5 things you need to know before becoming a UI/UX designer
By: Shubhangi Singh
Tags: Design, Learning, Interaction Design, India, Ui Ux Design

I have been working as an Interaction designer at one of the top UI/UX studios in Mumbai, India. Over the course of my work I meet people who have been a part of this industry since the time there were only multi-faceted graphic designers or a developers who coded as well as designed websites. On the other hand, I also remember being an outsider and having no idea of the depth of meaning UI or UX holds. I asked the other designers in my studio to think about the days before they joined this industry and thus has resulted this article. So here are the five things we all wish we had known:

1. UI/UX is not just Graphic designing

This was first thing that one of my colleagues said. When we are outside of this field we all think that UI/UX which can be collectively referred to as ‘Interaction design’ is a subset of graphic designing. However, Interaction design is so much more than that.

“Interaction Design is the creation of a dialogue between a person and a product, system, or service. This dialogue is both physical and emotional in nature and is manifested in the interplay between form, function, and technology as experienced over time.” - John Kolko, Author of Thoughts on Interaction Design (2011)

What this means is that you are not just making individual static screens but creating an experience for the user making sure that she achieves her objective in the best way possible. The product here could be an app, website or even the ATM screen you use to withdraw money. Moreover, you have to keep in mind the hierarchy of needs, accessibility and usability principles.

2. Create the portfolio for the job you want

While trying to apply for internships/jobs, you might be worried because you are from a completely different background or don’t have formal education. My suggestion here would be, to first read about UI/UX as much as possible. You have numerous articles and online courses which you can use to expand your knowledge base. Secondly, use this knowledge and create hypothetical projects in your portfolio so that the prospective employers know your style of approaching a problem and creating solutions for it.

3. India is realising the value of ‘good design’

This may sound like a generalised statement but what I mean is that most of the Indian companies now, know the value of having a strong digital presence. The companies talk about gamification of data collection, integration of Augmented & Virtual reality in their apps and building experience centres in the meetings. This openness to experimentation means there is a lot of scope for interaction designers to now shape the user experience.

Google Pixel 4

4. Design studios are a great place to start

This is my personal viewpoint that studios are a good place to start with your career as compared to specific product companies. Firstly, studios give you a chance to be in an environment where different kinds of projects happen and you can get to learn about a variety of things. The projects are fast-paced so you see the crucial stages of a product life cycle coming to life. Secondly, you are surrounded by designers and researchers so there are simply more people to learn from and get feedback from initially.

5. It might not be limited to only phone or desktop screens in the future

Yes we have all seen Black mirror. The idea of a screen being limited to only mobile or a laptop is soon becoming obsolete. In the future, we may have screens all around us and this idea of a screen might be more fluid than being limited to devices. In this case, there is a lot of potential for us as Interaction designers to shape how these experiences come to life.