10 design philosophy to become a UI/UX designer

User interface and user experience design is a high-demand field. The UI/UX design brings a design-centric approach to user interface and user experience design and offers practical, skill-based instruction centered around a visual communications perspective, rather than on one focused on marketing or programming alone.

The word “design” is associated with creativity, colors and graphics, when really it's true definition lies in functionality, as well as the process behind making products that provide a seamless experience for the people who use them.

UX and UI design are two different elements of the single consumer experience. UX refers to the user experience, which focuses on how something works and how people interact with it. UI, or user interface, focus on the look and layout. A UX designer ensures a product makes sense to the user by creating a path that logically flows from one step to the next. A UI designer ensures each page visually communicates that path.

There are numerous pillars of responsibility which together holds design upright. So, here are 10 design philosophies that can help to become a UI/UX designer.

Let's explore it -

• First of all, the most important thing for you is to understand what exactly you want to do. If you like working on the visual part of the design, then you should become a visual designer (UI). If you like thinking through the concept of how the product works with the user, make the interface convenient, analyze, test,  then you should become a user experience designer (UX).

• Second most important is - Tools. How can you succeed if you have not mastered the program you need yet? There are tons of design tools out there, but you don’t need to know all of them. Get to know the best ones out there, choose your favorites and stay updated with the newest features and trends.

• A UX designer needs to know how to execute, facilitate and analyze research and data.  UI designers need to know the composition and graphic design and have a knack for palettes, typography, and branding in order to make an interface shine and have its own identity.

• The ability to solve problems as well as empathize with the user to understand what he needs is also important. An adequate UX designer will focus on how the user thinks. But a truly great UX designer will focus on how the user feels.

• Communication and collaboration skills are also paramount. You have to be able to tell a story or paint a picture that helps stakeholders understand the work being done. Designers should be well versed in information architecture and able to organize the information so it’s easy to understand.

• Dive yourself completely into the design. Start looking at other people’s work every day. There are millions of resources. The practice of viewing other people’s works and portfolios will help you enter the design track, see what others are doing, and you will become aware of fashion trends and will get some inspiration. Also in good projects, there are job descriptions and decision making descriptions.

• A drawing which designers use to propose, explore, refine and communicate ideas. As a UX designer, you too can use sketching as your first line of attack to crack a design problem. A simplified sketch of the important information on a page. Also known as page architecture, page schematic, or a blueprint. Basically, it’s a skeleton of the design and should contain all the important elements of the final product.

• The best interfaces are almost invisible to the user. They avoid unnecessary elements and are clear in the language they use on labels and in messaging. By using common elements in your UI, users feel more comfortable and are able to get things done more quickly.  It is also important to create patterns in language, layout, and design throughout the site to help facilitate efficiency. Once a user learns how to do something, they should be able to transfer that skill to other parts of the site.

• Always inform your users of the location, actions, changes in state, or errors. The use of various UI elements to communicate status and, if necessary, next steps can reduce frustration for your users.  Think about the defaults. By carefully thinking about and anticipating the goals people bring to your site, you can create defaults that reduce the burden on the user. This becomes particularly important when it comes to forming design where you might have an opportunity to have some fields pre-chosen or filled out.

• The last and but not the least important step is - when you are looking for a job. Many people ask: “Do one need to have a portfolio? Do the employers even look at it? Of course they look and of course, you NEED the portfolio. Some vacancies even have the note that candidates without a portfolio will not be considered. A portfolio is your business card; by looking at it the employer will decide whether to start the interview process with you or to choose another candidate.

Stock photo from ArdeaA