How to get started in UX
Hey, welcome to the start of my revamped blog!
When I first started writing it was as a way to vent and talk about my journey of learning about UX, being an intern, the struggle of getting my first UX role, and the many things that I experienced going from a junior to becoming a senior designer.
Not too long ago on Twitter, Ari was writing her blog post about to transition into tech. She asked us to link our blogs about how to get into our specific industries. However, while I do have videos on how to get started in UX, I didn’t have a blog list of all my resources. So consider this my how to get started in UX blog post.
Before I get into all of the resources let me clarify what is UX and UI. UX (user experience) is creating the feel of using a product. I like to think of UX as a creative behavioral science. It takes into the consideration of who is using the product, why they are using the product, how they are using the product and what pain points ( struggles) they have using the product. In my opinion, UX touches every aspect of the products you use. UX is in everything, whether it’s pressing a labeled button,a loading screen before you get to the next screen or even hearing a dial tone. UX is the process of making products usable and enjoyable via user research and data. UI ( user interface) is more of the artistic half of UX. UI focuses the color scheme, typography, icon styles etc. It’s all visual. Now there is a such thing as color theory and understanding how color influences behaviors along with how to pair fonts and that will be covered in one of my UX videos. However, when you do both for various platforms, I consider it, Product Design.
The resources posted below are the ones I used and recommend to understand the basics of UX ,UI and design thinking because they cover the full breadth of the industry. I will update this as I go because I’m sure I’m missing a few resources that I used.
Reading Materials -
100 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People
Youtube:
Courses:
User Experience Design Fundamentals
Intro to the Design of Everyday Things
Portfolio/Work Inspiration:
Logo Design:
Website Planet (Thank you to Samantha for sharing this with me to add to the list)
Meetups:
Ladies that UX While this group is focused on women in ux design, all genders are welcomed to join and participate in the meetup. They have a chapter in most major cities.
Conferences:
Some designers I followed when I first started:
Keep in mind that all of the designers you admire did not become skilled overnight. It has taken me years and plenty of trial and error to get this far. You will get here too. I hope this helps. If you have any questions , feel free to tweet me. Be on the lookout for my next UX video coming this Saturday and if you need any one on one help, feel free to book a consultation with me.
Until next time, happy designing and happy learning.
-Nita