Can you really become a UX/UI Designer in less than a year? Yes, you can! UX and UI stand for user experience and user interface design. This is one of many rapidly growing tech fields that offer exciting, creative, and lucrative jobs in today’s market. There are numerous video courses, tutorials, and books, as well as intensive bootcamps and certificate courses to help you learn UX/UI design within a year. Then, you will need to put together a portfolio and do some networking to find your first design job.
Start with Research
When you are considering something big like changing careers, it is wise to do some research before making the big step. There are many videos on YouTube of UX Designers talking about how they started their careers, including problems they encountered and things that went well. Watching some videos will give you some perspective on what it is like to work as a UX Designer. Some channels to check out are The Futur, High Resolution, and Awwwards. The more tutorials you watch, the more familiar you will become with how UX design works.
Books
There are many books available on the fundamental principles of UX and UI design, but here are a few that consistently appear on book lists:
- The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman
- Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, by Steve Krug
- Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation, by Tim Brown
- Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience, by Jeff Gothelf with Josh Seiden
- Thinking With Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and Students, by Ellen Lupton
Free Video Courses
There are many free video courses to get you started in UX design. Some of the platforms offer the option to take paid courses after the free ones, while some offer limited-time free trials. Some of the courses are offered by companies that produce design software tools.
- Coursera offers many free and paid courses on UX design.
- LinkedIn has a 30-day free trial which gives you access to all of their courses.
- The Gymnasium UX Fundamentals teaches UX Design basics
- Career Foundary offers a 90-minute self-paced class to help you see if UX design is right for you. There are six, 15-minute daily sessions.
- InVision’s Principles of UX Design is a nine-part class delivered via email.
Bootcamps
In a UX design bootcamp, you will learn all of the skills you will need to find a job in the user-centered design field. You will learn how to conduct user research, create scenarios and personas, and build journey maps. You’ll learn to create prototypes and test them, then present your findings to the class. You will create a case study documenting your process, and this will go into your portfolio to help you get your first design job. This bootcamp will teach you the basic foundations and practices in user experience design.
A visual design course covers the creation of user interfaces for websites. You will learn about composition, typography, color, and other visual design principles and parctices. You will use software like Adobe XD, Photoshop, and Illustrator to design for mobile and web apps, and your assignments will provide content for your design portfolio.
Certificate Courses
A bootcamp will teach you the principles of UX design and how to put them into practice, but a certificate course focuses on digital design tools, like XD, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Sketch, as well as the principles of UI design, like web graphics, color, context, and more.
The assignments in certificate programs are designed to create a portfolio that you can show to prospective employers and clients. You will also get 1:1 mentoring help with your job search as part of the certificate course, and this includes a critique and help with putting together your portfolio.
Another advantage to taking a UX/UI design bootcamp or certificate course is that the instructors are professionals currently employed in the design industry. They are working with the latest technology and know about current trends.
Join the Community
Once you have an idea of what working as a UX Designer is like, it is helpful to join the community and do some networking. Community connections are one of the best ways to find jobs in UX design. LinkedIn is a great place to make professional connections and ask questions of people who are working in the field. Look for Meetups in your area to meet other people interested in UX design. Another way to connect with UX professionals is through Instagram. Many designers post examples of their work on Instagram and many are happy to answer questions.
Learn Some Tools
Familiarizing yourself with some of the most popular design tools is another step you can take toward becoming a UX Designer. These tools can be used to design mobile apps and websites often without having to do any coding. Some of the most common are listed below.
Adobe XD
Adobe XD is a design tool based on vector graphics that allows you to create digital designs for everything from mobile apps to websites. XD is part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud and works well with other CC apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Animate. There are many repeating features that make your workflow move faster, and XD also includes collaboration features that make it easy to share and test prototypes. You can run XD on both macOS and Windows.
Sketch
Sketch is a Mac application that doesn’t work on Windows. You can use vector editing tools or design at the pixel level. It allows you to scale to any screen size and speed up your workflow with mathematical shortcuts. As with XD, there are repeatable components and you can organize your design so everything is easy to find. Sketch recently added real-time collaboration, so now it is easier for a team to work together, and you can also create libraries of the elements the team is using. There are also many plugins available to customize your workspace.
InVision
InVision works to support the design process from brainstorming and collaborating with Freehand, or prototyping with Cloud, or designing with Studio. You can create design libraries for the team. InVision works on the web, Android phones, and on iPhones.
Figma
Figma is another design application. It includes FigJam which provides an online whiteboard for collaboration to let your design team plan, define, and workshop together. You can use the pen tool for vector graphics or plugins like an instant arc design. Auto Layout moves and stretches items automatically, and Figma makes the work move along efficiently. Figma runs on a browser so it will work with macOS, Windows, or Linux systems.
Build a Strong Portfolio
A strong portfolio is your best ticket to a job as a UX Designer, but how do you put together a portfolio if you are new to the field? Many training courses are designed to provide you with a portfolio after you have completed all of the assignments. This hands-on collection of work will demonstrate what you know of the design process and show what you can do.
Find a Mentor
In addition to building a portfolio, another helpful tip is to find a mentor. This is a more experienced person who has worked in UX design for a while. Mentors can be very helpful when it comes to finding a job or tackling your first few UX jobs. Some training programs assign mentors to students as part of the instruction.
Conclusion
It’s easy to learn UX design and start a new career. Check out Noble Desktop’s UX design classes or visual design classes. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online UX/UI design courses and attend from anywhere. Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other UX/UI design bootcamps in your area.