Hello UI/UX

I recently got into UI/UX design, and just like every other person trying to familiarize themselves with a new field I went through lots of Google searches, YouTube videos and even TikToks for the less detailed videos. Luckily, I also had friends that were familiar with the field and these played a large role by guiding me to the sources (Friends of Figma mentorship programme) of the information that I have acquired so far.

In this article, I will give my understanding of what UI/UX design is basing on what I found in the resources from the first week of mentorship.

The term UI/UX design has two major parts that are applied in their own ways but work together on a larger scale to ensure that users have a seamless and enjoyable experience when dealing with products (in this case, tech products like apps and websites). These are User Interface which deals mainly with the visual aspects of the product and User Experience which as it says in its name deals with how the product works for the user.

The final product of UI/UX design goes through a known process with specific steps to follow; Research, wire framing, user testing and then implementation. The designer does this with a team of other professionals like developers, the target users, the owners of the project and even other specialist designers. The research stage looks at understanding what the target users want and the design opportunities for the specific project. Then we look at wire framing where the design starts to map out how the user will navigate through the product. This is expressed with different tools like Figma or even sketching with a pencil. Prototypes are then created based on the wire framing for user testing. This allows the design team to determine the efficiency of the product and make the necessary adjustments based on the feedback from the users. After the feedback has been addressed, then the final product can be passed on for implementation. This is where it is created and put out for the users to access. This process is not set in stone and can be modified depending on the project.

UI/UX designers can choose to be specialists depending on their interests and strengths. There are 4 models that guide this specialization; Experience strategy, interface design, user researcher, and information architecture. The designers start off with base knowledge of all these areas.

Bearing in mind that UI/UX design is a very interactive field, the designers are better off with specific soft skills like empathy, communication and organization. These can then be enforced by any other skills or strengths they may have.

Conclusively, I now realize that I relate with the field a lot more than I was aware of and I am eager as to what it has to offer.