The difference between product design and UX design can be difficult to see because there is a lot of overlap between the two job descriptions. It often comes down to a company’s attitude toward design and its level of UX maturity.
What is UX Design
User experience or UX design focuses on the user. It is also known as user-centered design. UX design focuses on what users need, what they value, and what their abilities and limitations are. UX is made up of many interconnected disciplines like psychology, visual design, programming, interactive design, and accessibility and accommodation. UX design is based on research and a design process that repeats as needed to create the best product possible.
The UX Design Process
The process of designing a product or service has five basic stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. This process is used by designers of all types, from UX and UI Designers working on websites and apps to people designing consumer products. The design process is part of a broader approach called design thinking. This refers to expanding the principles of design to apply to all kinds of human experiences.
UX Designer Job Description
The job description of a UX Designer often looks like this:
- Advocate for the user throughout the design process
- Conduct interviews and usability tests
- Create user flows, wireframes, prototypes, document results, and conduct presentations
- Analyze data
- Keep the team in line with the project design language
- Stay current in the field
Skills UX Designers Need
- Knowledge of the UX design process
- Working knowledge of design tools like Sketch, Adobe XD, or Figma
- The ability to conduct user research and competitor analysis
- Experience with interpreting data and test results
- Working knowledge of personas, scenarios, and storyboards
- Setting information architecture and sitemaps
- The ability to create prototypes and wireframes
- Familiarity with interaction design principles
- Understanding of the relationship between business goals and design principles.
What is Product Design?
The primary focus in product design is on the product rather than the users. Product Designers consider the business aspects of the project such as cost, process, and brand identity. The position requires a combination of design and business skills.
The Product Design Process
Product Designers are concerned with the appearance, functionality, and quality of the product they are assigned to work on. They strive to create successful products that meet the needs of customers and that sell well.
Product Designer Job Description
The job description for a Product Designer may look like this:
- Take ideas and concepts and turn them into useful products
- Design products that are easy to use and elegant
- Contribute to the process as part of a team
- Give and receive quality feedback
- Oversee the design process and work with engineers, researchers, and marketers
Skills Product Designers Need
The skills a Product Designer needs are similar to those of a UX Designer, but Product Designers also need a background in business as well as some experience in project management. A Product Designer often starts out as a UX Designer and then moves into a position of more responsibility.
What is UX Maturity?
Product design and UX design can work together to create products that users enjoy and that are commercially successful. It takes a company culture that recognizes the importance of centering the user in the design process while balancing costs appropriately. When a company recognizes the importance of designing products with the experience of the user as the central focus, that company is considered to be a UX mature organization. This can look very different across different businesses and the Nielsen Norman Group has developed a scale of assessing UX maturity according to six different stages.
Stage One—Absent
In this first stage, there is no focus on UX at all. There is no user testing and the user experience is not considered important at all. The company culture may range from indifferent to hostile.
Stage Two—Limited
At this stage, there is a little bit of UX work being tried, but what there is not widespread or supported. A few employees are just starting to talk about the benefits of user experience research, but they feel that no one is listening.
Stage Three—Emergent
In the Emergent stage, UX work is there but it is inconsistent and inefficient. There might be resistance from management over the cost of conducting research or concern about slowing product development.
Stage Four—Structured
At this stage, UX methods are accepted and widespread but with different levels of effectiveness and efficiency. There are still some holdouts who don’t recognize the importance of UX research and design. Education is important at this stage to ensure that support for UX grows and strengthens. Forming a working group with members from across the organization can help.
Stage Five—Integrated
At the Integrated stage, effective UX work is carried on throughout the organization, and the management level recognizes the worth of focusing product development on users.
Stage Six—User-driven
At stage six, the user experience is central to the company. It is evident in the mission statement, staffing, and budget. A company at this level is fully UX mature.
Where to Learn UX Design
Most people start out in UX design and move into a product design position. If you would like to learn more about UX design to switch to a new career, one of the best ways to do that is to sign up for classes. You can choose classes that meet in-person or online to learn design software and other applications. Some people prefer to attend brick-and-mortar sessions when learning new information, but that isn’t always available. Live online classes have a similar set-up with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and take control of your monitor—with permission—to show you how to do things. Training is part or full-time and available weekdays, weeknights, or weekends.
The best way to prepare for a career shift to a field like UX design is to enroll in a bootcamp or certificate program. These are intensive training courses that run from a few weeks to a few months and another plus of training is that you will leave class with a professional-quality portfolio that you can show to prospective employers.
Conclusion
It’s easy to learn UX design and start a new career. Check out Noble Desktop’s UX design classes. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online UX design coursesand attend from anywhere. Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other UX design bootcamps in your area.