It’s time to break down another of those common areas of tech that you hear all the time. What exactly is UX/UI design? What does a UX/UI Designer do? First, it’s important to remember that these are separate roles that have some overlap; UI is part of UX, but doesn’t cover all responsibilities. However, they’re complementary and are both necessary to achieve success.
UX design handles the overall user experience with a brand, product, or service. On the other hand, UI design deals with interactions between users and computer systems, applications, and software.
We know they seem similar, so stick with us and we’ll create a clear picture for you!
Why UX/UI Design?
Good UX/UI design is crucial to the success of a company; if a website isn’t defined to meet the needs of specific buyer personas and create meaningful user experiences, the brand won’t be successful.
Benefits of being a UX/UI designer
You can be creative:
You can take advantage of your diverse background:
You’ll have a good salary:
You’ll get to challenge yourself:
Here are five of the most crucial points of UX/UI design:
Increasing website conversion
Saving money
Supporting SEO
Building your brand
Increasing user engagement
The importance of these roles in a company means that employers are looking for skilled UX/UI designers to help transform their digital strategies. These roles are highly-paid and have lots of potential for growth and learning.
What Do UX/UI Designers Do?
They’re separate roles, so let’s break it down one at a time:
UX Designers
Putting it simply, a UX Designer makes a product or service usable, enjoyable, and accessible and is responsible for the user’s satisfaction (or lack thereof) with a brand. They’re tasked with understanding both the user and the brand, conducting user research, analyzing what’s been learned, designing the site itself, and conducting user testing.
Hard skills: research, information architecture, wireframing, prototyping
Soft skills: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and empathy
UI Designers
UI Designers, to compare, create the more intuitive and user-friendly parts of a website or application, handling colors, typography, space, visual design, animation, responsive design, and more. But that’s not all: they also have to ensure that the different screens look good and work well together.
Hard skills: visual communication, design, usability testing, animation
Soft skills: active listening, diplomacy, advocacy, communication
Career Options in UX/UI Design
One of UX/UI design’s most attractive points is the wide range of job opportunities available - everyone needs a well-functioning website! Your options are diverse; here’s a sneak peak:
UX Designer: okay, you probably guessed this one! If you want to be responsible for creating the entire design process, you can begin as a Junior UX Designer and work your way up to managing a team of UX Designers.
UX/UI Designer: interested in the creative side of things? Great, consider incorporating UI design into your career plans. In this kind of role, you’ll focus more on the creative and visual aspects of web design, using your experience in design to create incredible user experiences.
Freelancer/Consultant: lots of companies are looking for advice on their current UX/UI design or can’t afford to bring on a full-time designer. Working as a freelancer or consultant can help you increase your flexibility while gaining experience in a wide range of fields.
Product Designer: instead of just handling the product or service page on the front and back ends, product designers also contribute to the overall project vision and design, creating long term goals. If you’re interested in the entire scheme of things and working with other teams, like marketing, this is the role for you.
UX Researcher: if you’re fascinated by the research behind UX/UI design and have a background in analytical fields, UX Researcher may be the perfect fit for you. In this role, you’ll be analyzing results and researching solutions, looking to solve any problems and dive even further into the field.
UX/UI Design with Ironhack
In just 9 or 24 weeks, Ironhack’s UX/UI design bootcamp is specifically designed to teach out all the basics of the field and prepare you for the workforce. The best part? No IT background is required - or even expected!
Online prework
This 40-hour online course will teach the basics of design thinking, interaction design and design software, walking you through setting up introductory tools and helping you create your first usability evaluation and site redesign! And, of course, we’ll introduce you to HTML and CSS.
Module 1
Understand user experience
Let’s get started! The first module will focus mainly on UX design, teaching you UX research methods, interaction design principles, and information architectures. And you’ll have a chance to deepen your understanding of user-centered design and meeting business goals with the help of practical exercises and your first project: your very own app design!
Module 2
Learn to design user interfaces
It’s time to focus on UI, becoming an expert on designing systems and making the right design decisions. This module centers on branding and design in UI design with the goal of fully understanding the end-to-end production cycle for digital products. You’ll get to try user testing to see what works and create your project for this module: a website design that will leave stakeholders thrilled!
Module 3
Design implementation
Put what you’ve learned into practice, designing handoff, HTML, CSS, portfolios and geek culture and create your first responsive, one-page website. And it’s not just those hard skills that you’ll be learning; you’ll have the chance to work on your CV and portfolio during this module as well. You’ll be paired with a local company to develop a digital product that will solve a specific problem; final projects will then be presented alongside your fellow Ironhackers where a winner will be chosen.
What to expect from Ironhack’s UX/UI Design bootcamp:
Adopt the industry’s leading frameworks and mindset…
Learn design thinking, agile organization, and lead management while developing innovative solutions for users and stakeholders.
…while understanding new tools and technologies…
Become familiar with state-of-the-art production tools and learn to use them to track business requirements, user input, and technical constraints.
…and implementing the end-to-end production cycle for digital product development.
Master fundamental technology to both meet user and project needs and share knowledge throughout the entire team.
Why Choose Ironhack?
Ironhack’s bootcamps are specifically designed to get you ready for a career in UX/UI design with intensive and practical training. And that’s not all: Ironhack also offers financing options, career services, and a robust alumni network.
Are you ready to change your life and enroll in Ironhack’s UX/UI design bootcamp today? Apply now.
