UX stands for User Experience. A UX designer is a specialist who creates or develops a product so that it is as effective as possible, and solves the main problems and tasks of users. For example, he thinks over an application for ordering a product or service so that all elements are logical and understandable, and the client immediately understands how to use it.
The UI designer is the one who is responsible only for the visual execution of the concept of the UX designer, and the UX writer is responsible for the text design: the names of buttons and pages, descriptions of steps, tips and labels.
Together, they help to optimize the work on the product, save on rework and restart, and also reduce requests for technical support: often people turn there because they do not understand what and how to do, where to find the desired option or settings.
What does a UX designer do?
In his book Total Visibility and Information Architecture, Peter Morville outlines 7 core principles of good UX design:
- Useful.
- Significant.
- Functional.
- Well readable / understandable.
- Trustworthy.
- Accessible.
- Attractive.
In practice, the tasks of a UX designer look like this:
Analysis of the target audience: gender, age, geography, occupation and goals that they pursue using the product or service.
Analysis of user behavior: how they behave on the site or in the application, what elements they pay attention to, what actions they perform and in what sequence.
Collecting and analyzing customer reviews, feedback and calls to technical support.
Building and testing optimal scenarios based on the obtained analytics.
Testing products and solutions with different scenarios to choose the best one.
The main result of ui ux design services is a product that 100% meets the set goals and solves its problems with minimal costs and maximum benefit for the client.
What qualities, knowledge and skills do a UX / UI designer need?
Let’s start with personal qualities:
Ability to work in a team: set tasks for yourself and for other participants, discuss solutions and deadlines, delegate and control the result.
A combination of creative and analytical approaches: the ability to find non-standard solutions, but follow clear scenarios, analyze results and meet deadlines.
Social Skills: The ability to discuss, listen to colleagues, and solve problems collectively.
In the work of a UX designer, a technical base and knowledge are also important:
- Principles of User Centered Design – a design that is built around the user and their needs.
- Knowledge of the basics of developing interfaces for web services and mobile applications.
- Knowledge of the psychology of users, the peculiarities of the interaction of people with services.
- Ability to work with analytics tools.
- Good knowledge of English, including technical terms.
A UX designer uses many tools in his work. Here are the most basic ones:
- Data collection and analytics: Amplitude, Google Firebase, Customer Journey map, OWOX BI, Google Analitycs 360, BPMN charts, polls and interviews.
- Design concepts: InVision Studio, Adobe Photoshop, Figma, Sketch, Procreate, Adobe After Effects.
- UI design and prototyping:, Adobe XD, Principle, UXPin.
- Structuring: MindMeister, FlowMapp, XMind, Miro.
How to become a UX / UI designer from scratch by yourself
It is important for a future designer to develop key skills every day:
- Watching – by using new applications and services and observing how other people use them. This will teach you how to spot weaknesses that can be improved to make the product more user-friendly.
- Design thinking – you not only see problems, but also learn to solve them by generating new and new ideas. These can be home appliances or work processes that are not perfect.
- Presentation Skills – Learn to present each idea as expressly as possible, so that it attracts others.
A good way to get a basic understanding is to find an experienced mentor who will show you their workflow and provide additional motivation.
You can use and expand your current skills and knowledge if you are engaged in software and application development (for instance, in a fintech software development company), graphic or web design, business analytics, product analytics, product management. All this greatly simplifies the path to the UX-designer profession.
Of course, the perfect start is a paid (or unpaid) internship at one of the major agencies. But, as a rule, there is also a big competition for it, you need to pass a test and present at least some kind of portfolio.