Everyone has known the frustration of navigating a difficult-to-navigate website, loading and reloading pages, or simply being unable to read the text because the formatting wasn’t optimized for small phone screens. Perhaps the menus didn’t function correctly, or the pages themselves were hard to navigate. Whatever the reason, these first impressions can be lasting, making good website design extremely important to companies in any industry.
Web designers who focus on solving these problems are commonly known as User Experience (UX) designers. To make websites accessible and enjoyable for all users, UX designers consider everything from the flow of content on a webpage to the paths users must follow to navigate a site.
In professional team projects, UX designers are often the first designers working on a project before temporarily handing the reins off to a User Interface (UI) Designer or Web Developer for the next steps. The truth is that UX designers continue to maintain digital products long after they’re complete, standing by to catch any bugs that might hinder an enjoyable user experience.
Excellent UX design exists all around us, but noticing it can be difficult. When a website “just works, ” the high quality of its UX design is almost invisible. This level of invisibility is a crucial goal for UX designers: to create websites that feel effortless and seamless for the user. To do this, UX designers need to deeply understand a site’s users, generate design improvements, and monitor user interactions and feedback to ensure their designs work as intended.
UX Design Careers in Minneapolis
Given its importance in seamless and accessible web design, UX designers are in high demand in Minneapolis. With hundreds of businesses needing online presences to drive profits, there are plenty of lucrative job opportunities for Minneapolis locals with UX design skills. Between offerings at established companies, web design agencies, and startups, designers in dedicated UX design positions can expect to make between $70,000 and $110,000 per year. These positions are projected to grow by 8 percent in Minneapolis over the next ten years.
Some UX designers choose to specialize in niche topics and benefit from boosted salaries as a result. For instance, local UX Researchers, who evaluate patterns in consumer data to improve user experiences, can earn nearly $120,000 per year on average. These advanced jobs often require additional skills such as data analysis or another kind of design.
Similarly, UX designers benefit from close ties to related fields such as UI design and coding-focused web design or web development. Since there is a significant amount of overlap between these fields, UX designers with related skills can also find work in more general web design positions. These positions offer salaries comparable to UX design roles, with director-level positions offering as much as $124,000 per year.
In-Person UX Design Classes in Minneapolis
As a field that is constantly in-demand, there are dozens of ways aspiring UX designers can hone their craft, and it can take a lot of work to find a suitable class. To help learners understand their options, Noble Desktop has created a tool to search and compare UX design courses in Minneapolis. Students can review differences between cost, curriculum topics, scheduling options, and more in one place.
In-person courses are one valuable option for aspiring designers, especially for social learners eager to connect with fellow UX designers in their area. Conducted in traditional classroom settings, these courses offer top-notch learning exercises and detailed feedback from UX design experts.
In Minneapolis, companies such as Prime Digital Academy and General Assembly offer in-person courses that cover UX fundamentals. Students can also enroll in UX design bootcamps offered by the University of Minnesota.
For beginners, introductory courses such as General Assembly’s UX Design Bootcamp are perfect for learning the basics. More expansive options include the University of Minnesota's UX and UI bootcamp, which introduces elements of both user experience and user interface design.
Virtual UX Design Classes
Aspiring UX designers should also consider virtual training as a great way to brush up on their skills while saving time on lengthy commutes. In virtual courses, students have access to the same quality instruction and real-time feedback as an in-person course but can work from their home or office.
Noble Desktop, a national leader in virtual learning, offers live online courses for UX designers of all skill levels. In Noble Desktop’s many bootcamps, beginners can learn the essentials for various design topics, including UX design, Sketch, Figma, Adobe XD, and UI design.
Students interested in a more intensive option can enroll in the UX and UI Design Certificate Program, which takes a skills-based, mentor-led approach to career training and is designed to help get future UX and UI Designers into successful careers. In the program, students learn how to design websites with audiences in mind and prototype with user research to create solutions for clients. For students who are more interested in the visual design aspect of digital products, Noble Desktop also offers a UI Design Certificate and a Digital Design Certificate.
Noble Desktop’s affiliates also offer UX design learning opportunities. NYIM Training’s UX design classes include a Sketch in a Day course, designed to bring learners up to speed on the popular Mac OS-based design app. NYC Career Centers also offers UX design classes, including a bootcamp suitable for UX design beginners.
Corporate & Onsite UX Design Training in Minneapolis
Noble Desktop also provides onsite and virtual corporate training opportunities in UX design. Offering customizable class formats with in-person sessions at Minneapolis company locations and virtual sessions via Zoom, it’s easy to find the right solution for every team. Employers can even purchase discounted group vouchers, allowing employees to attend Noble Desktop’s UX design courses on their own time outside of work.
Companies interested in finding out more about how they can customize corporate training to their needs can contact Noble Desktop by sending a quick email.