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7 Min Read
Published
March 03, 2022
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Francesco Romeo
Behind every successful product is a designer who created the look and feel of the product. The User eXperience (UX) and User Interface (UI) of a product are incredibly important, few people want to use a product that’s unattractive or difficult to navigate. Because of this, UX and UI designers have become hot commodities, with more and more businesses offering competitive salaries to find a dedicated designer for their software or web app.
In this guide, we are going to cover how to become a UI or UX designer. We’ll give you all the information you need to decide on the path you’ll take to become a one. We’ll also share some helpful resources about expected salaries, the responsibilities of a UX/UI designer, and more.
UX design is the process of designing how users will experience a product. They employ programming, visual design, usability testing, and psychology to craft a product that’s easy to use and navigate. UX designers accomplish this by thinking about the potential challenges customers may face with a product. They will also make changes to a design or feature based on their research to ensure customers can easily understand how to use a product.
UI designers, on the other hand, are responsible for creating the overall graphic design of a product. They will choose the colours used for a site, and make sure the font is readable for as many people as possible. They will also consider accessibility features for a product, and the overall style each element will use.
UX and UI designers often work hand in hand to create the entire user interface for a product. In smaller teams, these two roles can be taken on by the same person as a UX/UI designer.
UX/UI designers are responsible for turning an idea into a web design which meets a certain set of specifications. After they complete a design, it will be passed onto the development team, who will turn the design into a functioning application.
UX/UI designers will ensure that a site is easy to use and navigate through. They’ll also work with other members of an organisation to come up with designs which meet the specifications associated with a product. For example, a UX designer may work with the customer success department to find out what problems have been commonly reported among customers, which will help inform new designs.
The Bureau of Labour Statistics does not track the job outlook for UX/UI designers. That said, they predict that the number of jobs in web development — including web design — will increase by 13 percent over the next decade. This is “much faster than average,” according to the Bureau.
UX/UI designers earn high salaries. The average salary for a UX/UI designer, according to Reed.co.uk, is almost £54,000 per year. Some jobs — those which require more experience — offer salaries of up to £65,000.
There’s no way to determine exactly what salary you can expect because many factors influence the salaries offered by a company. One of the main factors that influence salary is location.
The amount you earn will also depend on the type of designer you want to be. Further, your salary will depend on your experience — the more experience you have, the higher your salary will be.
Some UX/UI designers choose to work as a freelancer, rather than working in an office. These engagements can pay hundreds of dollars per hour if you have a lot of experience, but most starters with only some experience can charge around £50 per hour of work.
Anyone can learn how to design, however, having certain qualities may mean that you will find greater success or find more joy in a design career. Here are a few qualities happy UX/UI designers see in themselves:
While you don’t need every one of these qualities to.
While there are different ways of becoming a UX or UI designer, here’s the most common route:
Let’s take a look at the first step: picking a career path.
There are different types of UX/UI designers. The most common two are UX designers and UI designers. As we have discussed, the UX designer will conduct research and identify problems customers face with a product and work with the UI designer, who will make an attractive and functional design for a product or service.
However, here are a few other types of designers:
UX Researcher: UX researchers are focused on understanding how customers use a product or service. The UX researcher may use surveys, interviews, and other methods to identify problems customers encounter with a product, and pass on their findings to UX or UI designers.
UX/UI Designer: UX/UI designers perform both user interface and user experience functions. They’ll assist in designing the UI that a user sees, and researching how the design should be structured by using UX design techniques.
Product Designer: Product designers work on all aspects of a product from designing components to creating site maps. These designers will assist UX/UI designers, and work with other teams such as engineering to turn designs into a functioning end product.
There are a few different ways to learn UX design and UI design. However, here are the three most common methods:
Each of these paths has its own positives and negatives. Pursuing a design degree, for example, may make new designers more attractive when searching for their first job, and is a very common path among UX/UI designers. Many UX designers will pursue a degree in psychology, which is also sought after in the industry.
Many other designers are self-taught via books or free online courses and have found great jobs based on the skills they learned in their spare time.
Another option that has gained a lot of popularity is going to a bootcamp. Instead of going to university for four years and spending tens of thousands of dollars a year on a degree, prospective designers can instead go to a coding bootcamp focused on UX/UI design to learn practical, job-ready skills to enter the workforce as soon as possible.
Coding bootcamps are short-term, intensive courses where students can learn the skills they need in a particular field, and build a portfolio with projects. In addition, most bootcamps have career services featuring mentors, career guidance, interview prep, and portfolio help.
In order to succeed in a design career, you’ll need to practice what you’ve learned while growing your skills and portfolio. The best way to do this is to find a junior position right out of school, where you can learn and grow as you gain work experience.
If you’re having trouble finding a junior position, here’s a list of a few ways to gain valuable work experience and grow your portfolio:
Let’s also take a look at the skills you should be focused on growing during this time.
The following skills are required in most design jobs to succeed as a UX/UI designer. These skills include design techniques, processes, and other technologies.
Wireframing and Prototyping: Wireframes and prototypes allow designers to communicate and test their ideas. UX/UI designers should be able to create low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes to showcase their ideas without creating a full design.
User Research: UX/UI designers should be able to conduct user research to find out what customers are looking for in a particular interface. This research may be conducted through surveys, heatmap research, and other techniques.
Branding: Every company has a unique brand. The UX/UI designer is in charge of developing a brand which represents the company, which will involve designing logos, colors, and more. The UX/UI designer should be able to create effective branding materials, which will later be passed on to the marketing department.
Explore UX /UI Design courses here.
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