Career as a UX Designer – be the one to create simpler everyday designs!

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Ever visited a shop or a website and thought about ways the system could be so much more customer friendly than it is? Or felt awe after looking at a product with multiple functions and an efficient design? Or are you a person who gets excited with new tech developments in design?

Questions you might get while using a website.
source Questions you might have while using a website.

If yes, you probably have an eye for a UX designer! If there’s any purchase or customer experience that was easy to use and well navigated. You have a UX Designer to thank. Remember the Facebook react-to-post option? Made it so easy to express yourself without having to comment on the post.

UX Design is much more than simply designing things, the name gives you a glimpse, and it’s about the User’s experience. There’s a lot more to the career, which we will cover in this blog. The blog will speak about a career as a UX Designer, job roles, career pathways, salary insights, and educational qualifications required to become a UX Designer. 

What does UX Designer do? 

Prof. Mittens said it is simpler words!
[source] Prof. Mittens said it is simpler words!

To make the user’s engagement with the product as effective, efficient, and entertaining as possible, a UX designer applies the art and science of web/app design. Simply put, a designer keeps the customer experience in mind when creating products.

The nature of the job will demand the following duties and responsibilities in your career as a UX designer: 

  • Create reports on UX research and usability.
  • Maintain user persona portfolios.
  • Prepare maps of user journeys.
  • Structure problem statements to identify issues and discover possible answers.
  • Draw Wireframes and paper mockups.
  • Reports on user experience and user test results.
  • Research on heuristic evaluation.
  • Design systems, style manuals, and pattern libraries

Sounds like an exciting role, doesn’t it? Check out Clever Harvey JuniorMBA course on UX Design for hands-on exposure to UX Design.

Job Roles for UX Designer

We get you, Leo… UX and UI are not the same!
[source] We get you, Leo… UX and UI are not the same!

The term UX and UI are often used interchangeably but they aren’t the same. Here’s the difference between the two one should understand before taking up a career as a UX Designer:

  • UI Designer:
    UI design focuses on how the elements look and come together on the platform. UI designers decide the colours and graphics used, the placement of icons, and the interactions users go through. These elements grab the attention and give a pleasant experience on a webpage.
  • UX Designer:
    UX design, however, oversees the overall experience of the interface. UX designers think about the functionality of buttons, how users navigate through and on different pages, and how to prioritize information according to the user’s needs. They ensure that the information on the platform is easy and convenient to access.
The difference between UX and UI
The difference between UX and UI

UX design is a niche career role, so designers in this field tend to work in similar job descriptions. However, each job role can also have a specific responsibility. Here are a few job roles students can explore if they are interested in a career as a UX designer.

  • User researcher:
    Involves a lot of research and data analysis. It is a vital role that helps develop a product that customers will love.
  • Wireframe expert:
    This role requires looking at the bigger picture and mapping the user’s journey on a platform.
  • Content strategist:
    UI/UX designers here decide which information must be seen and accessed easily for customers.
  • Information architecture:
    This role is specific to a UX designer. It involves designing the functionality of a digital interface.
  • Usability tester:
    Usability testers are responsible for testing their products in the market and identifying areas for improvement.
  • Interaction designer:
    UI/UX designers in this role focus on improving the interactive experience. It involves the way graphics and icons move when a user clicks at a certain area on the page.
  • Visual designer:
    This role is specific to a UI designer. They decide the overall look of the page and design the elements seen on the platform.
  • UI/UX developer:
    This is the actual coding of the platform. Designers will guide them on how the page should look, and they bring it to life.

Career path for a UX Designer

A career as a UI/UX designer is trending and interests many young minds in today’s age. Because of the vast competition in the field, there are several things to think about to make a successful career out of it. Here are a few pathways you can opt to start a career as a UX Designer:

Path I

  • Minimum 55% in Grade 12 from a recognized institution and board.
  • Diploma in UX Design Diploma/Web Design UI/UX Designing or related field.
  • Graduation in User Experience Design/Communication Design/UX/ Interaction Design/ Visual Communication

Path II

  • Minimum 55% in Grade 12 from a recognized institution and board.
  • Graduation in User Experience Design/Communication Design/UX/ Interaction Design/ Visual Communication

After completing either of the pathways one can apply for internships or full-time positions in UX Design. Or one can pursue a postgraduate degree to further accelerate their career as a UX Designer. 

Salary of a UX Designer based on experience
Salary of a UX Designer based on experience

Salary in different stages of a career as a UX Designer

The salary for a fresh UX/UI designer in India can start from ₹2.0 lakhs per annum and grow up to ₹15.5 lakhs per annum with relevant experience. On average, a UX/UI designer will be around ₹5.6 lakhs per annum, according to a report by IndiaTimes.

To reach a point in your career as a UI & UX designer where you can demand a ₹15 lakhs per annum salary, you will need above 10 years of experience and a variety of skills under your belt.

Skills Required to become a UX Designer

Skills you will have to develop in your career as a UX Designer
[Source]Skills you will have to develop in your career as a UX Designer

Soft skills required to become a UX Designer:

  • Interpersonal, collaborative, and communication skills:
     It’s crucial to be able to combine your user insights from many sources because a big part of UX Design is understanding the user’s overall experience when using a product. Collaboration with members of various teams is necessary for this, as well as effective communication. Working as a team also entails understanding how to provide and accept feedback as well as how to take into account fresh suggestions for creating the finest potential result.
  • Empathy:
     The definition of empathy itself talks about the ability to understand what the other person is experiencing. A UX designer should be able to empathize with the user to get the experience correctly. This can be done with the help of empathy mapping or researching user surveys and feedback. 
  • Curiosity and continuous learning:
    The work of a UX designer extends beyond just solving one or two issues. It is a continuous process of actively identifying problem areas and incorporating feedback. 
  • Critical thinking:
    It takes critical thinking to do qualitative and quantitative research to comprehend the what, why, and how of UX. The analysis of data will aid in finding the pain points and increasing inclusivity.

Industry skills required to become a UX Designer:

  • Wireframing and Prototyping:
    As previously mentioned, wireframing and prototyping serve as the visual depiction of what a UX designer intends to offer the audience. This can assist in the effective visualization of the product and boost the credibility of your thoughts.
Dilemmas you’ll face in your career as a UX Designer
Source Dilemmas you’ll face in your career as a UX Designer
  • UX writing:
    Writing reports of user experience or product language guidelines require a precise and coherent writing style. How your words communicate with the user can have an impact on the user’s experience.
  • Visual communication and UI:
    Adequate knowledge of tools and software is essential for User interface and User experience to work hand in hand. What you present to your team and the audience has to be appealing and interactive. 
  • User Testing:
    To be able to see how the user experiences the product, one has to conduct user testing at different levels. This gives room for interpretation and advanced identification of possible pain points. 

Crossover skills required to become a UX Designer:

  • Business acumen:
    UX design also demands an understanding of marketing, branding, and business values. At the end of the day, a company creates products to earn credibility and profit margins in the market. This will help in making informed design choices that match the company’s vision and values. 
  • Research skills and Analytics: 
    Other than qualitative and quantitative research a UX designer should also study user psychology and apply those theories or findings to practice in their designs. For instance, identifying the elements of design that have helped in retaining the user for a longer duration on your app through analytics. 
There is no final design!
[source] There is no final design!
  • Customer Service:
    Customer feedback should be taken into account with utmost seriousness and empathy. This includes feedback on any aspect of the product that hinders the customer’s experience or your end goal.
  • Coding and Development:
    It wouldn’t be wrong to claim that a UX designer is expected to have a bit of knowledge of every field. Though there are designers who don’t know how to code.  Yet, it is a skill that will come in handy.

Is UX Designer a good career option?

People interact with digital devices daily, whether it be their smartphones, televisions, or websites. As the popularity of digital devices grew, so has the demand for talented UI/UX designers. UI/UX design is proving to be one of the fastest-growing fields in India and worldwide.

By 2029, it is anticipated that the sector of digital design, which includes UI/UX design, would grow by 11%. Which is suggestive of good potential in a career as a UX Designer.

In India, most of the job opportunities for UI/UX designers come from Gurgaon, Bangalore, and Pune. However, more states are sure to join this list as the industry grows.

Type of industries Hiring UX Designers 

Nowadays, it is inevitable that an organization will need to go digital. A career as a UX designer after class 12 can be quite versatile, in the sense almost every industry has a demand for them. Below is a list of sectors where there is a growing demand for UI/UX designers.

  • eCommerce
  • Information Technology
  • Finance/Insurance
  • Media and Content
  • Enterprise Software
  • Education Technology

Top Recruiters for UX Designers in India 

Top recruiters in India for UX Designers
Top recruiters in India for UX Designers
  • Google
  • Infosys
  • Wipro
  • ONGC
  • Ranbaxy
  • ISRO
  • HLL
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • GAIL
  • Cipla

Courses to upskill as UX Designer

You can work on your projects by coming up with an innovative solution to an issue that already exists in the design industry. It’s also a good opportunity to research other design-related fields and put your area of design knowledge to the test.

The projects are a fantastic method to present your creativity and skill set to potential employers as a portfolio. Here are a few certificate courses that can help you Fastrack your career as a UX Designer:

  • Google UX Design Professional Certificate
  • CareerFoundry UX Design Program
  • Certificate in User Experience and Interface In Fashion & Textiles
  • Nielsen Norman Group UX Certification
  • General Assembly UX Design Immersive
  • Certificate in User Experience Design
  • Certificate in UI/UX Design
  • Certificate in Web Design Pro
  • Springboard UX Career Track

Qualifications to become a UX Designer

After completing grade 12, students can enrol in any discipline, whether arts, science, or commerce, to pursue UX Design undergraduate degrees. Additionally, one can participate in online courses that offer practical training in UX design. 

Check out the Clever Harvey JuniorMBA course in UX Design if you’re someone who wants practical experience in the field required in a career as a UX designer.

One can apply for job roles after completing undergraduate courses, however, a postgraduate degree in UX design will help you in gaining specialization in your selected area of interest and gain credibility in your career as a UX Designer. 

Degrees in India 

The undergraduate degree in UX Design is estimated to be 3-4 years of duration with internship opportunities in the final year. One can also apply for 1-2 years of Diploma courses after completing Grade 12. 

The eligibility criteria for enrolling in an undergraduate program and the colleges one can apply to are shared in the blog- How to become a UX Designer.

UG degree names

Here are a few undergraduate courses in India one can apply to build a career as a UX Designer:

  • BDes in User Experience Design
  • BDes in Visual Communication
  • BDesign in Communication Design
  • BCA (Design-Animation/Graphics/UI-UX)
  • BDes in Transdisciplinary Design
  • BDes UX
  • BDes in Interaction Design

PG 

A minimum of 55% in bachelor’s to be eligible for applying for a postgraduate degree in UX Design. The bachelor’s should be in the above-mentioned undergraduate degrees or related fields. Additionally, universities conduct their entrance exams and follow a merit-based admission process.

Here is a few postgraduate degree one can pursue to build a career as a UX Designer:

DegreeDuration
Master in Information Design2 years
Master in Product Design2 years
Master in Interaction Design2 years
Master in New Media Design1.5 – 2 years
Master in Communication Design2 years
Masters in Human Centred Design1.5 – 2 years
Masters in Design Led Innovation2 years
Master in User Experience Design1 year

Degrees Abroad

The procedure one will have to follow to apply for an undergraduate degree in UX design has been discussed in our previous blog. The undergraduate courses are for 3-4 years, with experiences to build a career portfolio. 

Here are a few undergraduate degrees offered by foreign universities for candidates aspiring to have a career as a UX Designer:

  • BA UX/UI Design
  • Interaction Design Program
  • BA (Hons.) Visual effects
  • BSc. User Experience (UX) (Hons.)
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts [Interactive and Visual Design
  • Bachelor of Design [UX Interaction Design]
  • Bachelor of Design (Digital Technologies)

The eligibility criteria to apply for a postgraduate degree abroad in UX Design are:

  • A bachelor’s degree in design with a minimum of 50% or equivalent grade point average from a recognized university. 
  • English Proficiency test scores – TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, etc. 
  • Statement of Purpose, Letter of Recommendation.

Here are a few postgraduate degrees offered by foreign universities for candidates aspiring to have a career as a UX Designer:

DegreeDuration
Master of Human-Computer Interaction2 years
Master of Science in Technology Innovation2 years
Master of Science in Design Impact2 years
Master of Fine Arts in Design and Technology2 years
Master of Science in Information Experience Design2 years
Master of Design in Interaction Design1 year

References for UX Designer

Books you can read if you want to pursue a career as a UX Designer:

UX Designers you can follow!
[Source] UX Designers you can follow!
  • The Design Of Everyday Things by Don Norman (Considered to be the father of UX design.)
  • Don’t Make Think by Steve Krug
  • 100 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People by Susan Weinschenk
  • The Elements of User Experience: User-centred Design for Web by Jesse Garrett
  • 101 Design Methods by Vijay Kumar

People you can follow if you wish to have insights into a career as a UX Designer:

  • Donald Norman (@jnd1er)
  • Irene Au (@ireneau)
  • Luke Wroblewski (@lukew)
  • Steve Krug (@skrug)
  • Laura Klein (@lauraklein)
  • Bill Buxton (@wasbuxton)
  • Scott Jenson (@scottjenson)
  • Karen McGrane (@karenmcgrane)
  • Olof Schybergson (@olof_s)
  • Patrick Neeman (@usabilitycounts)

Tools used by UX Designers: 

Tools to upskill as a UX Designer
[source] Tools to upskill as a UX Designer
  • User research:
    Survey and polling tools such as SurveyMonkey and Typeform, as well as user research platforms
  • Wireframing:
    Sketch, Balsamiq, Wireframe.cc, Figma,  Illustrator, with InVision Studio, Adobe XD, Axure, and Marvel.
  • Prototyping:
    Adobe XD, InVision, Sketch, Principle, Flinto, Framer, and ProtoPie.

In conclusion,

We're rooting for you!
[source] We’re rooting for you!

In your career as a UX designer, you get to fix both large-scale issues and minor, everyday issues that could otherwise go unnoticed. UX design is a vast, cutting-edge industry that offers countless opportunities for learning, development, and growth. It is in high demand creative design profession. One of the best careers for satisfaction, according to statistics.

FAQs Related to a Career as a UI & UX Designer

Is UX/UI design hard to learn?

Although developing prerequisite skills in relevant domains is typically required for UX/UI design, anyone may learn it with the correct preparation. Aspiring designers of all skill levels can learn in a hands-on, adaptable environment that simulates real-world UX experience through educational programs like UX design boot camps.

Should I focus on UI design or UX design?

Anyone interested in working in the industry should be familiar with both UI and UX design. However, the type of work you wish to accomplish and your skill set will determine your specialism. Both occupations require program sign abilities, but UI design is particularly design-focused and a fantastic career choice for creative people. Anyone looking to adopt innovative solutions to challenges should consider studying UX design.

Which country is best for UI/UX design careers?

London. The biggest concentration of UX/UI designer employment in Europe is definitely in London. That’s well deserved considering that London has recently emerged as Europe’s startup hub.

Who gets paid more UX or UI designers?

UX designers get an average base pay of $90,697 per year in the United States, whereas UI designers make an average base compensation of $80,450 per year, according to Glassdoor.

Is UX/UI design only digital?

Although the majority of UX/UI design is in the digital world, its skills are equally applicable to physical, speech, gesture, light, and multimodal-based experiences and interfaces.

Is UX/UI design worth it in the year 2022?

There is no better moment than in 2022 to consider this career path due to the global lack of UX/UI talents, high earnings, minimal entry barriers, and the opportunity to work anywhere.

Will AI take over UX/UI design?

After taking into account what AIs are capable of and the areas in which it needs assistance, it is safe to say that, even though the role of a UX/UI designer will change, AI will not replace them. Rather, it will give UX/UI designers more opportunities to excel at their jobs and keep producing websites that successfully convert.

Should I learn UI or UX design first?

Since UI design is seen as a subset of UX design even though first is an excellent way to familiarise yourself with the responsibilities involved in the field of UX design.

Do UX/UI designers need to know how to draw?

Being good at drawing is not required, although you need to be artistic. Having an artistic eye will help you design better-looking platforms that look attractive to users.

Should UX/UI designers know Photoshop or Illustrator?

No, knowing how to use Photoshop or Illustrator is not required. You can learn to use other computer-aided design tools instead. However, the more tools you are familiar with, the more marketable you make yourself in the UX/UI design job market.

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Top 10 colleges to become a UX Designer in India 12 Skills required to become a UX Designer How to become a UX Designer Courses to become a UX Designer Abroad
Top 10 colleges to become a UX Designer in India 12 Skills required to become a UX Designer How to become a UX Designer Courses to become a UX Designer Abroad