How to Become a UX Designer in 2023: In-depth Guide

25-08-22

Would you like to know how to become a UX designer? If so, that’s a great decision. With the exponential growth of our digital world, more companies are targeting resources toward providing the best user experience, and that’s what UX design is all about.

If you want to know how to become a UX designer, this step-by-step guide will get you on the right path to an exciting and lucrative career in UX design.

The excellent news for you is that becoming a UX designer is easily achievable without needing an advanced design degree. Unlike the in-demand jobs in blockchain and cryptocurrency, it’s relatively easy to learn the design tools for the job.

In addition, UX designer jobs are in demand. After training, you can apply to become a UX designer, get an interview, and earn an excellent UX design salary.

Contents

What is UX Design?

UX is simply designing an optimum end-user experience, nothing more complex than that. Above all, the job of a UX designer is to create an enjoyable user experience, often focusing on beginner-friendly aspects.

Does UX design require coding? No, the role involves understanding real-time user issues and knowledge of the psychological and sociological elements underpinning human behaviour and the user experience. In addition, UX designers must have excellent communication skills to convey ideas into the practicalities of working with project team members like blockchain developers.

What does a UX designer do?

UX designers create user-friendly web applications using design concepts and skills. Moreover, if you have competencies with programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Sketch, and Mockplus, that’s a fantastic start. In addition, UX designers must be able to test the web applications and fine-tune them for the best user experience.

What is the UX design process?

Research: What are the project’s budget, limitations, and goals? Who are the end-users, and what is important to them?
Design: Create a wireframe interactive prototype
Testing: Test and identify flaws and areas for improvement. There may be several rounds of testing before implementation
Implementation: Your design hands over to the developers who use coding to create the final product. Note: Adding coding to your skills can significantly increase your value to a business

What skills does a UX designer need?

If you want to become a UX designer, having design experience or a degree can be helpful, but it isn’t essential. That said, necessary skills include designing according to the end-user experience, which means considerable research and analysis abilities.

Other skills include: –

User psychology knowledge: knowing how users think and what they need from a psychological viewpoint
Problem-solving: Once you know the user problems, you then plan a creative solution
Collaboration: you’ll be working within a team, so a UX designer needs good communication skills
Interactive & Interface design: Test design feasibility with a UX flow and create interactive prototypes for testing solutions

How to Become a UX Designer

Firstly, decide why you want to become a UX designer because there’s a lot to learn. Secondly, training to become a UX designer requires determination and hard work; if you’re not fully motivated, you could give up too quickly.

Here are a few self-questions: –

Why do I want to become a UX designer?
How much do I know about UX design?
Do I enjoy design?
What business industry interests me?
Do I enjoy research, analysis and development?
Am I interested in the psychology of end users?
What are my salary expectations?
Do I want to be employed or freelance?
Can I work within a team and collaborate effectively?

Above all, if you have zero experience in UX design, the next step is to learn as much as possible about the basics of UX design. After that, prepare for an interview. In addition, learn how to avoid making the the top 10 biggest interview mistakes so you stand more chance of a job offer.

What are the best UX Design training courses?

There are many routes to study to become a UX designer. Moreover, a free or low-cost course may be preferable to see if you enjoy UX design. After that, you can choose more in-depth training.

Coursera: Google UX Design Certificate

Coursera is a reputable training platform with a wide range of affordable courses and financial aid available on application for low-income applicants.

Google UX design employees developed the Google UX design professional certificated course. Above all, it’s suitable for beginners with no requirement for previous experience. In addition, the training is in-depth, and it’s flexible learning. With 10 hours of study a week, you can gain the Google certification within six months.

Follow the design process
Understand the basics of UX research
Apply foundational UX concepts
Create a professional UX portfolio with three end-to-end projects

The applied learning course has 200+ hours of highly-interactive content with hundreds of real-world, practice-based activities and assessments.

The UX Design Institute: Professional Diploma in UX Design

The UX Design Institute is credit-rated by Glasgow Caledonian University. The 10-module certificated training covers everything you need to become a UX designer.

Module 1: introduction to UX design
Module 2: User research
Module 3: Analysis techniques
Module 4: Structure & navigation
Module 5: Interactions
Module 6: Design principles
Module 7: Design patterns
Module 8: Mobile UX
Module 9: Workflows
Module 10: Prototyping & handover
Final exam: 2 hours

Throughout the training, you’ll work on sixteen real-world projects to create your portfolio through demonstrable job-ready hands-on experience.

If you wish to learn the foundations of web development, W3 Schools offers free courses in HTML & CSS, JavaScript, web building, XML, data analytics, server-side, and programming.

What design skills does a UX designer need?

If you want to become a UX designer, you must have experience in mastering a few UX design tools

Photoshop: Industry-leading design & photo editing software. It can be a tricky learning curve, but Photoshop skills can significantly add to your value as a UX designer. It’s expensive software, but Adobe offers a 7-day free trial and an affordable monthly subscription.
Illustrator: Another member of the Adobe family, Illustrator is vector graphics editing software for creating illustrations, logos, typography and more.
Sketch: Drawing tools for basic web/app design.
Mockplus: Fast, time-saving software for interactive prototyping, scalable designs and team collaboration.

For all the above design tools, you can find online tutorials. Other industry tools include Figma, Typeform, UXPin, Lunacy, UsabilityHub and Hotjar.

Improve your UX design skills with live projects

You will build a portfolio of real-use examples if you commit to a training course. Likewise, if you choose the self-taught route by mastering design tools, your next step is to work towards putting your knowledge into action.

There are various ways to get started as a UX designer, but here are a few ideas: –

Get a part-time position
Volunteer for a project
Intern and gain real-use experience
Redesign an existing project to demonstrate your skills
Practice your UX design skills daily

Share your UX design skills online

Create social media accounts to showcase your work when you are confident in your UX design skills and have built a portfolio with many UX design examples. In addition, follow the UX designers that you like. You can certainly learn a lot from studying other UX designers’ work.

Ideal social media channels for a UX designer are: –

LinkedIn
Facebook
Medium
Instagram
Twitter

Create an online portfolio

If you want to become a UX designer and are looking to start a career, having an online portfolio is more potent than simply sharing your resume with a prospective employer. Ensure you date your work, so hiring managers can see how your work improves with experience. After that, you must host your UX design portfolio. You can choose from numerous platforms, such as Squarespace or WordPress.

Finally, add the link to your UX design portfolio when you create your resume.

How to get a job as a UX designer?

Assuming you have gained a certificate or have excellent working experience with several design tools, it’s time to look for a job as a UX designer. As well as developing the necessary skills, work on creating a good resume and learning powerful answers to the top 10 interview questions.

What is a UX design salary?

Salary levels depend on experience and skills, varying in different countries and companies. However, most UX design salaries range from £55,000 to £100,000+. Moreover, you can expect a higher salary if you have additional skills, such as coding.

Conclusion: How to become a UX designer

The most successful UX designers are user-centric, focused on the end-user experience, and aware of keeping stakeholders happy by staying within budget.

To become a UX designer, you’ll need excellent research and analysis skills. Sometimes, your design may not work, and developers may reject it if it isn’t technically feasible. Therefore, you’re also a problem solver. Above all, you can think on your feet and adjust to making changes without feeling fazed.

You’re also collaborating with a team that may have different ideas. After that, good communication skills are essential for a UX designer.

Finally, if you enjoyed this read and are inspired to start a career in UX design, contact the CB Recruitment team, upload your resume, and we can discuss your career in UX design.

FAQs

What’s the difference between a UI designer and a UX designer?

UI design means user interface design, which is a product’s practical aspect. UI designers focus on the “how to“, such as arranging the user interface elements like menus and layout. Their role is functionality based.

The role of a UX designer is more in-depth. They focus on how the user interacts and feels about using the product and select colours based on user demographics and known emotional responses to colour.

Additionally, UX designers work with the UI functionalities and choose which creates the most pleasant and intuitive user experience.

What’s the difference between a product designer and a UX designer?

UX designers work on a product’s end-user experience, such as interface styles, layouts, etc.

Product designers may work with a team during a product’s lifecycle from prototype design development to completion, focusing on the functionality and overall design according to prerequisite standards.

Are there books on how to become a UX designer?

Read books about the fundamentals of design solutions and the user experience, such as: –

User Experience Elements: Author: Jesse James Garrett
A project guide to UX design: Author: Russ Unger
The design of everyday things: Author: Don Norman
101 Design Methods: Author: Vijay Kumar
Don’t make me think: Author: Steve Krug

Are UX designers in demand in 2022?

Yes, it is a much sought-after role by candidates. Above all, as more companies understand the importance of providing the best user experience, the demand for UX designers continues to increase.

Is UX Design a Good Career?

Yes, UX designing is a well-paid position where you can use your creativity and problem-solving skills. After that, when you have gained significant experience, you may have a degree of flexibility in your workflow, especially if you choose to be a freelance UX designer.

How long does it take to become a UX designer?

Most online UX design courses suggest that it takes six months to train as a UX designer, based on 10 hours of study each week. However, it may take less time if you already have design skills.

Do I need to learn coding to become a UX designer?

Coding is not necessary. However, if you have the aptitude for learning how to code, it can help develop your career potential. Why not complete a coding course if you’re learning how to become a UX designer? Above all, it can increase your value to a business.

I’m a graphic designer. Can I become a UX designer?

Yes, if you have graphic design skills using Photoshop, Illustrator, and other programs, you will find it easy to learn UX design.

How do I find entry-level UX designer jobs?

If you have worked in a UX design internship or created a UX designer portfolio, you are ready to start looking for UX design jobs. Contact the CB Recruitment team to check for UX design jobs.

About Author

Jan Barley

Jan is a SEO copywriter, brand advisor, content strategist & case study specialist writing for crypto, recruitment, and SaaS companies. Jan lives in the Cotswold's UK with two rescue dogs. Since 2020, Jan has written hundreds of SEO articles for various crypto companies including CB Recruitment & Coin Bureau.