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.
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 2019.
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 by Artiom Dashinsky. Besides focusing on visuals, it will help a designer prepare for job interview, learn how to interview fellow designers, and find a concept for projects. In short, this is a great guide for everyone who tends to develop skills and get a promotion.
Sketch Pad Stencil Kit for App UI Design will be a perfect gift for both UI and UX designers. Because mobile app design is now in trend, this kit will help your friend designer go keeping up with the latest tendencies. The set includes 50 sheets with both sides printed, sketch pad and stencil kit, and a pencil.
If your friend designer is moreover a zerowaster, Wipebook Reusable Dry Erase Plain will be a special gift for him or her. It allows writing, drawing, and then wiping away with minimal staining when correctable markers are used. Thanks to a wiping option, your friend will be able to avoid paper waste. Besides sketching, it is also perfect for taking notes or creating to-do lists. With this notebook, the designer may not be afraid to make a mistake.
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 learn a lots of things here. It is an amazing post, thanks for help me.