s there. With that being said, the smoother UI the more intuitive the product is.
Yet, except for making the product intuitive, UI designer is also responsible for:
Remember that both of the elements should work flawlessly. If one of them is poor, it influences the product quality and the way the user feels it. Thus, the blend of UI and UX design is a perfect solution for developing a user-friendly web product.
When trying to get a job in UI/UX design, make sure to discover the skills required for this field. However we insist on considering both elements as a unit, let’s review the habits separately for each of them though.
Let us start with the skills expected from UX practitioners:
Now, it is UI designer’s turn and we’ll try to cover all essential skills required for this field:
Of course, these are not all skills expected from UI/UX designers, but we’ve found them to be key ones. If you get them over the ability to create and work on many ideas, sketch, prototype, argue with emotions etc., you have good chances to join designers community.
If you are one without a design background, yet want to learn it, there are numerous books and courses for independent education. You may wonder if you have to take classes at the university to learn this field. The thing is that everything depends on your preferences and the ability to promptly digest the information. Someone needs to earn higher education to feel more confident when getting a job as UI/UXer. While the others can read books, watch video on YouTube, simultaneously practice, and soon become experts in UI/UX design. It all depends and is up to you.
Meantime, in this paragraph, we are going to discover all possible ways that will help you get better in UI/UX design. Let’s start with books and then move to a list of courses, useful blogs, university certifications, and tutorials.
Now, you have enough books for getting to know more about design from its cradle to the latest tendencies. Thus, we may move further to other educational resources.
Having all these resources, keep in mind one important thing. All of them are useless without a bit of practice. Only by doing everything you’ve just learned you’ll be able to develop your skills. Become a real designer who loves to make things. In addition to reading books, watching videos, or earning a higher education, start drawing and playing around with tools every day. “Fall in love with the process. But being a beginner” – Ira Glass.
Not only does a good UI/UX designer have to obtain particular skills needed for this profession but also keep up with the major design trends that change pretty much every year. So in order to properly prepare you for this job, I decided to share the main 2021 UI/UX design trends with you. Without further ado, let us take a look at those.
Although dark color schemes have been a trend for a while and were rather popular among both designers and customers, it doesn’t mean that this trend has already expired. Moreover, this year we expect it to be utilized in the design of even more mobile applications, websites, web applications.
The tendency to unload the interface from unnecessary components and focus on content has been rather popular in recent years as well. Minimalism is not even a trend, it’s a philosophy, so it for sure is going to be widely popular in 2021.
A neat and intuitive interface is super essential for any product. Many companies will be redesigning their own front-end solutions in 2021. For example, at the end of 2021, Microsoft revealed its new logo and new product styling based on Fluent Design.
This is a trend that year by year is becoming more and more popular due to the fact that almost any product can be equipped with such a solution that allows you to simply and most effectively captivate the user.
Many of those who watched the Google I/O conference were fascinated by the fact of how smart Google Duplex voice assistant has become. This year, we expect this tool to become even more sophisticated because such a method of interaction is not only convenient but also has a socially significant status since it allows people with disabilities to use the product. Thus at the moment, the leaders in this area are Google and Apple.
Products need to evoke emotions in the user and this is why in 2021 emotional design is going to be a huge trend. For example, as a designer, you can evoke emotions with the help of abstract illustrations, vivid animations, or colors. Apart from that, more and more designers start using the technique of empathic manipulation (which actually has been used for a very long time) and in 2021 it’s going to be extremely popular. Excellent examples of using this very technique are Apple Music and Spotify, which provide playlists suitable specifically for a particular user.
Texts are an important part of any product. The trend of writing and processing existing text into a readable, capacious and compact, understandable, and friendly format is on top in 2021.
Animated illustrations have been around for a long time and a variety of messengers such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger already use animated stickers. This year the trend will grow even more and we expect to see the implementation of animated illustrations in other products as well.
Oversized typography is another 2021 tendency that is still going to rock in 2021. Huge headlines and large text are definitely not new but this year the trend that has been set several years ago will continue to develop.
Using gradients allows you to add depth to the picture. In a new reading of this technique, we will see complex gradients that will add volume and depth to images that are on top of the gradient.
Obviously, there are some things you want to avoid at all costs, so let’s take a brief look at those.
This very tendency is expected to gradually fade away due to the limited use and implementation complexity, instead, a pseudo 3D will be more popular. However, this does not apply to game applications.
This trend was relevant in 2021 but we have already stepped into a new era, which is going to be bright and colorful so muted color schemes will be substituted by vivid ones.
Many experts believe that AR/VR technologies have already reached their peak. So we expect the popularity of AR and VR to decrease in the upcoming years.
Everybody knows that a book is the best means to learn something and, certainly, a decent book about UX design will surely help you master this art. Therefore, let us have a brief look at some bestsellers that will help you become a UX design god.
2. 7STEPUX®: The complete UX process from strategy to design by Csaba Házi
4. UX Methods: A Quick Guide to User Experience Research Methods by James Pannafino and Patrick McNeil
8. UX for Beginners: A Crash Course in 100 Short Lessons by Joel Marsh
10. The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition by Don Norman
Learning theory is great but the best way to master any skill is practicing, so you might want to start actually making something. In fact, any UX designers, both beginners and experienced professionals, utilize various tools that help them come up with beautiful products in no time and, certainly, we are going to take a brief look at some of the best ones.
Simple in use and rather affordable, InVision Studio is a great means for creating various web and mobile projects.
2. Sketch
Sketch is a tool that will back you up in literally any situation, so go ahead and try it for free.
3. Craft
Craft is a plugin for InVision that will allow you to create elaborate designs quickly, easily, and pain-free.
4. Adobe XD
This one is a perfect tool for those of you who often work with mockups and prototypes. So if you need some vector-based tools for the mockups you are currently working on, go ahead and check this tool out.
5. Figma
Figma is a perfect tool for team players who prefer working on projects simultaneously.
6. Marvel
Marvel is another great tool that will help you complete a high-quality mockup just in a few clicks, so do not hesitate and give it a try.
Origami Studio’s simple functionality makes it perhaps the best choice for any beginner, which means that this tool is simply perfect for you.
8. Webflow
If you are looking for a tool that will enable you to create designs without dealing with CSS and HTML, then Webflow is no doubt the way to go for you.
9. Balsamiq
Balsamiq is a perfect tool for wireframing. Moreover, it makes wireframing super easy and quick even for those designers who don’t have any experience in it at all.
10. Wireframe.cc
Wireframe.cc is a simple yet functional tool for wireframing, so you should definitely give it a try.
Pretty often it’s hard to learn everything on your own and you need some guidance. Well, courses are the best way to learn something quickly as well as get valuable experience from experts. So here are the 10 best online courses for UX designers.
1. Interaction Design Foundation
2. Plural Sight
3. Udemy UX Design & User Experience Design Course – Theory Only
4. Coursera UX Design Fundamentals
5. Hackdesign
6. Skillshare
7. TreeHouse
8. PHP Kingdom
9. CareerFoundry
10. User Experience Design Training and Consulting
Finally, once you got enough knowledge and skills, you can start creating your gorgeous products and making money on those. In fact, you can easily start selling your products through MasterBundles Sell Your Deal. This very service allows you to upload your goods on the digital marketplace, set the price, and receive money for every single item of yours that is being sold on MasterBundles. You can easily receive your money on your Payoneer account and in case you are having any difficulties, one of the professional MasterBundles managers will be more than happy to help you out. Well, why are you still waiting? Go ahead and sign up!
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Since most people are looking for a job online, they usually get lost among an enormous number of resources. Furthermore, job postings in UI/UX design industry are quite fragmented. This is the reason we’ve made a decision to gather all reliable job boards in one list. That being said, you don’t have to waste your time surfing the Internet and can start searching right away.
Of course, we couldn’t but mention a well-known website called LinkedIn. Here, you can also discover a broad range of vacancies for UI/UX designers.
One more option you’ll not find anywhere regards the cooperation with MasterBundles. UI/UX practitioners have a chance to sell their projects or the whole bundles on the marketplace. This is a great example of passive income.
Now, it is a high time to find out how much UI/UXers make money annually. Based on the article published at Forbes, UI and UX design is included in the list of 29 best jobs for work-life balance. The average salary of both fields is $ 84,500 and $ 95,000 correspondingly. In the current time, UI/UX designer is one of the most popular and perfect jobs on the IT market.
Of course, UI/UXers’ salary varies around the world. The income in the USA is much higher than the one in Europe, for instance. It also depends on the experience the designer has. For your reference, check out a few infographics below:
At last, if you are good at both UI and UX design, you will be most obviously paid more. This is your competitive edge and your ticket to the top of the field. Therefore, make sure to further develop your skills in both fields at one time.
People who’ve become real experts in product design always have thoughts and ideas to share with the newbies. While the beginners usually need some inspirational advice or even a smackdown. We’ve taken it into account and gathered the most inspiring quotes of the shark UI/UX designers. Hope they’ll motivate you and help to learn more about UI/UX.
Additionally, we recommend that you check out the list of videos showing the most informative speeches of the experts who deal with creating digital products. With no doubt, they will provide useful tips for UI/UXers who work on websites and mobile apps. Enjoy listening to speakers and soak up knowledge.
If you’ve made some efforts to read the article till this paragraph, we may conclude that being just a good UI/UXer is not enough for you. Thus, we’ve decided to help you and have gathered 10 tips how to become the best professional into a checklist. It will help you notice your strengths and improve the weaknesses if they are available. So, let’s see what will take you to the top in UI/UX design in 2021.
To sum up, being a shark UI/UX practitioner means everyday learning and developing mentioned tips. Doing so, you will feel more confident in your skills and create user-friendly designs.
| Title | Vendor | Price |
| Nature Creation Kit: Fonts, Logo, Elements | Vladfedotovv | $19 |
| Animals Creation Kit | AI and PS | Vladfedotovv | $29 |
| Kama iOS UI Kit for Sketch & Photoshop | Igor Savelev | $38 |
| UI Kit for an Online Store with 92% OFF | DesignStudio | $10 |
| PSD Ui Kits Bundle with 90% OFF | DesignStudio | $15 |
If you are puzzled over what gift to choose for your designer friend, this paragraph may become rescue. Because we’ve picked here three best gift ideas for UI/UX practitioners. Here they are:
A book called Solving Product Design Exercises: Questions & Answers
Sketch Pad Stencil Kit for App UI Design
If your friend designer is moreover a zerowaster, Wipebook Reusable Dry Erase Plain
By the way, St. Valentine’s Day is coming, so we’ve decided that you’ll be happy to get the entire gift ideas list. Here you may find 50 gift ideas for nerds including photographers, developers, and designers.
I’m currently a Product Designer at Instacart in San Francisco, but I previously had zero experience in design. I only offer 1:1 coaching and portfolio reviews through my patreon program linked below.
UI/UX design is a rather promising field, which means that working in this area is quite perspective as well as exciting. In fact, due to the high demand for UI/UX designers, many companies are literally hunting for great professionals so becoming one means making decent money. Certainly, UI/UX design is a rather challenging skill to master and you will probably spend a lot of time perfecting your skills but it definitely pays off. After all, an exciting and well-paid job is worth all that time you spend on learning and practicing. So believe in yourself, learn UI/UX design, and become a cool professional today.
What do you think about the UI/UX designer profession? Would you at least give it a shot? Let us know in the comment section down below!
It depends on the country you live in as well as the company you work for. In the United States, the average salary is about $85,000 per year. Some skilled professionals can make up to $128,000, which is in fact a pretty good salary.
UX stands for User Experience and UI stands for User Interface.
You can sign up for courses or learn everything by yourself using various books and helpful tutorials from YouTube. Once you feel confident in your skills, you can apply for a UI/UX designer position in a company of your choice or sign up on one of the freelance platforms like UpWork and become a freelance designer.
Due to the rapid development of the technologies, I am sure that it’s going to be extremely relevant in the future, so go ahead and try it, it’s actually a cool job.
Disclosure: MasterBundles website page may contain advertising materials that may lead to us receiving a commission fee if you purchase a product. However, this does not affect our opinion of the product in any way and we do not receive any bonuses for positive or negative ratings.
Any article needs a solid base of references and this is why I always do my research on the topic I am going to write on. This time, obviously, was not an exception and I utilized the following resources:
Comments
I learn a lots of things here. It is an amazing post, thanks for help me.
Can you tell me some free courses to be a professional UI/UX designers?
Nice information, this is will helpfull a lot, Thank for sharing, Keep do posting i like to follow this
Akshay V, added a list to the article π