Right now, the UX design job is just exploding with the huge demand for the UX designers. With a need for skilled UX practitioners, many are just turning to UX designs as the next career move. So many people are choosing UX design as their career option because the practice is versatile and necessary at the same time. UX design mainly applies to various industries, which will include digital product design as well.
Many people, new in this field of UX design, are so confused by the interchangeability of the design terms. It is mainly because one aspect of the design tends to inform others. Let’s take an example for better understanding. People usually don’t understand the difference between UX and UI fully or even the difference between UX and usability. Along with that, it is really important to know that something that is usable might not be useful for some projects. So, before you head right towards making a career in UX recruitment, you have to understand the terms quickly.
- UX design:
UX or the user experience is about designing complete product experience. It requires a proficient understanding of sociology, psychology and even design for identifying right user problems. This field is also in need of tactical skills like concept iteration, user research, usability testing, and prototyping. Some of the sub-disciplines under this section include visual design, interaction design, UI design, content strategy, and even the information architecture.
- UI design:
It is always the duty of the UI designers to create some of the tangible interfaces which the users can easily see and feel, at the same time. This field is here to intersect quite a lot with the UX designs as you should understand the larger experimental context for every form of interface detail. In some of the smaller firms, UI designers might even own entire process, right from defining user flows to again refining higher fidelity mockups. Again, in some of the larger companies, they are able to specialize more in strategizing layout of app or site.
So, in short, it can clearly be stated that UI helps in creating a medium through which users get the chance to interact for the experience. However, the lines between UX and UI designers are getting blurred gradually depending on the chosen company. You have to dive right deeper into the comprehensive approach to UI and UX designs for better knowledge gaining.
What about a degree in UX?
Now you must be wondering if you need a degree in UX for help. Well, the short answer is no. However, a formalized university education will not hurt for sure. But, it is unfortunate enough that you won’t find a thorough list of selected formal UX university programs. If you want, you can certainly break into the field with the related psychology degree. You can further get a degree in graphic design, human-computer interactions, visual designs, and interaction and UI designs as well. If you ever check some of the reliable online sources, you will come across the comprehensive list of interactive design degrees to try out from around the world, to be a pro in UX design.
If you cannot commit in funding or giving time for formal 4 years program or the master’s degree, you can easily substitute that with the certification through some of the well-known programs now. In terms of the informal level, you can even come across some of the courses, tutorials, e-books, and articles, which might help you out big time.
Some of the generalized UX design courses:
Even though it is already mentioned that gaining a certificate is not a mandatory step, but upgrading to some extra knowledge through course programs is a clever choice for you to make. So, you can just move forward and check out some of the much noted and awaited UX design courses for you.
- You can get the course from the General Assembly, where you will receive the complete program in the field of UX design. You might end up with varieties of workshops and classes and can further attend as part time or full-time student over here.
- There are some online sites offering courses with the excellent reputation. But, to be a part of that course, you have to subscribe to access them. The prices are quite minimal and need to be paid on a monthly basis.
- Other online educational courses will offer you with pre-course pricing, which makes it a great supplement to designer’s education. Some of the introductory courses from these sources are even free of cost.
- You can log online to be a part of design-focused lab programs, which will pair students as per their experience with the mentors. The courses can range right from four to six weeks and will cost a few hundred bucks.
- Other than the points mentioned already, you can procure course from Tuts+ web design, which comes with 16 lessons of two hours each and for a minimal fee. If you are lucky enough and with a little bit of extra research, you can procure free learning materials and courses for those, looking to start right from the basics.
- On behalf of a subscription and small fee structure, you can access all course from Learnable. Here, you have the right to pay for the courses on monthly basis or at a yearly count. Thanks to the premium membership of this online source, you get the chance to download all videos and e-books from the same source.
You need to have passion:
There are some top traits to look for in a UX designer. Unless you have those, you won’t be a successful one no matter how hard you try. One such trait has to be passion towards user experience design. If you think that UX design feels like a perfect career path but you don’t have serious interest in it, then this subject is not meant for you. On the other hand, if you live, breathe and even deconstruct experience where you go, then you are truly passionate about UX designing for sure.
