Before becoming a designer I used to think a designer is a person responsible only for fashion designing and he is the one who organizes fashion shows, or whatever fancy things that we saw were made by a designer, or a designer is the one who is responsible for creating any graphic (mostly illustrations). As I continued to work and progress as a designer this perception improved and saw the responsibilities of a designer from a different perspective.
Right after I started to work as a UI/UX designer after working as a graphic designer for a year I realized that only creating illustrations and graphics is not enough, if you are working in an organization or let's say Corporate you need some creativity for designing, some time management skills and Communication skills for presenting concepts, clearing confusions, asking questions to clients or Team leader in the organization. As of now, I can classify the skills learned as Technical, Interpersonal, and organizational till now as a new UI/UX designer.
As a UI/UX designer you need to be very organized in managing time, and reusing resources. I got the opportunity to work in the best environment for me that lets me learn and practice my skills over and over again and keep improving them over time.
Here are some of the technical skills I've learned as a new UI/UX designer:
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User research: One of the most important skills I've learned as a new designer is how to conduct user research. This involves understanding the needs, behaviors, and motivations of users in order to design products that are intuitive and easy to use. I've learned how to conduct user interviews, surveys, and usability testing to gather valuable insights that inform my design decisions.
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Wireframing: Another skill I've learned as a new designer is how to create wireframes. Wireframes are low-fidelity prototypes that help to visualize the structure and layout of a product. I've learned how to use tools such as Balsamiq and InVision to create wireframes that clearly communicate my design ideas to stakeholders.
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Prototyping: In addition to wireframing, I've also learned how to create high-fidelity prototypes using tools such as InVision and Figma. Prototyping allows me to test and iterate on my designs before they are built, which helps to ensure that the final product meets the needs of users.
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Visual design: As a UI/UX designer, I've also learned how to create visually appealing designs. This includes understanding principles such as color theory, typography, and layout, and using tools such as Adobe Creative Suite to create mockups and graphics.
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Collaboration: As a new designer, I've learned the importance of collaboration in the design process. I've worked with cross-functional teams including developers, project managers, and business stakeholders to bring products to life. I've learned how to communicate my design ideas effectively and how to navigate the challenges that come with working on a team.
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Adaptability: One of the most valuable skills I've learned as a new designer is the ability to adapt to new technologies and trends. The field of UI/UX design is constantly evolving, and as a new designer, I've had to be flexible and open to learning new tools and approaches.
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Grid systems: To create a responsive design we need to create a grid and column layout for the design so that it can be incorporated in any device.
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Animation in Figma: It is very important sometimes to show how the resulting product will look like by using Figma prototyping feature, it provides with some useful and cool animation effects however Figma animation can be used to create wonderful and small animations apart from UI/UX like creating some GIFs using the plugin to export it.
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Content writing for Designs: It is always not preferable to use dummy text every time like lorem ipsum as it can be noticed on and doesn't feels realistic to give it realistic insight we can put realistic comments, contents by using free content providing platforms or plugin like content reels.
These are just a few of the technical skills I've learned as a new UI/UX designer. I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow in this field, and I'm excited to continue building my skills and experience as I progress in my career with time. I have also learned interpersonal and organizational skills like:
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Communication: It is important for UI/UX designers and any other designers also to raise questions and communicate with the team or client for any new changes, or confusion ideas to implement.
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Responsibility: Take the charge of your work and produce useful results in the given timeframe or project deadlines.
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Feedback: You need to be open to feedback as a designer most of the time. Most designers find it very difficult to adapt to this skill but getting a design rejected and turning it into a masterpiece is the game. Don't be afraid to present ideas/designs for fear of rejection.
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Empathy: You need to see from the client's perspective so as to understand what the real project goal for the project is.
There are so many things to learn as a designer only you need to find a perfect balance between everything.
I started my journey as a UI/UX designer in 2021, I find it very fascinating to work as a UI/UX designer as you get the overviews for the desired digital product to be created and get insights by working with the stakeholders and developers sometimes. My current organization name is Scrrum Labs where I am working as a UI/UX designer for more than 14 months. In Scrum labs I got to work on small and mega digital projects, some of them require few of the above skills and some require more than that. Scrrum provides me with all the time, and resources, organizes meetings/discussions, time flexibility for that project. Scrrum labs always focus on providing quality UI/UX work so I need to provide pixel-perfect designs and check them before forwarding them to clients. Right now we work as a team from a remote location and make sure that there will be no gap in communication to avoid any confusion and difficulties in the future, as an organization we also focus on other requirements than UI/UX like small social post designs and small animations and I'd try to upgrade my skills to fulfill those needs to provide a complete solution to our clients.
