Design attracts many as an attractive and in-demand profession in the modern digital world. Young people think that being a designer is all about creativity and genius, and in many cases, it really is. However, web design is also all about technicalities and coding, mobile app design agency and these components cannot be removed from the professional equation.
So is web design, and UX design in particular, a privilege only for people with a web design degree? Can enthusiasts without formal education but with a lot of enthusiasm enter the profession and succeed in it? Sure, they can, if they study hard and choose high-quality instruction. There are a few key elements to becoming a great UX designer. Here, we’re giving away some shortcuts to self-directed UX design education.
Clarify what UX design is
No matter how inspired you are by UX design, you’ll still need to take a deeper look at what this professional sphere stands for. It is essential to be realistic and focus on the details when it comes to your potential new profession, as investing time and effort in self-education on the subject you don’t like is foolish. So, you can learn more about UX design fundamentals to further your self-education journey.
Questions you will probably need to answer yourself include:
- Do I like scrupulous research and study procedures?
- How well do I understand how people act?
- Can I develop user characters based on project specifications?
- What else do I need to learn about information infrastructure?
UX design is primarily about style, the sense of visual aesthetics, and common sense ideas about usability. Still, it’s also about wireframing and prototyping, a bit of coding, etc. So, you will need to study all these aspects step by step to proceed with UX design practices.
Learn from the gurus
Every time you learn something on your own, you are faced with the challenge of too wide a choice. The internet has made our access to valuable learning materials limitless, and students often end up studying forever or wasting time on mediocre content. Therefore, we recommend researching the area of UX design first to pick a couple of tried and true specialists that you admire. This will give you a study guide and protect you from tons of irrelevant manuals and masterclasses.
To date, the world-famous UX designers worthy of beginners’ attention are:
- Steve Krug is the author of the book. Don’t make me think! and a person with a unique approach to design.
- Don Norman is a board member of the Interaction Design Foundation and a very talented designer who actually coined the “UX” team.
- Bill Buxton: Principal Investigator at Microsoft Research and Hollywood Innovation Consultant.
- Irene Au: Contributor of the best designs in Google, Udacity and Yahoo.
These and many other interesting people can inspire you with their design approaches, solutions, and projects. Follow your favorite UX design teachers on social media, visit their master classes, and you’ll get a real insight into UX routines.
Embrace Design Thinking
Design thinking must become an integral part of your life if you want to capture the essence of UX design. UX is primarily about the usability of a product; it helps the company to make its product simple, intuitive and enjoyable for users. Therefore, your task is to put yourself in the user’s shoes and see what sequences of actions should lead him to the desired goal quickly and easily.
Design is in everything that surrounds you. Just walk around and you will see tons of (un)successful decisions in cafes, parks, residential areas, supermarkets, children’s entertainment venues, etc. Keep those issues in mind and think about how you could improve the design for better usability. Those considerations can serve as exciting training sessions available to you without any kind of formal design.
Embrace the World Wide Web
In the age of YouTube and Udacity, everyone can learn the skills they need for a profession. Obviously, you won’t become a doctor or an engineer without a higher education, but mastering innovative digital professions is a more achievable goal. So, it’s time to Google the terms you’re interested in and get a couple of lectures and workshops to master UX.
There are months of valuable video content on YouTube that can get you one step closer to your dream job. Start with general queries like “UX design”, “structures”, “UX research”, etc. Take notes when you view the lectures, and then narrow your search to more specific topics. You will surely become more proficient on the subject in a couple of weeks.
Talk to the designers
Learning UX design is not just a matter of theory. You need to be alert to the latest changes in the industry and keep in touch with real people employed in that area. UX/UI meetups and conferences are also an excellent networking opportunity. You will find valuable connections and interesting people there, which will boost your career and attract more people for discussions and advice.
Choose a True Masters course
After you’ve mastered a few key UX terms and concepts, it’s time for the actual studies. Make sure you choose a high-quality course with lots of practice and personal feedback from a tutor to progress your studies. In this way, you will take your knowledge of UX one step further, mastering the theory and practice of a UX designer job. Furthermore, you are expected to link all web development processes in a clear and consistent sequence and understand your role in it.
get an internship
Once you have learned enough through free Internet courses, books, and materials, you can proceed to practice. This can best be done without risk to you and the employer if you get an internship position with a large company. The bad news is that you won’t get paid. The good news is that you will receive a unique opportunity to see UX designers working in real-life professional environments, contributing in some way to their processes. This can become a great adventure for everyone who lacks professional experience on a clean resume. So, set aside some time in your life for such an internship to gain valuable experience and progress in your UX career.
Never stop at what has been achieved
Now that you have gained a lot of theoretical knowledge and mastered some of the practice, you are definitely fit for a UX designer job. Be realistic about lack of experience and hone your technical skills to reach greater heights in this vocation. And never stop in your development as a specialist, thinking that you now know enough. In web design, things change every day and no amount of knowledge or experience is enough. So get ready for a lifetime journey towards UX design perfection. Good luck!
Categories: Technology
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
