A designer is often called a usability specialist or a UX specialist. They research what users need, analyze the information, and then build logical and insightful interfaces. This profession became in demand in 2020 as an increase in projects came to light. It’s time to find out what qualities and skills are required to work as a professional UX/UI Designer.
The Heart Of The Profession
Designers create interfaces and direct users through the product. This is often called user experience, which allows them to achieve their goals by finding necessary information, signing up on a site, or buying something quickly and easily. The results from the research of a UX/UI Designer might include:
- Interplay configurations, user activities, and UI specifications
- User scenarios and construction of the end-to-end principle practices.
- Designs, screens, wireframes, mock-ups, and specifications as required.
The Core of a UX/UI Designer
UX/UI designers, like those in this UX Planet article, perform a lot of everyday work.
Of course, they also get to do creative work, but the lion’s share of the time is spent on the technical part and analytics. Even though many tools make a design much more accessible, prepare mock-ups much faster, and conduct analytics automatically, not everything can be automated.
Routine is not bad: after all, if you squeeze creative ideas out of yourself 24/7, you can quickly burn out. Designers constantly switch between tasks, from sketching to UX analytics. So if you like to switch between functions and combine creativity with powerful tools for analytics, this is the job for you.
Resourceful Points on How to Become a UX/UI Designer
Communication Skills
What is oftentimes overlooked is communication with clients. There are offices with project managers for communication, but there are large corporations that communicate between clients and contractors. Undoubtedly, designing can often be a matter of one’s taste, but being persuasive is mandatory. Without good communication, you run the risk of doing projects over and over and editing to no end.
Designers must become quick learners
You might be working in the same trends and services, but changes are always right around the corner. A designer must be ready to learn and adapt to changes as they surface.
While knowing and memorizing keyboard shortcuts in a particular software is not a requirement, it’s necessary to understand the principles of all the tools to work in many different programs.
What you need to know and be able to do
Should you know how to draw if you are a UX/UI designer? Yes, the answer is not only because you need to have a steady and experienced hand when sketching. People who know how to draw and have a developed taste that helps them make better decisions regarding forms, fonts, colors, and composition.
Composition
The principles of the arrangement of figures in space are essential for any design. The laws of composition turn disparate pieces of photographs, illustrations, and fonts into a seamless, beautiful picture.
Coloring
Of course, there are cases when you work on a monochrome design, but more often, you have to work with color. Selecting harmonious combinations to create a different mood is another essential design skill.
Typography
You can discuss the technicalities involved in fonts, especially inscriptions, which are very important to separate the good from the bad. A designer will choose harmonious fonts and work perfectly with the brand to deliver a positive feeling to viewers.
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Understand the Basics of Marketing
Most UX/UI designers understand branding and advertising, but it’s also essential to understand the goals and needs of consumers to create products that will be useful to them.
Using Important Tools
Some of the most important tools for a designer include Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Figma, and Zeplin. The chosen instrument will depend on the project. Learning these tools is not difficult, but it does take skill to work with them quickly and effectively.
Conclusion
Working in the profession as a UX/UI designer means combining creativity with analytics and research. It requires skills in different fields such as sales, marketing, advertising, business thinking, and more. Being a designer, you will have to work on a large variety of tasks. So if you like to constantly learn new things and apply your creativity to make the world a better place, this career path is for you.