If you have an artistic eye, changing to a career in user interface (UI) design might be a good move if you have the right skills. Some hard skills designers need are knowledge of graphic design and HTML and CSS and soft skills are empathy and creativity. Some of these skills can be learned in classes, while others are gained through experience over time.
UI Designers create the overall experience of using a product. They focus primarily on the visual portion and how the user interacts with the product. UI Designers often have backgrounds in art or graphic design and part of their job is to create or uphold the language of the design.
Hard Skills Vs. Soft Skills
Hard skills are the abilities that UI Designers learn through classes and training programs to do their job. Soft skills are personal traits that UX Designers possess, many of which drew them to the field of design in the first place.
Hard Skills Useful for UI Design
Some hard skills that are important for designers might include the following:
Graphic Design
Graphic design is an important skill for UI Designers. It is visual communication through artwork, images, and text. Graphic design skills let UI Designers create the visual elements of a design, as well as the placement, style, and color palette.
Typography
The arrangement of characters on a page or screen is known as typography, and it has three basic functions in UI design. Typography creates a visual hierarchy, letting users know where to look first and what information is the most important. Good, clean typography builds trust in the product, and it also identifies and supports a brand. When it works well with other design elements, typography helps to create a harmonious and balanced appearance.
Color Theory
Colors are one of the first things people notice when they open a website or mobile application.
Colors can change our moods and emotions and even influence us to make a purchase. UI Designers need to understand the color wheel, the concepts of depth and harmony, and how to use different color palettes in design.
Information Architecture
Information architecture (IA) refers to the way information is structured and organized on a website or mobile app. When users come to a website, they want to find what they are looking for quickly and easily without a lot of looking around. Good IA helps them do that. If users have trouble finding information, they will become frustrated and leave, and they aren’t likely to come back, so a well-structured website can make a big difference.
Visual Design
UI Designers are responsible for the overall look of the product, its visual design. Principles of visual design include consistency, balance, contrast, color, and language in websites and mobile apps. The visual design of a product supports the user experience and the product brand.
HTML and CSS
HTML and CSS are the languages most commonly used to create web pages. HTML is used to create headings and text, to inset tags to perform functions, and to add photos and videos to websites. CSS is the visual design language that includes layout, colors, and fonts.
Responsive Design
Users want products that adapt easily to different screen sizes, so it is important for UI Designers to know how to work with responsive design. This means creating products that adapt automatically to different devices.
Animation
An important part of UI design is emotion and one way to reach users is through animation. Animated elements can be endearing, entertaining, and informing. The ability to add animation can make a big difference to a product.
Style Guides
The UI Designer is responsible for maintaining the design style guide, which is the reference that keeps the design consistent. Often the UI Designer is expected to create the guide with the colors, shapes, and layout that will be used in the product, although many companies have a basic style guide for teams to follow.
Soft Skills for UI Design
Other skills that are useful for UI Designers are what are considered soft skills like:
Curiosity
A strong desire to learn and figure out how things work is an important attribute of UI Designers. They want to learn what users want, how users accomplish tasks, and how products can be designed to make that easier and more enjoyable.
Creativity
UI Designers need to be creative and artistic. They need to be able to look at problems in a new way and to design products with a new and different look and unique features.
Empathy
Empathy is the first phase in the UX/UI design process. It means setting aside your own beliefs to learn what the user’s world looks like. Empathy allows the design team gets to know the user and the best way to do this is through research. The first step in the research planning should be to define the goals of the effort, and those goals usually include Identifying the user’s pain points. Empathy helps designers go beneath the surface of design problems and is just as important to the process as design tools.
Listening
Listening is much more than hearing. The ability to listen helps a UI Designer create a style guide that reflects the decisions of the team, collaborate with other members, and understand what a customer’s goals are for a project.
Teamwork and Collaboration
This is strongly connected to communication skills and is what makes a design team successful. Good UI Designers know how to work together with their colleagues to accomplish shared goals. They work out issues in a timely fashion and make sure everyone has an opportunity to participate.
Problem Solving
Problem-solving skills are important in any design endeavor. No project goes completely smoothly and the ability to creatively and rationally look at a problem and come up with a solution makes for a less stressful and more enjoyable workplace.
Technical Expertise
UI Designers use a number of digital design tools in their work. Adobe XD, Sketch, InVision, and Figma are some of the more popular tools for design. Designers also need to use tools like Photoshop and Illustrator.
Business Understanding
An understanding of business principles is helpful to UX Designers when trying to balance design priorities with cost and scheduling concerns. A good design needs to meet the needs of users and customers.
Learn UI Design
If you would like to learn how to use software like Adobe XD to switch to a career in UX or UI design, 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 XD, Photoshop, and Illustrator. 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 or UI 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.
It’s easy to take UI design classes and start a new career. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online UI design courses and attend from anywhere. Find UI bootcamps in your areaand get started in a new direction today.