Who's a UX Designer?
Ever shopped online and been amazed at how easy it is to sit in the comfort of your home, browse through products, pick the ones you want, and have them delivered to your doorstep? Conversely, have you been so frustrated with a website because it keeps making the supposedly easy task of online shopping difficult for you? Thanks to the advancements in technology, we have grown used to a hassle-free online experience. But, who ensures this experience? UX Designer!
UX Designer ensure that users coming onto a website have a seamless experience from start to finish. They work with web developers and tech experts to ensure that the website it’s easily accessible, the content and images are appealing and that overall, the user has no complaints or problems navigating the site. If you’re interested in understanding what makes users tick to provide them with a great online experience, this is just the career for you!
What will you do?
Where will you work?
How do you get there?
What skills would you need?
Creative Skills
As a marketer, you need to get people hooked on your brand. This requires you to come up with fun, entertaining, and exceptional ways to engage your audience. There is a lot of competition in the market, and the only way to be on top is by constantly doing something new and innovative.
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Technical Skills
As a marketer, you will work on different platforms to communicate with people. If you don’t understand how they work, you won’t be able to come up with the best strategy. You will also use various kinds of software like Google Adwords, MailChimp, SurveyMonkey, etc., during your promotions. You need to know how they work, and how to use them to your advantage.
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Communication Skills
It’s harder than ever to get people’s attention, what with so much information being thrown at them. But, people cannot resist a good story. Every good marketing campaign has a story to tell their customers and relate to them on an emotional level. Marketers who tell great stories through their marketing campaigns are always in great demand.
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Analytical and Data Skills
You will receive huge amounts of data from your client. This data will have to be analysed effectively so you can find ways that will help your client reach their customers is the best way possible. While it is true that the more data you analyse, the more insights you generate; analytical thinking will help you narrow down your search and find your key actionable items, thus saving you a lot of time and resources.
build this skillHow do you make it to the top ranks?
Intern
As an intern, your work would majorly involve researching design ideas, designing presentations, and testing designs for any glitches.
Junior UX Designer
As this is an entry-level job, you would be expected to perform simple tasks such as illustrating design ideas using sitemaps, storyboards, process flows and more. You would be collecting user data, and would work on creating wireframes and mockups.
Senior UX Designer
At this stage, you would take on the big boys. You would be given many responsibilities including creating a user-friendly and interactive journey for the customers. You will also work with developers for coding, and the analytics team to understand the user impact on the design. You will have to attend client meetings to understand their requirements and set budgets for projects you take on. You will work on creating designs for different kinds of platforms – desktops, tablets, mobiles, etc.
UX Head
Here, you will be in charge of the wheel. You will be responsible for building and leading a team of UX designers, and will have to oversee each team’s work – designers, researchers, etc. You will also be responsible for the creation of several product journeys and its features. On the managerial side, you will have financial responsibilities towards the business and have to attend client meetings from time to time.
Pursuing your career locally VS abroad
If you pursue UX designing in India, you will learn about the market here and improve your job prospects. Few design institutes in India offer campus placements that can increase your chances of getting a job as a UX designer in a startup or a corporate.
In India, people are now turning to the internet for most of their tasks. There is, therefore, high demand for UX designers as companies strive hard to offer a hassle-free online experience to their customers. There is no such definite path to becoming a UX designer in India. However, you can opt to do a Bachelor’s or a certificate course in the design field.
After junior college, pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Design (B.DES) from top design colleges in India such as the National Institute of Design, NIFT, Indian School of Design and Innovation, etc. The duration of a BDes course in India is generally four years, whereas certificate courses can last for 6-8 months. The average fee for this course is INR 5,00,000-INR 7,00,000.
If you’re pursuing a career in UX designing outside India, look for job opportunities in the country you are studying in. It’s much harder to look for a job abroad with an Indian degree. However, if you have good design skills and understand the job well, you could look at working abroad.
Top institutes to pursue UX designing abroad are Interaction Design Foundation, Springboard’s User Experience Design. NYC’s Pratt Institute also offers a Certificate Programme in UX. Studying abroad will give you a chance to meet new people, learn new things, study wider audiences, and build a global network. Pursuing a UX designing course abroad can cost you anywhere between INR 7,00,000- INR 10,00,000 depending on the university or course you choose.
How much would you get paid?
What are your career options?
Interaction Designer
As an Interaction Designer, you’ll act as a digital choreographer. Your job will be to make sure that when people click, swipe, or tap on the screen, it feels like a smooth dance. You will be the one setting the rhythm and ensuring users have a good experience.
Illustrator
Illustrators are professionals who work on designing a visual representation of themes, images, plots, scenes or characters. As an illustrator, you would need high artistic and technical skills to create depictions of various concepts. You will also need to know how to use various computer software which will help you to create the necessary designs.
VFX Artist
VFX artists typically work on movies, video games and TV shows where they create animations and special effects. Here, you would usually work with software to create visual effects that are either impractical or impossible to film. You would work very closely with filmmakers and videographers.
Information Architect
Imagine you’re the architect of a massive library. Your job will be to design the perfect layout, labels, and signs so that anyone who walks in can easily find the right book without feeling like they’re in a maze. As an Information Architect, you will create the blueprint for how information is structured. It’s all about making life simpler for the users who want to explore the knowledge in the digital world, a website or an app.
Usability Analyst
As a Usability Analyst, you will basically be the Sherlock Holmes for websites. You will investigate why users get stuck or frustrated, finding clues in data to help developers fix those pesky issues. It’s like solving mysteries, but in the digital realm.
User Researcher
Ever wanted to be a detective? Well, here’s your chance! As a User Researcher, you will observe and interview users to understand their desires and pain points. Your findings will be like treasure maps, guiding designers to create better experiences.
Content Strategist
A Content Strategist is the word wizard. Your mission will be to plan what words, pictures, and videos go where on a website or an app. You will make sure the right message pops up at just the right moment on a website or an app, like a magician with words.
Web Designer
Web designers build or redesign websites. You would need a good understanding of design to create websites that are both functional and look appealing to users. Web designers have gained popularity in recent times due to the growing popularity of digital media. As a web designer, you would have complete control of website designs and its pages.
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