“Every great design begins with an even better story.”
Designing as a profession has splashed its colorful entry into the mainstream careers for quite some time now. With the rapid involvement of digitalization worldwide and to recover economies from the shocks of the COVID 19 pandemic, there is an influx of job opportunities in the field; be it graphic design, product design, website designing, or UI/UX designing.
The latter is a lucrative career option but only if you’re prepared to enter the field and guided properly about it. UX design refers to the “user experience design”, whereas UI design stands for “user interface design”. Both elements are crucial to design a product and are usually close-knitted to differentiate. If you’re one of those “change-makers” who wish to explore the artistic front, we have something in store for you.
Gathering information and work experiences of the professionals honing the field of UI/UX design, we have compiled a list of 8 crucial points or tips which you must read before jumping into the valley of design.
Decide. Do you really want to go for it?
Lack of ambition in freshers or junior designers is one of the main reasons companies don’t want to hire novices. If one is really passionate about designing, showing merely one class project as portfolio design won’t help. A truly dedicated designer will have to show all the ideas flowing in his/her head in his designs. It’s a lot about creativity and dedication. Hence, the ‘urge’ to become a designer is a key requirement to get a job.
“A truly dedicated designer should showcase all the ideas flowing in his/her head in the designs, which speaks a lot about creativity and dedication.”
Work on your portfolio
It’s good to apply early but remember not to rush your portfolio.
A portfolio is not just a collection of work you do, it is much more than that. It speaks your mind, how you work, what kind of work you do, where you wish to see yourself as a designer
Your portfolio should not only consist of designs but also reflect other basics such as professionalism, communication skills, adherence to deadlines, and your creative style.
Make your portfolio a creative biography. Include your most celebrated works as well.
It’s better to keep your portfolio simple and neat. It must be pleasing to the eyes as well.
Never keep your hands off from the new trends and tricks. Assimilating peppy and happening stuff will reflect your awareness and knowledge.
“Your portfolio should not only consist of designs but also reflect other basics such as professionalism, communication skills, adherence to deadlines, and showing off your creative self. Make your portfolio your creative biography.”
Design presentation: The first Impression surely is the last.
Always remember you only get to make one first impression. Presenting the work in the right way is very important, so make it eye-catching and try staying away from the regular and boring.
Dribbble with all its shortcomings is still the best platform of inspiration on how to show off your projects. Consider a grid of screens at an angle – which is an awesome way to show a larger scope and context of what you have designed.
You can use that to your advantage by also displaying that you have the knowledge on how to animate and prototype.
The way you show your sketches in front of the clients plays an important role too. It is also crucial to clarify various states of the interface and related details through the footnotes and comments.
“Presenting the work in the right way is very important, so make it eye-catching and try staying away from the regular and boring.”
Keep it simple and classy
Don’t stuff your designs with overwhelming visuals and pixels. Make your work clean, simple, and easy to follow.
Also do not steal the attention from the interface by using a lot of design. Remember interface must be user-friendly.
“If we want users to like our software, we should design it to behave like a likable person: respectful, generous and helpful.”— Alan Cooper, Software Designer and Programmer.
Learn from the someone who’s been there, done that
If you are someone who has taken up an expensive designing course from a decent university, always keep taking notes of tips and tricks from seniors and mentors.
You can also go for community and network building for inspiring, trendy ideas by trying platforms like Dribbble and Behance.
Gather knowledge from the right sources
In most cases, a novice designer gets an option to choose a narrow specialization. It can be typography, animation, iconography, prototyping, or UX.
instead, spend your crucial hours on reading quality resources among which are Smashing Magazine, WebdesignerDepot or you can search Medium using tags: #web design, #UX, #UI, #graphic design, etc.
Prepare for interviews
The best tip for preparing for an interview is, to be honest with the set capabilities you promise. Properly assess the work you are given and ask questions about it but don’t get swayed away by superfluous work. Also, it is important to practice your interview and take feedbacks.
“Be honest with the set capabilities you promise. Properly assess the work you are given and ask questions about it but don’t get swayed away by superfluous work.”
Be confident but don’t miss dedication
Young novice designers are passionate and filled with new ideas. However, it has been seen they tend to get either too confident or get too demotivated by rejection. Here you need to strike a balance. Stay focused and dedicated but do not over-estimate or under-estimate your potential. So, relax. With time, you will refine your personal and professional skills. One should consider the future and the right way of further professional growth. Interfaces are becoming more and more personalized and need ready-made solutions are needed.
Relish feedbacks and keep the hustle ON. Good luck with your dream job!