The term UX(User-Experience) and UI(User-Interface) design have been around since the early 90s, but is more recently that the domain is expanding with specialists. With close to 200 million active websites, 3 million mobile apps on the Play Store, and increase in the number of mobile devices and searches from them, UX/ UI designers are in high demand.
UX designers need both technical and design skills as well has understanding of the human behaviour and humans interact with the digital world. Their work is primarily concerned with the user experience and with making websites easier to navigate. Graphic designers, programmers and many other professionals can transition to UX design by learning the necessary skills and gaining experience working on real projects to add to their portfolios.
Why move in to a career in the UX
There are some practical reasons to choose a career in UX design. It is consistently listed as one of the top 10 jobs in America. A career in UX design also offers a good work-life balance, allowing people to take on freelancing projects and work from home opportunities.
Should You Consider a Move to UX Design?
If you’re thinking of moving into UX design, it can be encouraging to learn that there are no clearly specified degrees or certifications necessary for the job. What is valued is relevant experience, along with a portfolio that highlights your skills and how you put them into practice.
You can transition to UX from many different fields, such as graphic design, programming, web developing, etc. Others have also made the transition from project management, marketing, business analytics and computer sciences. Liberal arts graduates can draw upon their understanding of human thinking and motivation in this field. In all cases, it helps to have an interest in and talent for design.
How You Can Become a UX Designer
Becoming a UX designer requires a combination of theory and practice. UX designers need to know the common programming languages as well as graphic design programs like Sketch, Photoshop and Illustrator. But they also need other skills that will help them to understand the psychology and behavior of internet users. Designers typically work with others, so teamwork and a collaborative attitude are necessary.
These are some steps you can take that will start you on your career in UX design:
- Informal education
The first step in moving to UX design, as in any career change, is to identify the skills you will need and how you will go about acquiring them. Read a lot of UI/UX related articles and blogs. Online courses and boot camps can give you the necessary technical skills as well as practical experience to become a UX designer.
- Network and collaborate
Working with others will help you to get feedback on your own work and to create the connections that will help you land a job in the field of UX design. UX design is essentially a collaborative process, which benefits from feedback and dialogue. The best way to find out what works (and what doesn’t) is to ask people to try it out and give you their responses. Organizations like the User Experience Professional Association (UXPA) support students and practitioners in the field with resources, meetings and professional networking opportunities.
- Develop your portfolio
Develop your UX design portfolio with three or four outstanding examples of your work. Detailed case studies that show the entire process, from research to user testing, prototyping, and site management will illustrate your working style as well as the completed project to potential employers.
- Grow with the field
The field of UX design is growing and evolving and you can and should grow along with it. Self study in fields as diverse as taxonomy, information architecture, programming and visual design can help you develop your own style. They are plenty of online resources you can use, like the usability.gov site maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
UX design is one of the top 10 careers in the US. Because this field sits at the crossroads of many disciplines, it’s possible to make the transition to UX design from a number of different professions