UX design is a rewarding field that bridges the gap between creative problem solving and practical application. That said, the competitive landscape means that UX designers need to possess and continually refine a wide range of skills if they want to have a successful career.
From research and user testing, to design thinking and prototyping, UX designers must continually update and refine their skill sets.
In this article, we're taking a look at 10 of the most important skills for any aspiring UX designer to have. We'll also share some tips on how to improve these skills and showcase them during the interview process.
Read on to learn more, or use the links below to skip to sections most relevant to you:
- Important Hard Skills for UX Designers
- Visual and UI Design Skills
- User Research and Analysis
- Information Architecture
- Wireframing
- Prototyping
- Important Soft Skills for UX Designers
- Empathy
- Critical Thinking
- Communication & Collaboration
- Time Management - How to Improve In-Demand UX Design Skills
- Tips to Showcase Your UX Skills During the Interview Process
- Key Takeaways
Important Hard Skills for UX Designers
Hard skills refer to your mastery of the specific tools, techniques, and processes you use in your day-to-day work as a UX designer. These skills are measurable and can often be evaluated during a portfolio review, a whiteboard challenge, or other design assessment.
As a UX designer, some of the most important hard skills you need are:
1. Visual and UI Design Skills
UI design focuses on the visual elements of product interfaces, and includes everything from color palettes and typography to fine-tuning the layout and overall aesthetic.
In order to create impactful designs, UX designers need a baseline of visual and user interface (UI) design skills.
There are two main reasons for this:
First, because many UX design roles include a UI design facet. In addition to researching and wireframing digital interfaces, many (if not all) UX roles are expected to also be able to contribute meaningfully towards the visual design of the elements.
Secondly, it can be difficult to translate your UX expertise during job interviews—and to future teammates when presenting your work—if you lack a foundational understanding of visual design principles. If your work looks and feels like an amateur designed it, it will be very challenging to get the support you need to land that job in the first place.
As a UX designer, you can use visual design knowledge to create visually appealing products that are easy and enjoyable to use, reduce cognitive load, and establish consistency within the visual elements of the product.
Learn more: What's The Difference Between UX and UI Design?
2. User Research and Analysis
User research includes gathering data through user interviews, surveys, and other methods. It also involves analyzing this data to identify trends or patterns in user behavior.
Research skills are essential for a UX designer because they allow the designer to understand user needs and develop designs that reflect those needs.
UX designers need to investigate user needs and competitor products through structured quantitative and qualitative research methods, which might include any of the following:
- Interviews
- Surveys
- Focus groups
- Usability testing
Learn more: 6 User Research Methods & When To Use Them
3. Organizing Information (Information Architecture)
UX designers need to be able to prioritize and organize complex sets of information.
Information architecture (IA) provides structure to the content and information within a digital product. Through site structure, menus, labels, and search functionality, it aims to make each piece of information easily accessible for users who need it to complete their tasks.
When creating digital products, UX designers need to be in control of information—both from a project management perspective, and from a product design perspective. Understanding how to organize information is what makes the difference between intuitive navigation and a confusing, frustrating experience.
Well-designed information architecture creates a highly accessible, easy-to-use product.
Learn More: Guide to Information Architecture in UX Design
4. Wireframing
UX designers need both high-fidelity and low-fidelity wireframing skills.
Wireframes are rough sketches or outlined versions of screen designs. They are important in UX design, because they allow us to explore possible design solutions without investing lots of time and effort in fine details.
Wireframes are used throughout digital design projects. Low-fidelity wireframes might be used in the early stages of ideation, when rough ideas are being explored and prototypes. High-fidelity wireframes (which are closer to the final design) are often used later in a project, before adding visual polish. However, they can be used at any stage to problem-solve or aid discussion.
Learn More: What Is a Wireframe?
5. Prototyping
UX designers need to create prototypes and lead user testing.
A prototype is an early, working sample of a product. In UX design, its main purpose is to test the product and gather feedback from users. You can take the data from this round of UX testing to improve and validate the designs, before investing further time and resources into creating the final product.
UX designers are often responsible for creating low fidelity prototypes of product concepts, which are then tested with user groups. Later in the process, once the high-fidelity visual and UI design work has been done, UX designers will lead the prototyping and testing of high-fidelity designs, gathering detailed user feedback on the product experience.
Learn more: The Best Prototyping Tools for UX/UI Designers
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Important Soft Skills for UX Designers
Here are some of the most important soft skills for UX designers:
6. Empathy
UX designers need to identify with the needs and feelings of others.
Humans are social animals, and empathy and emotional intelligence are important skills in everyday life. However, empathy has a special importance in the UX design process, because it is a user-centered discipline by definition. “Empathize” is also the first step in the design thinking methodology.
Your ability to create impactful design solutions doesn't just depend on how well you can collect objective user research data. It also requires you to put yourself in the user's shoes. This means imagining the situations in which people will use something, and anticipating the issues they’re likely to face.
Empathy also requires an awareness of accessibility requirements, and how you can proactively design more inclusive product experiences from wireframe to final UI.
Learn more: A Guide to Accessibility in UX Design (With Resource List)
7. Critical Thinking
To arrive at an effective solution, UX designers need to question assumptions and analyze problems deeply.
In addition to helping a UX designer to understand, define, and ultimately solve design problems, critical thinking can also enhance your communication by enabling you to express ideas more clearly.
Critical thinking is a skill that you can boost through deliberate practice, whether that's learning how to identify (and unravel) logical fallacies that can derail user research analysis, or making connections between ideas or positions that are far apart.
A simple way to start improving your critical thinking is by asking an experienced designer or mentor for honest feedback on your work. You can take the feedback and compare it with your own reflections, to help you heighten your self-awareness and sharpen your ability to think critically beyond your own biases.
Learn more: How to Give and Receive Design Critique Well
8. Collaboration and Communication Skills
UX designers need to work with many stakeholders—including users, product managers, and developers.
UX design is a highly collaborative role. During the user research and testing phases, you'll work closely with participants to learn more about their needs and goals.
Likewise, as you move into the active design phases of your projects, you'll have to find a way to identify relevant business goals and figure out how to best incorporate them alongside the user needs. For this, you'll have to communicate clearly and effectively with product managers and other decision makers within the company as a whole.
Finally, a UX designer also has to be able to efficiently communicate the details of how a design should behave, empowering development teams with the information they need.
Mastering these communication skills comes with practice ... but it also requires you to be disciplined in recording meeting notes, documentation, and task descriptions to ensure no detail is lost from one iteration to the next.
Learn more: Top Online Collaboration Tools for UX Designers
9. Time Management
Good time management skills are critical in order for a UX designer to be able to complete design projects before deadlines while meeting user needs.
Mastering this skill involves creating schedules that allow you to meet goals, make decisions quickly, and focus on the most important tasks without distractions. Accurate goal setting and planning can also help prevent burnout, by allowing you to take breaks when needed or begin thinking about solutions ahead of time.
Time management is an essential skill for UX designers, as it helps you to plan, prioritize and organize your daily tasks efficiently. With these skills in place, UX designers can ensure they stay organized and productive throughout the work day.
Learn More: How to Develop Atomic Habits That Drive Better Time Management
10. Continuous Learning
UX designers need to learn every day.
Design is a discipline where there is something new to learn every day, from every person, on every project. On top of this, the industry is constantly shifting and developing, with new standards, conventions, tools, platforms, and devices to keep on top of.
In just the past decade, the entire digital design industry has needed to pivot from interface designs for conventional keyboard-and-mouse computers, to user-centered designs for touch-based smartphones and smartwatches. On top of those shifts in technical constraints, user expectations have also increased dramatically.
An important part of learning design is learning how to learn. That means treating every project and interaction as an opportunity to discover new approaches and grow your professional practice. Go back to square one for every brief, and don’t be afraid to ask the basic questions. In the words of the great architect, designer, and theorist Bucky Fuller: “dare to be naive”.
How to Improve Your Hard and Soft UX Design Skills
The best way to improve your UX design skills is to engage in continuous learning and practice.
For example, you can take advantage of UX-focused courses, workshops, and tutorials to expand your knowledge of UX design principles and methodologies.
Working with an experienced mentor is another effective way to learn valuable insights, tips, and tricks into the nuances of life as a UX designer.
Finally, participating in events such as meetups or conferences will keep you informed of the latest industry trends and news, which can help you stay up-to-date on best practices and design techniques.
Tips to Showcase Your UX Skills During the Interview Process
Having a portfolio with an array of your best work is the most important way to showcase your skills. In your portfolio, you’ll want to include examples from each portion of theUX design process, from the initial concepting and ideation to user research, wireframe sketches, and final visual design mockups.
Learn More: How to Make a UX Design Portfolio: Tips & Tricks to Help You Stand Out
During the interview process, prospective employers will want to know more about how well you can think on your feet and adapt when needed.
Because of this, it can be helpful to come prepared with answers that demonstrate your problem solving approach, and any quantifiable results you’ve achieved in past projects (even if you’ve only practiced with coursework to date).
Key Takeaways
- UX designers need hard and soft skills to be successful. These include technical, creative, communication, research, and problem-solving skills.
- To improve your UX design skills engage in continuous learning such as taking courses or workshops, working with a mentor, and attending events.
- Your design portfolio is your most important tool to showcase your skills when interviewing for a UX design job.
- Be prepared for your interview with answers that demonstrate your problem solving approach and any quantifiable results you’ve achieved in past projects.
Are you ready to start developing your UX design skills? The next cohort of UX Academy Foundations is currently open for enrollment. This online course combines visual design skills training and 1:1 mentorship with an experienced designer to help you master the fundamental skill set that you'll rely on throughout your UX design journey.
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