My Introduction to UI/UX Design

My introduction to the term ‘UI/UX design’ was in 2019. I was studying computer science, but it is safe to say that I was learning very little. I decided to take matters into my hands and learn a programming language—Java. That didn’t work out because I was self-learning and didn’t have anyone to be accountable to, and for this kind of ‘adventure’, I really needed accountability. Then, one random day in December 2019, while I was looking for a place to carry out my IT program, I found somewhere I could learn UI/UX design. It was a pretty familiar term, but that was the first time I did some research on it.

Here are some of the things I found out from that little research:

1. ‘UI’ is short for User Interface, which can be described as the meeting point where users interact with digital products on computers. User interface design, then, is the design of the look and feel of a digital product. It is mostly involved in the visual elements of a product, from the colours to the typography, iconography, and others. The aesthetics, essentially. 

2. ‘UX’ means User Experience. As the name implies, this is simply how a user feels about interacting with a certain service or product. Therefore, UX design explores the elements that make up a user’s experience with such a service or product. This is not limited to online products, but it also includes physical products and their functionalities. Like the father of UX design, Dan Norman said, “User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products.” 

3. User Interface and User Experience are not the same thing. It can be easily confused as different terms that can be used interchangeably, but that is not so. However, they go hand-in-hand to give the user the best experience with the product.

4. The main focus of UI/UX design is the user. The goal of a good UI/UX designer is to give the user a pleasant experience when using a product. The product should meet the user’s needs, be easy to learn and understand, and at the same time, be easy on the eyes.

5. UI/UX design is one of the many roles in tech that does not necessarily require programming skills. However, it is quite beneficial if a UI/UX designer has some programming experience.  

When I understood that I didn’t need to know how to code, I was sold, because my programming skills were zero. Thankfully, people are now more aware of these non-technical roles in the tech space. 

Moving forward, I followed some useful design pages that were recommended by the tutor at my IT venue. I had the opportunity to take some courses and training.  From the classes I took, I concluded that I am more UI than UX. Here’s why:

1. Visual Design Focus: UI is more about the aesthetics, colours, fonts, and layouts, and I realized I have a stronger preference for that than the technical parts, which are more related to UX. 

2. Attention to Detail: In the design process, I understood that I tend to pay more attention to the details of design, which are the visual elements. I was more concerned with aesthetically pleasing designs that will make the users happy, rather than the general user experience. 

3. Technical Skills: I preferred to use design tools like Figma and Adobe Photoshop to implement the technical aspects of translating mockups into presentable user interfaces. So, I was more inclined to the implementation than strategy. 

4. Interface Interaction: I was more interested in crafting interactive elements such as buttons, animations, and transitions, which focuses on how users interact with the interface on a micro-level, rather than considering the user journey and its technicalities.

5. Personal Interest: Generally, I just realized that it came down to my personal interests. I was pretty artsy as a child, and that followed me as I grew up, so I understood that I feel more fulfilled when I create beautiful, user-friendly, visually pleasing interfaces, and I’m less drawn to the research aspects. 

Nevertheless, I understood the importance of the general UX design process, so I made sure not to neglect it. Below is the UX design process.

UX Design Process

The UX design process, also known as the design thinking framework, is divided into five stages. These stages are important to understand the perspective of the user and not design a product based on assumptions. The stages are Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test.

1. Empathize: This stage involves the discovery of what the end-users need. We’ve all been users of different products at different points in time, and as a UX designer, you want to put yourself in the user’s shoes, learn how to think like them, and know the challenges that they face while using a product.

2. Define: After getting the different possible perspectives of the users in the ‘empathy’ stage, this stage is the process of filtering the challenges by their level of importance and creating a specific problem statement. Some challenges users face are more urgent than others, so you should prioritize some over others.

3. Ideate: This stage requires brainstorming as many ideas as possible, as long as they’re potential solutions to the defined problems from the previous stage. The more ideas, the better. After that, the ideas are narrowed down to the most feasible ones that can then be prototyped. 

4. Prototype: This is the process where a scaled-down version of a product, called a prototype, is created. It shows important functions of the product and how the user should interact with it. 

5. Test: This is the final stage of the UX design, and it involves testing the prototype with users. This is a core part of the design process because it allows for improvement based on the users’ feedback.

My first opportunity to try my hands on a design was during my IT. It was supposed to be a webpage of an AirBnB, and this was when I was still trying my hands out on Figma. It was a very interesting design, for lack of a better word. The next one was a redesign of the Netflix app UI. That was when I knew I preferred mobile design to web. I also got to try a design of a donation app for children's clothes and toys, and this was during the Zuri training. 

Other personal projects I got to work on were during a 30-day design challenge I decided to try. We were given prompts and expected to deliver something before the end of each day, for 30 days. It was quite tasking, but I was able to submit my design each day till the end. My major challenge within the 30-day period was time, but I managed my time as much as I could. I also had people that could give me some feedback on my designs, and that helped me make corrections where necessary, within the short timeframe that I had. 

Gradually, I had a good number of designs that I could put out, and I did. There are different websites for portfolio curation, like Behance, Dribbble, Adobe Portfolio, and others, but I started with Dribbble while I worked on more in-depth designs for Behance.

When I got my current role to work as an intern as a Product Designer with Eminent, I was elated because I knew I needed some real work experience, because all I had worked on prior were personal projects. So far, it has been an interesting journey, and working with a team has a different feel to it. 

Similar Career Opportunities

If you’re not convinced about UI/UX design—you think it’s not for you—or you want to branch out to something similar, there are other specific career paths that someone in the tech field can venture into. Here are some of them:

1. Interaction Designer: An interaction designer focuses on designing engaging and intuitive interfaces and interactions between the users and the products.
2. UX Researcher:  A user researcher works to understand the users’ needs and behaviours through different feedback methodologies including task analysis and observation techniques.
3. UX Writer: A UX writer crafts clear and concise content that focuses on the users and guides them through digital interfaces. 
4. Visual Designer: The role of a visual designer includes creating aesthetically appealing and engaging digital experiences.
5. Motion Designer: A motion designer’s role revolves around creating visual effects animations, and transitions, that are engaging and user-friendly.
6. AR/VR Designer: An Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) designer is involved in creating immersive digital experiences that create a blend between the real world and virtual environments. 

If you’d like to become a professional UI/UX designer and build a career from it, apart from doing your personal research, you should consider taking a professional UI/UX design course that covers all the practical techniques and core principles you’d need to excel as a UI/UX designer—as you also work on personal projects to build a solid portfolio.