UX/UI

A UX / UI designer ensures that the user experience is as positive as possible. In other words, they ' re responsible for the convenience and attractiveness of a website or app.

The term User Experience design appeared fairly recently, in 1995. This industry is actively growing ; however, the job description still can differ from company to company. Also, there are some discussions about UX and UI, and whether one person should create both UX and UI designs. User Experience and User Interface designers conduct a lot of research, analyze , communicate with potential users and team members, and plan . Only then do they " draw " a prototype of the website that serves as a basis for writing the website code. A UX / UI designer must have developed empathy and understand the psychology of users.


Job responsibilities

  • Research and design user scenarios taking into account users' needs and the customer's wishes
  • Create an information architecture for a website or app
  • Design user interactions with the product
  • Create storyboards, process flows, sitemaps, wireframes, and prototypes
  • Develop the visual style, website color scheme, font selection, etc. 
  • Draw interface elements in a graphical editor
  • Create a design system
  • Improve an existing website or application (in accordance with the data analytics) 


A UX / UI designer can draw icons and elements for the interface. More complex illustrations are usually created by a Graphic Designer. 


Skills

A UX / UI designer needs to know the following technologies:

  • Prototyping tools (Wireframe.cc, Balsamiq mockup, InVision, or others)
  • Image editors (Adobe Illustrator, Figma, Sketch)
  • Zeplin – a program for collaboration with Frontend Developers 


To design for mobile apps, you need to know Google Material Design (Android) and Human Interface Guidelines (Apple).


Understanding the principles of animation would be a plus.


UX writing skill is rising in demand. It's the ability to write concise and understandable "micro texts", such as the labels for buttons and menu items. 


In addition to technical skills, communication and empathy are very important for a UX / UI designer. The latter is the ability to put yourself in the user's shoes and understand their pains and goals. 


You need to follow design trends while knowing the established norms – for example, the principles of usability.


FAQ

UX / UI designer is a relatively new profession, and many clients of INDIGO Tech Recruiters start their search for specialists with some basic questions. We have prepared answers to them. Need more information? Write to us.

1. What is the difference between UI, UX, and graphic design?

UX (User Experience) design is about how people feel and whether they find a website, a web or mobile app easy and convenient. UX designers do a lot of research and problem solving, and take care of the logic and structure of a product. In fact, they could even make paper prototypes, but graphic tools certainly facilitate the process. UI (User Interface) design is about visuals. UI designers develop elements of the interface, such as buttons, menus, fields, and backgrounds. They select typefaces, create style (and document it in a Style Guide) if it wasn’t defined before.
First, check their portfolio. Then, make sure a candidate can research user behavior and is willing to communicate. In this case, you can expect a specialist to create not just attractive , but also convenient, designs.
The main thing that a UX / UI designer should be able to do is to analyze user needs and design a user-friendly interface. Knowledge of certain programs and tools is not so important, and a competent designer can quickly master the necessary technologies.
The profession is relatively new, but very popular. Many companies prefer to hire and train a beginner because searching for experienced UX/UI designers can take a long time. If you need a competent specialist, you can post a vacancy on specialized Telegram channels for IT specialists, search for an employee on LinkedIn, or ask for help from professional recruiters.