UX/UI Design
2021-04-20
After many years working as a UI Developer I became frustrated and burnt out with the bureaucracy of corporate web development.
To fix this problem I spent the majority of 2018 improving my UX/UI Design skills by reading books and taking video courses.
My goal was to switch my day job from UI Development to UX/UI Design.
I finally accomplished that goal in January 2021. I'm much happier as a UX/UI Designer.
You may be wondering, "What exactly is a UX/UI Design?"
Let's start with what UX/UI Design is NOT!
- Front-End / UI Develoment which includes HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Social Media or Email Marketing
- KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators)
- Technical or Copy Writing
- Google Analytics
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
UX/UI Design are two related, and often confused, areas of design that play a vital role in software and web application development.
UX Design
UX stands for User Experience. A UX Designer does research and plans how something looks and works. To make using it easy and enjoyable.
UI Design
UI stands for User Interface. A UI Designer creates the visual interface of digital products like web sites and mobile apps.
The main tool I use is Adobe XD. Its a stand alone vector-based desktop application in the family of Photoshop and Illustrator. Available for Mac and Windows.
It gives UX/UI Designers the ability to create mockups and interactive prototypes for web and mobile apps. These designs are used as blueprints by Front-End / UI Developers for building web applications.
Education
I based my education off of a college curriculm I found online. Similar to these courses offered by three established colleges.
- New York Institute of Art + Design: User Experience (UX) Design course
- DePaul: BS in User Experience Design
- UC Berkeley Extension: Essentials of User Experience (UX) Design
Fundamentals of Graphic Design
- Line
- Color Theory
- Shape
- Texture
- Space
- Form
- Typography
- Contrast
- Hierarchy
- Alignment
- Balance
- Proximity
- Repetition
Basics of UX/UI Design
- Timeless UX Design Principles
- User Research
- Journey Maps
- Personas
- User Flows
- Usability
- Accessibility
- Mobile First Design Principles
- Understanding Responsive Design
- Wireframes
- Mockups
- Prototypes
Tools
Books
- Design Basics Made Easy
- How to Be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul
- Know Your Onions: Web Design
- Burn Your Portfolio: Stuff they don't teach you in design school, but should
- Don't Make Me Think, Revisited
- Smashing UX Design: Foundations for Designing Online User Experiences
- UX Design: A Field Guide To Process And Methodology For Timeless User Experience
Video Courses
- Beginners Guide to Graphic Design
- What is UX Design?
- UX Design Course Tutorial for Beginners: User Experience Design Fundamentals
- UX Design Tutorial for Beginners 2018
- The Complete Beginners Guide to Adobe Photoshop
- The Complete Beginners Guide To Adobe Illustrator
- Learn Adobe XD in 2021 by Example
- Adobe XD for Beginners
- Free Adobe XD Tutorial: User Experience Design Course with Adobe XD Course
- GIMP Basics
- Inkscape for Beginners