LinkedIn has listed UX design as one of the key skills to learn in 2020. And in Google Trends, over the past 5 years, interest in the query “UX design” in Europe, the USA, Canada, and Australia has doubled and continues to grow. In this article, we will provide you with step-by-step instructions for becoming a UX designer.
What is UX design?
Before we dive into the principles of UX design, let’s first understand the meaning of the term. UX has already become one of the buzzwords in the corporate world. There are many definitions of UX design, but they all reflect only a few aspects of the discipline.
User Experience (User Experience) is a collection of sensations from user interaction with the interface of a system, product, or service. User experience is how a user perceives an interface, product, or service and responds to it. Both at the moment before use and during work with it.
Peter Morville, the author of Total Visibility and Information Architecture, outlines 7 principles of good ux design:
- Useful.
- Suitable for use.
- Detectable.
- Credible.
- Desired.
- Available.
- Valuable.
With the relevant experience and education, a UX designer may well develop into a specialist responsible for the publication, engaged in editorial activities, or specialize in the field of layout, or design. He can do web design or the same editorial activities. At the same time, the path of managerial development related to development as a leader may be open to the specialist.
The Right Way for Becoming a UX Designer
There is no generally accepted definition of what UX design is, and a direct translation from English User experience – “user experience”, you see, is abstract enough to understand. But in simple terms, the user experience is the sensations and emotions that a person experiences when interacting with something. From a simple push of the button to turn on an electric kettle to a complex launch of a nuclear reactor, requiring preliminary preparation.
Basic knowledge of graphics, basics of composition, color science, typography, art history, etc. is necessary for successful mastering of the profession of a UX designer. In addition to general art education, the designer, depending on the field of activity, it is necessary to obtain special knowledge of the technology of production of certain products, as well as to master specialized computer programs.
What is UI design and what is its purpose? If UX is about functionality, then UI is about the art of the visual component, attention to form, color, space in detail, and adherence to style. UX and UI complement each other but serve different purposes. Imagine if UX and UI designers are building a house. Then the first one cares how to place the walls and the second one – in what color to paint them. Although UX and UI perform different tasks, it often happens that one designer calls himself UX / UI. Why is that? UX is trendy, which is why some UI specialists add a UX prefix to themselves, increasing their value in the market.