With more and more people getting access to the internet over the past few years, digital products such as apps and websites have grown really popular. Mobile app and website developers are nowadays in huge demand. Most people, however, believe that you need to learn programming languages to become a developer. On the other hand, there is a huge demand for UI and UX designers that are an imperative part of digital product development and have nothing to do with programming languages. So, today we’ll talk about UI and UX design and how you can become a UI and UX designer. Stay with us!

What is UI and UX design?

In digital products, like websites and apps, User Interface also known as UI refers to the visual and interactive features such as screens, and buttons with which a person interacts when using the digital product.

UX or User Experience, on the other hand, is the process of planning, creating, and assessing all aspects of the product to enhance the user experience. The primary concern of this process is to develop a digital product that provides a solution to a specific problem faced by users. This is also done to ensure that the proposed solution is simple and enjoyable to use.

How to become a UI and UX designer?

Well, there are dozens of guidelines available on the internet that teach you how you can become a UI or UX designer. While some of them are actually helpful, the reality is most of them are just theoretical and not practical. The guide we are about to provide you, however, is a practical one. We bet you will become an expert UI and UX designer in a short period of time if you follow this guide. The guide consists of four steps. Let’s talk about them one by one.  

Step One: Skill Yourself

A skill is the most important aspect of starting any career. It gets you on the same page as the professionals in that field. To become a UI or UX designer you do not need a college degree. You don’t even need a computer background to become a UI or UX designer. 

To become a User Interface designer you’ll need to learn the following skills:

• Prototyping and Wireframing

• Color theory, branding, and typography

• Design interaction principles and Style Guides

• Industry tools, such as Sketch

• User research

To become a User Experience designer, you’ll need to master the following skills:

• User research and strategy

• Responsive web design

• Wireframing and prototyping

• User Psychology

These are a few skills you’ll need to master to become a UI or UX designer. The first question in your mind, however, would be where can I learn all these skills? Well, there are hundreds of online and offline resources available where you can learn all these skills. Over 140 universities around the world offer UX and UI-related bachelor’s and master’s degrees. You can also enroll yourself in an online design BootCamp on websites such as Udemy or you can search for a free design BootCamp on Youtube. Once you choose one of these courses, you can learn all of these skills at your own pace. Spend as much time as you need to master these skills, and after you have mastered them, move on to the next step.

Step Two: Build a Portfolio 

You’ll typically complete one project during a Bootcamp. To get experience and build a portfolio with different types of designs and tools, you’ll need to continue making designs after the Bootcamp. A portfolio is simply a collection of designs that you design yourself while learning the skill. You can call it the sample of your work, the proof that you have a thorough command of UI or UX design. You can redesign the Facebook user interface, for example. You’ll need to complete two or three big projects that you can add to your portfolio. Once you have built a robust portfolio you can move to the next step.

Step Three: Share Your Portfolio

After you have built a portfolio of two to three high-quality projects you’ll need to publicize these projects and share them with the community. This will help you to learn more from a group of people that has more knowledge than you in that field. Behance is a great platform and a great community for UI and UX designers. This platform allows you to publicize your portfolio and interact with thousands of designers around the world. 

Step Four: Apply for Internships and Jobs

Once you have a portfolio of multiple projects you can now be ready to apply for the UI or UX designer job. It could be a bit difficult to find a job, so what you can do is look for internships and freelance projects where you can get hands-on experience in UX design. You can also take part in community discussions and public projects on platforms like Behance. This will help you to connect with more designers and then eventually one of them can help you get a job in their company.

Conclusion:

In this article, we discussed UI and UX designing, where and how you can learn them, and how you can become a UI or UX designer. We tried to explain the process in four simple steps. We tried to make things as simple as possible. In the end, we’ll recommend you enroll yourself in a UI or UX Boot Camp at any of the online platforms you want. These Boot Camps are taught by expert UI and UX designers that can help you learn easily and more efficiently.