DESIGNA MAGAZINE DESIGNA ISSUE III 2019 2 | Page 61

1. Expand Your
Skillset
You aren't going to learn all of these things overnight.With
that in mind, your visual and design skills are a vital
foundation. But you have to branch out and learn some new
things as well.
UX design is at the center of a range of fields, and you'll want
to learn as much as you can about design psychology,
interaction design and information architecture. It also helps
to understand user research and feedback methods and
content strategy. (Yes, UX designers wear a lot of hats.)
You aren't going to learn all of these things overnight. Start
with areas that are most comfortable and keep expanding the
circle of knowledge. Talk to other designers who have made
the leap, and find out how they were able to transfer graphic
design skills to UX design. For me, the process of thinking
through problems and creating solutions was a natural start.
There are so many more potential solutions with an interactive
product!
2. Forget the Focus
on Pixels
With that in mind, your visual and design skills are a vital
foundation. But you have to branch out and learn some new
things as well.
Rather than thinking about grids and details and
pixels, think about the user.
One of the toughest transition points for a graphic designer
making the jump to user experience design is a change to the
overall thought process. Rather than thinking about grids
and details and pixels, think about the user.
The process will likely start by designing how something will
work, and the visual aspect of the design will come much
later. Focus on functionality and how users will and will want
to interact with the design.
The product has to solve a problem or provide enjoyment
for users to continue to interact with it. Once that part of
the design nut is cracked, then you can move on to thinking
about how it will actually look.
3. Learn to
Evaluate Feedback
The process will likely start by designing how something will
work, and the visual aspect of the design will come much
later. Focus on functionality and how users will and will want
to interact with the design.
The product has to solve a problem or provide enjoyment
for users to continue to interact with it. Once that part of
the design nut is cracked, then you can move on to thinking
about how it will actually look.
UX design is at the center of a range of fields, and you'll want
to learn as much as you can about design psychology,
interaction design and information architecture. It also helps
to understand user research and feedback methods and
content strategy. (Yes, UX designers wear a lot of hats.)
You aren't going to learn all of these things overnight. Start
with areas that are most comfortable and keep expanding the
circle of knowledge. Talk to other designers who have made
the leap, and find out how they were able to transfer graphic
design skills to UX design. For me, the process of thinking
through problems and creating solutions was a natural start.
There are so many more potential solutions with an interactive
product!
Sometimes graphic design feels like an art that you create
and toss into the world without another look. You don't
always know how users responded, what they think, or if it
actually worked as intended. Often there isn't a clear method
for collecting and evaluating feedback.
UX design is all about feedback. User research is an
important part of the field.
There are various methodologies, deliverables, and tools that
help you through the research process. (Honestly, this can be
one of the most daunting and invigorating parts of UX
May
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June 2019 | D E S I G N A