When people think about the role of a UI/UX designer, there is often a misconception that it primarily involves learning and mastering a specific tool like Figma. However, the truth is that being a UI/UX designer entails much more. In this article, we will go into the responsibilities of a UI/UX designer and the essential prerequisites for becoming a skilled professional in this field. There are three major steps or processes that need to be understood or followed to become a good UI/UX designer, as follows:
Step 1: Understanding UI and UX
User experience (UX) design is the art of comprehending the emotions and reactions that users experience when interacting with a product. It goes beyond the outer layer of what we see on screens and aims to understand the feelings, emotions, understanding, and responses that users have towards a product. To illustrate this concept, let’s consider an image:
This image, I had asked a few students for their opinions on this image; their initial assessment was that it had a “bad design.” However, upon closer examination, they provided feedback on comfort, usability, and potential issues, such as challenges with holding the key or potential discomfort it might cause when carried in tight jeans. These reactions, including feeling “uncomfortable” or experiencing “difficulty”, are what we refer to as the user experience. User experience designers study these reactions and use them to improve their products. This principle applies to physical products, like mouse, telephones, or pens, and digital products, such as mobile apps, websites, and web applications.
When considering a product, there are four key aspects related to the user experience:
Usability: This refers to how users interact with and navigate a product. For example, when using an umbrella, we push the button for the umbrella to open, and while folding, we naturally fold the umbrella to get it back to its original position. Usability encompasses the degree of ease with which users can navigate and interact with a particular product.
Illustration credits: Sakshi
Equity: This aspect pertains to whether everyone can use the product, regardless of their circumstances. For instance, someone with sweaty hands might find it challenging to use certain pens because they could slip due to their sweaty palms. A UX designer would address this issue by proposing solutions, like incorporating rubber grips. Equity means designing a product that can be used by everyone. In the digital realm, equitability may involve features like language options, brightness adjustments, good contrast design, text-to-speech capabilities, and the use of larger texts. These are just a few examples of how equity can be implemented in digital design.
Illustration credits: Sakshi
Enjoyability: Enjoyability focuses on how a product brings delight to users. It encompasses visual appearance, aesthetics, and a product’s overall appeal. A product that looks visually pleasing and generates positive reactions can be considered enjoyable. Colors, different image views, reviews and feedback, etc. come under the category of enjoyability of a product.
Illustration credits: Sakshi
Usefulness: Usefulness refers to whether a product effectively solves the user’s problem or fulfills their needs. Using the example of an umbrella again, the user’s fundamental need is to be protected from the sun and rain, and if the umbrella successfully serves this purpose, it can be considered useful. Usefulness involves fulfilling the user’s requirements and addressing their pain points.
Illustration credits: Sakshi
It’s worth noting that there is often confusion between usability and usefulness. Usability relates to the navigation and interaction methods within a product, while usefulness focuses on whether the product effectively fulfills the user’s needs. For instance, in the case of a food delivery app, usability involves finding restaurants, placing an order, and checking out. On the other hand, usefulness refers to whether the app successfully fulfills the user’s need for food.
These four principles can be applied to various products, whether they are digital or physical. They provide a framework for understanding and evaluating the user experience.
But what exactly is a user interface (UI)?
User interface (UI) design involves creating the visual and interactive elements that users see and interact with. It is the final design layer and plays a pivotal role in the user experience. Contrary to popular belief, UI design is not just about learning a specific tool like Figma and creating visually appealing designs. It encompasses much more.
An effective UI design acts as a bridge between users and the system or computer. It includes the visual elements, interactions, and navigation users perceive and engage with. When users encounter elements in an interface, their brain triggers certain emotional responses. For instance, when they see a button, their brain prompts them to tap on it. This is what even Don Norman writes in his book about doors and their handles. UI designers meticulously craft these elements and interactions to enhance the user experience.
The UI designer takes control of two key aspects: visual elements and interactive elements. Visual elements encompass factors like color, contrast, alignment, and balance, while interactive elements include buttons, menus, forms, and other elements that enable user interaction. While it is partially true that graphic designers can transition into UI design because they possess knowledge of design elements, becoming a proficient UI designer also requires an understanding of the user experience. Therefore, graphic designers who aspire to become UI designers must also learn about human behavior and design principles.
To create effective UI designs, there are several principles that designers should consider:
Having a good eye for visuals: Visual communication plays a significant role in UI design. It involves using various mediums, such as text, visuals, and nonverbal elements, to convey powerful messages. For instance, visual advertisements utilize color, imagery, and text to communicate messages effectively. Analyzing visuals involves breaking them down into color tone, visuals used, background elements, and text. This breakdown helps designers understand the context and purpose of the visual design.
Here in this example, let us break down this image in the below aspects of
Colour tone: The tone is orange, denoting positivity and encouragement.
Visuals: The images denote that smoking will deteriorate a person’s lungs.
Set / Background: A world map with very little opacity on the background denotes this message is for everyone worldwide.
Text: The text colour is Red, denoting danger, and white, denoting perfection even here
We must start to analyze visual design by breaking it down with the above formula: Colour, Visual, text, and Set. This will allow us to understand the context of the visual design.
2. Understanding human behavior: A crucial aspect of UI design is understanding how humans interact with products. By recognizing and understanding the available emotional triggers, designers can create interfaces that align with user expectations and behaviors. These triggers include touch, swipe, click and drag, and multi-touch gestures. Even before entering the design field, understanding user behavior and intentions when using a product can be a game-changer. It is not only about the design’s visual appeal but also about ensuring its usability. Understanding human behavior is the key to creating user-friendly interfaces.
While learning UI/UX design without formal education is possible, pursuing formal learning is highly advisable. “Exploring the Significance of Diverse Perspectives in UI/UX Education with a course” talks about the same. The internet has numerous learning materials, courses, and blogs dedicated to UI/UX design. Suppose you are interested in starting a career in UI/UX design. In that case, it is recommended to begin by taking free online courses and exploring whether this field aligns with your interests and aspirations. Once you have identified UI/UX design as your potential career path, consider enrolling in a comprehensive UI/UX design program like the one offered by UIUXGlobal. This program provides a structured learning experience over a period of seven months, allowing you to kickstart your career in the design industry.
Step 2: Life of a UI UX designer
Embarking on a career as a UI UX designer is an exciting journey filled with opportunities for growth and creativity. As a newbie, starting by immersing oneself in FIGMA, a popular design tool, is common. However, there is much more to the life of a UI/UX designer than mastering a software application. Let’s explore the various aspects that make up the daily routine of a newbie designer:
Research: Research is a fundamental part of the UI/UX design process. It involves deeply understanding the project at hand and acquiring industry-level knowledge. Newbie designers are often assigned to conduct desk research, which includes analyzing user needs, performing competitor analysis, and gaining insights into the product they are working on. This research provides a solid foundation for the design decisions that follow.
Collaboration: Collaboration is a key element of UI/UX design. Newbie designers have the opportunity to work closely with senior team members and other designers. They present their findings and insights gathered from research and engage in discussions to refine ideas and concepts. This collaborative process helps shape the direction of the design and ensures that the final product meets the needs of the target audience.
Ideation: Newbie designers actively participate in ideation processes such as brainstorming and affinity diagramming. These activities involve the entire design team coming together to generate innovative ideas and solutions. As a newbie, you have the chance to contribute your own raw ideas and perspectives, which can bring a fresh and unique perspective to the table.
FIGMA: In today’s fast-paced startup culture, it is not uncommon for companies to prioritize the visual aspects of design, sometimes even skipping the research phase. In such cases, newbie designers may find themselves working on creating UI assets, designing backgrounds, or even developing a design system for an application. While this may seem like a departure from the traditional design process, it provides an opportunity for new designers to showcase their creativity and contribute to the visual appeal of the product.
The life of a UI/UX designer is filled with exciting challenges and opportunities for growth. One of the biggest challenges designers face, regardless of their experience level, is keeping up with the ever-evolving trends and changes in the industry. However, for newbies, the focus is on gathering as much information as possible and steadily climbing the ladder in the design industry.
Step 3: Prerequisites to Becoming a good UI/UX Designer
To become a good UI/UX designer, one must start to train their eyes and mind. Although tool skills are important, preparing the mind and improving our observation are the most important prerequisites for a good designer.
Preparation of our mind: Mastering the learn-to-unlearn skill The most important thing to become a good UI/UX designer is to prepare the mind because, although we are problem solvers, the main issue a designer would face is the knowledge they have. In their previous experiences, a designer would have gathered so much learning. However, one must be open to new ideas and not rely on their knowledge when working on a project. When designers work with a predefined mindset, it usually tampers with the design progress. Although the designer has vast experience in a particular domain, depending on primary and secondary research data is the most advisable. So, the aspect of learning to unlearn will help any designer solve design problems globally.
Improve your observation skills. The art of focusing and observing Designers must learn the art of focusing. This applies to all designers who must practice listening, focusing, and patiently observing things. However, UX designers must exhibit even greater patience when learning and observing user behavior by concentrating on their responses and characteristics. This enables us to decipher the user’s intentions effectively. Many attempt to gain insight from the internet, often leading to inaccurate and misleading information.
To illustrate, if we want to understand a typical user’s behavior while stuck in traffic, the most reliable method is to stand at a traffic signal and observe how individuals in cars and bikes behave while waiting. This firsthand experience provides deeper insights into their behavior than relying solely on internet data. In an era where people heavily depend on the internet for information, honing the art of focus remains crucial.
Also, another important skill to learn as a UI/UX designer is to observe nature, the colors in nature, and the gradients of how nature is mixed with colors that look pleasant and beautiful.We can pick up colors from there and use them in our designs.
In preparing for a career as a UI/UX designer, first it’s essential to perceive the difference between UI and UX, as it is the most important thing. Following this understanding, aspiring designers can evaluate whether a career in UX design aligns with their career aspirations. An integral part of this journey is learning to cultivate the art of focus and observation. This foundational preparation is vital for those looking to embark on a path toward becoming successful UI/UX designers.
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