Nikka Estefani
Category: Design Talks, Design Tips
Every career demands certain skills. As a UX/UI designer (or if you’re an aspiring one), it will be very helpful if you gain the skills you’re about to read in this article.
Some of the skills here are technical – and of course, you need to learn them; otherwise, you won’t be able to perform the demands of UX/UI design. Some are common or soft skills – such as teamwork.
If you’re wondering what skills you need to be a successful UX/UI designer, here are the 7 skills you need to learn.
1) Research
Research is a very critical component in every creative work – especially if you’re doing it for a living!
Some designers try to skip the research part because it’s boring. Besides, why research if you can make the stuff right away?
There’s only one problem if you don’t do research: you’ll never know if your work is going somewhere. Are you addressing your users’ problem? Are you actually solving any problem? Or are you really improving the project you’re working on? These questions can only be answered once you do research.
So, what should you research?
Of course, the number one you should research is your users. Learn their problem, what they need or what they want. Then find out if your project can meet their demands.
You will also need to research your competitors: what value are they offering? Can I better than what they’re doing? Can I offer something different that users may like?
Lastly, research about your industry and its trends. However, you should focus on the first two: your users and your competitors, in that order.
2) Coding
While designers are not necessarily called to be developers or coders, it is helpful if you have a few backgrounds on coding.
A little background on coding languages like HTML and JavaScript can be very helpful in your design career because you know how to incorporate it with the technological aspects of coding.
3) Teamwork
Most jobs on UX/UI design require you to work with a team – after all, you’ll usually work a fairly big project.
It is important you know how to coordinate with your teammates. Don’t try to do it all by yourself, and don’t try to break the standards set by your boss to your team because you think there’s a better way of doing work – you can, however, suggest your ideas during meetings, and besides, there’s a reason your boss gave your team a particular standard (for example, for branding purposes).
Lastly, ask help if you need any. Remember, you were made as a team for a reason!
4) Communication skills
This goes hand-in-hand with teamwork: since you’re dealing with people, it’s important you how to speak your thoughts well.
Got any suggestions? Learn how to speak and present that up during meetings. Communication skills are one key factor for better teamwork!
But communicating is not just about your team; you can use it for your client or boss, too. For instance, learning how to send proposals when looking for a job or project requires you to communicate well. Tip: don’t send generic messages!
Read: Tips on Getting UI Jobs in Upwork
5) Visual Aesthetics
This one is something you can’t miss: as a designer, this is probably your strongest asset!
Nevertheless, it’s something you need to hone (or to keep honing). Needless to say, you should also learn the design principles on the form you’re working on: website, app, etc.
6) Understanding Human Psychology
As a UX/UI designer, you’re not just working with the visuals. You must also understand how people will interact with your website to get the results you want. This is basically the basics of usability and interaction design.
But don’t get intimidated by the words “understanding human psychology”. No, you don’t need to learn key psychological theories and who Freud is; it’s just a fancy way of saying, you must learn how to put yourself to the shoes of your potential users.
To put simply, ask yourself questions like: with this design, will I be able to smoothly use it? Are the colors good for the eyes or not? Will you like to stay with this website or not?
7) Understanding Analytics
Understanding Analytics is how you measure the progress of your project – specifically if you’re getting the desired results from your user activity.
If you don’t understand how your users respond to your website or app, it’s like you’re fighting a fight without knowing what your enemy is up to – it’s very bad for you.
And no, your users are not your enemies!
Conclusion
These are the 7 skills every UX/UI designer must have to be successful in their careers. However, if you don’t have them yet, don’t worry, you can work on it while working on your job as a designer. It’s just that these skills will be helpful in the long run.
If you like this article, check out these as well:
Career Building 101: How to Start a Career in UX/UI Design
