Breaking into a career as a UI Designer goes beyond education to include comprehensive understanding of industry tools and concepts. Entry-level UI Designers need to understand visual and interaction design principles, and must be adept at building wireframes and prototypes using industry programs such as Figma, Photoshop, and Illustrator.

Key Insights

  • A UI Designer's role entails designing user interfaces, building visual and interactive elements, and developing prototypes based on user research.
  • Visual design, interaction design, wireframing, and prototyping are vital hard skills for a UI Designer.
  • Soft skills like communication, empathy, and problem-solving are also essential for UI Designers.
  • Related careers such as Visual Designers, Interaction Designers, and Graphic Designers focus on specific aspects of UI design.
  • UI Designers play a significant role in influencing how we use digital technology in our daily lives across various industries.
  • Noble Desktop offers a UI Design Certificate course that prepares students for a career in UI Design, teaching essential design principles and how to use the most popular UI design tools.

Education is not enough to become a UI Designer, even with a bachelor’s degree or training in a UI design bootcamp. In fact, it’s possible to become a UI Designer with an education. Hiring managers are looking for employees who comprehensively understand industry tools and concepts. Entry-level UI Designers need to understand the principles of visual and interaction design as well as how to build wireframes and prototypes. They need to know how to use industry programs such as Figma, Photoshop, and Illustrator.

Though entry-level positions in UI design require 0-2 years of experience, job seekers may not be able to enter the career field immediately. They can gain work experience through internships or volunteer opportunities. Some aspiring UI Designers may need to take a position in a related field, such as graphic or web design, before breaking into UI design. 

What is a UI Designer?

A UI Designer designs user interfaces, usually for digital applications such as the web, mobile, or video games. They build visual and interactive elements such as buttons, menus, and widgets. They also develop prototypes and refine their designs based on information gained from user research. Primary job duties of UI Designers include:

UI Designers craft designs for various industries, such as financial and banking, healthcare apps, retail apps, education, automotive, and gaming. A UI Designer’s primary goal is to design applications so that users intuitively understand how to use them and perform the actions or find the information they need without learning how to use the application first. UI Designers play a significant role in influencing how we use digital technology in our daily lives. 

Read more about what a UI Designer does. 

Hard Skills

Hiring managers look for candidates with demonstrated visual and interaction design, wireframing, and prototyping skills. 

Visual Design

Visual design is the study of how text, graphic elements, space, layout, and color affect the aesthetic appeal. UI Designers must know the principles of creating a visually appealing interface. Good visual design can make a user feel good about a product. Lines, shapes, and other visual elements can also act as signposts that guide the user and work in tandem with interaction design.

Interaction Design

Interaction design is the study of how text, graphical elements, space, time, and user behavior shape how a user interacts with a product. Text and graphic elements should communicate information to the user without being overwhelming. The physical space or shape of the product affects how the user's hands interact with it. A UI Designer needs to understand how every aspect of their design can positively or negatively impact a user’s experience with a product.

Wireframing

A wireframe works as a rough draft of a product's skeletal framework. Wireframes provide a visual understanding of a product prior to the process of creating the product. It’s easier and more cost-effective to make changes to a wireframe than when a product is under development. A UI Designer needs to understand the purpose of wireframes and how to build them using industry tools.

Prototyping 

Prototyping involves building a complete product design that can be tested before finalizing production. Prototypes are essential for identifying errors in a design and refining the user experience. A UI Designer must understand the purpose of prototypes and how to build them using industry tools. A UI Designer may build multiple prototypes in different formats during a product’s lifecycle.

Soft Skills

In addition to hard skills, UI Designers need to possess soft skills in areas such as communication, empathy, and problem-solving.

Communication

UI Designers will interact with a variety of people, and they must possess the skills to do so. Communication skills are important for interacting with users and conducting user testing. UI Designers also need to possess communication skills for interacting within a team, managing project duties between team members, and communicating any issues or roadblocks that occur. Communication skills are also needed to present design ideas to stakeholders, listen to feedback, take constructive criticism, and defend design decisions. 

Empathy

There’s often a gap between how users are assumed to use a product and how they actually use it. Empathy allows UI Designers to put themselves in the shoes of the user and better understand their needs beyond casual assumptions. Empathy allows UI Designers to build better initial interfaces, guide users during testing, and make informed design iterations. Empathy can also make UI Designers better coworkers with the ability to understand and navigate conflicts and struggles.

Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is an essential UI design skill. In fact, many believe that design in and of itself is problem-solving. Design in any field usually forms from a need. Designers must understand that need and then build a product that meets it. Designers must also constantly iterate on their designs, identify problems and errors, and develop solutions. A UI Designer, in essence, must be a problem solver.

What Other Jobs Require These Skills?

There are numerous careers that are similar to UI design. Usually, these fields focus on one aspect of UI design, such as visual design, graphic design, and user interaction. These related job positions may serve as jumping-off points for individuals interested in becoming UI Designers but who haven’t yet acquired the necessary experience or education. 

Other related UI design careers possess crossover skills but aren’t explicitly related to UI design. For instance, a UX Designer focuses on a user's experience when interacting with a system. They focus on user research and testing and give iteration suggestions to UI Designers. However, they don’t work on UI design themselves.

A Product Designer manages the creation of a product from conception to launch. A UI Designer follows a similar life cycle of a product, including conceptualization, design, prototyping, and user testing. They are also likely to work within a team led by a Product Designer. However, they don’t see the whole of a product’s lifecycle.

A Web Designerperforms job duties similar to a UI Designer. They design and create all front end aspects of a website, from visual design to graphics and navigation. However, they don’t often focus on user interaction or research.

Read more about other career paths related to UI Designer careers.

Learn the Skills to Become a UI Designer at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers several UI design classes for those seeking professional instruction in pursuing a career as a UI Designer. Classes are small and feature expert instructors and free retake options. Courses can be attended in person in NYC or online from anywhere. 

The UI Design Certificate is designed to prepare students to launch a career in UI design. You’ll learn essential design principles as well as how to use the most popular UI design tools: Figma, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Throughout the course, you’ll complete a number of hands-on projects and build a portfolio to showcase your skills to potential employers.

Should you be interested in UX design as well as UI design (the two fields commonly overlap), you can pursue the UX & UI Design Certificate. You’ll learn the design principles and industry tools of both UX & UI design, build a professional portfolio, and receive one-on-one job preparation assistance. 

Bootcamps are also available where you can learn the ins and outs of the most popular UI design tools, including Figma, Photoshop, and Illustrator. These courses are open to pure beginners and are designed to guide you to mastery of the program. 

If you’re not ready to jump into a full UI design course, you can explore Noble Desktop’s learning hubs. These hubs are designed to inform you about a topic and offer learning resources, including free tutorials and self-guided education. UI design learn hubs include:

Key Takeaways