UX/UI design is constantly evolving in relation to technological advancements, new industry standards, and developments in UX/UI best practices. It’s more important than ever before for UX/UI designers to stay up-to-date on industry trends and partake in continuous learning in order to remain competitive. This article breaks down the expanding responsibilities of UX/UI designers, as well as the evolving UX/UI designer skills required to be successful in the industry.
What is UX/UI Design?
User experience (UX) design and user interface (UI) design are two distinct but related areas of digital design. Their core work is creating websites or other digital applications that are user friendly and aesthetically pleasing.
UX design
User experience design centers designing digital products that are easy and enjoyable for individuals to access and navigate. In order to successfully design for user experience, UX designers must be knowledgeable of the needs, expectations, and behaviors of their users.
UI design
User interface design is specific to the aesthetics of the digital product. In other words, UI designers decide everything from the layout, color scheme, fonts, and other icons to improve the user experience. The design must also be coherent with the organization's image and identity.
What Responsibilities do UX/UI Designers Have?
UX and UI designers create visually appealing user centric digital products that communicate an organization’s image and function. Their responsibilities vary as they each focus on distinct parts of the design process, but ultimately their work frequently overlaps. Here’s a brief breakdown of UX designer and UI designer’s key responsibilities:
UX designer’s responsibilities:
User research: UX designers must understand their target users, their needs, expectations, behaviors, and specific challenges. User research involves surveys, interviews, user personas, and usability testing.
Information architecture: structuring and organizing content and features in a user friendly, logical, and intuitive manner is crucial in creating a positive user experience.
Wireframing and prototyping: UX designers must create wireframes and interactive prototypes to fully imagine the structure and layout of the digital product. These prototypes are later used to test for usability before the full design is complete.
Usability testing: of the design is crucial in identifying usability issues, gaining feedback, and transforming the digital product accordingly. This can happen through user journey mapping, heatmaps, or behavioral analysis, in order to pinpoint potential challenges for users and other areas for improvement.
UI designer’s responsibilities:
Visual design: creates the visual aspects of the product including layout, color patterns, fonts, and other imagery that ultimately creates a cohesive and visually pleasing interface.
Style guides and design systems: refers to the development of guidelines and systems that establish consistency across the product.
Responsive design: ensures that the user interface is easily adapted across varying screen sizes and devices.
Prototyping: showcases the visual design and interactive elements of the product such that collaborating teams and clients can preview the digital design.
In many projects, the work of UX and UI designers can overlap or be divided based upon the size of the team, the complexity of the product, and the organization’s design process. Their collective goal is to create a digital product that offers extraordinary user experience while furthering the overall organizational objectives.
How have UX/UI designer’s responsibilities evolved?
The field of technology is always adapting and transforming with the introduction of new tools, design philosophies, and other industry trends. But just how have these greater advancements transformed UX/UI designer’s work? There are a number of ways:
AI and machine learning integration: If designers can learn to integrate AI and machine learning into their work, they will be able to obtain actionable insights, streamline data processes, and improve user experiences.
Globalization: in a time of increasing globalization of markets, designers must consider the cultural implications and nuances when designing for diverse user populations.
Accessibility: UX/UI designers must create products that can be easily utilized by individuals with disabilities. This means designing with inclusive practices in mind and in hand with accessibility standards.
Ethical design: the ethics question in UX/UI design is one that’s always developing as technology advances and transforms. Designers must consider issues like privacy, data security, and the potential impacts of their designs on user well-being.
These are just a few of the many ways in which the role of a UX/UI designer has evolved in recent years. These transformations mean that UX/UI designers must possess a wide range of soft and hard skills in order to continuously learn, adapt, and stay ahead of the curve on industry trends and developments. This brings us to our next question: what skills are needed to be a successful UX/UI designer?
What skills are needed to be a successful UX/UI Designer?
Successful UX/UI designers must possess a variety of technical skills, creative ambitions, and a complete understanding of UX/UI design principles. Let’s break down the skills needed in order to thrive as a UX/UI designer in today's ever evolving tech climate.
What skills does a UX designer need?
There are many skills that a UX designer should have, including:
Front-end development basics: UX designers must be confident with HTML, CSS, and basic JavaScript in order to better straddle the gap between design and development.
Prototyping tools: UX designers should be familiar with prototyping tools like Balsamiq, Axure RP, Adobe AX, and Sketch, among others. These tools allow UX designers to quickly sketch out concepts, create complex animations, and test design products.
Collaboration: is crucial to the design process. UX designers must work effectively with cross-functional teams, including developers, marketers, and other stakeholders.
Problem solving: is necessary to the UX design process. A UX designer must feel prepared to take on complex design challenges, receive feedback, and adapt based on that information.
User-centric mindset: is a necessity for UX designers given that the user’s needs and objectives are at the core of all design decisions.
What skills does a UI designer need?
Key skills for a UI designer include:
Visual design: this is at the core of the work of UI designers. They must be confident in their ability to create cohesive, creative, and visually appealing designs. This requires strong analytical skills in order to determine how their design reflects both user needs and organizational identity.
Prototyping tools: mastery of specific prototyping tools is necessary for UI designers. These tools may include Adobe XD, Sketch, Figma, and InVision Studio, among others. Mastering these tools is crucial in creating prototypes that will later be improved upon and transformed into final design products.
Stakeholder management: this is a crucial aspect of a UI designer’s work and requires strong interpersonal skills in order to clearly communicate design decisions and rationale to non-design stakeholders.
Creativity: without question, this is one of the most important parts of a UI designer’s work. A creative mindset leads to innovation design solutions that simultaneously address user needs and organizational goals.
Adaptability: this is imperative to UI designers, given the need to adapt to changing product requirements, design trends, and technological advancements.
In all, these are just a few simple skills that a UX/UI designer should have. UX/UI design is a dynamic field which requires regular upskilling and reskilling in order to continuously develop skill sets and stay up-to-date with the demands of the evolving tech industry.
How to improve UX/UI design skills?
Improving your UI/UX design skills and staying up-to-date on industry trends and developments is crucial for designers who wish to stay competitive in their quickly evolving field of work. In order to advance skill sets, designers must commit to continuous learning, embrace feedback, and tackle challenges head on. Here are a few ways UX/UI designers can continue to hone their skills:
Read: UX/UI designers should take advantage of the many books and online resources that cover UX/UI design principles, methodologies, and best practices. Subscribing to the Ironhack blog is a great way to start!
Participate in an online course or tutorial: today there are endless options for folks interested in learning UX/UI design or simply improving upon their UX/UI design expertise. Lucky for you, Ironhack offers online courses in UX/UI design.
Join a design community: design communities help folks hone their skills, build their professional network, and find inspiration for new work. UX/UI designers can join online communities and forums like Graphic Design Forum, Behance, Dribble, or Slack’s Designer Hangout.
Take on a personal project: we know that our daily work can often become repetitive and narrow in scope. That said, taking on a personal design project allows designers to address different design challenges and experiment with alternative styles and design techniques.
Attend workshops and conferences: in order to learn from industry experts, stay up-to-date on design trends, and expand your network of UX/UI designers.
Improving UX/UI design skills is a continual process. It requires dedication, an openness to feedback, and a willingness to take on new challenges without hesitation. Setting aside time for continuous learning, reskilling, and upskilling is an investment in yourself and your capabilities as a UX/UI designer.
If you’re interested in improving your skills as a UX/UI designer, then look no further. Ironhack offers part time and full time bootcamps in UX/UI design. Our program will walk you through the basics of building your own interfaces and understanding design thinking. You’ll finish the course prepared to confidently enter the field of UX/UI design. Check out our course offerings today.
