If you want to become a professional UX designer, you probably have questions about what steps you need to take in order to get started. Diving into the professional creative industry can pose some questions about education requirements, because unlike other industries where you are required to have a degree from a college or university in order to begin working, UX designers are not always held to these same formalized educational standards.
Not only that, there is a lot of misleading or contradictory information to be found online about what User Experience designers are required to do before getting started, so you might be looking for some clarity that hopefully the following list can provide.
3 Steps to Becoming a UX Designer
- Find the right training for your goals. As mentioned above, there are no formal, national educational prerequisites technically required of UX designers who want to start working with clients, unless you explicitly want to call yourself a “Certified UX Designer.” However, if you do not have any prior knowledge or experience in user experience or website/ application design, and if you do not have a portfolio of work yet, it would be practical to receive some type of training before you start working with clients and advertising yourself as a professional. You can look for an affordable UX design course online, or take classes locally wherever you are able to find in-person UX design training.
- Understand how to use relevant software. It’s worth noting that in today’s industry, some clients or design firms might require you to be proficient in a specific UX design software program. If you are working independently, you do not necessarily need to know how to use any one particular program. However, if you think you would feel more confident as a designer if you became proficient in a specific software as well, note that NYIAD’s course trains learners to use Adobe XD.
- Start putting together your portfolio. Regardless of the educational route you take, a great way to start preparing for a career as a professional UX designer is by developing a beginner’s portfolio of work. Often, potential employers looking to hire a designer for a job are most interested in simply browsing a portfolio of projects that designer has already completed, so they can see for themselves the quality of work you’re capable of. In Unit 5 of NYIAD’s UX Design course, you will cover everything from portfolio development to how to best present it during interviews.
How Does NYIAD’s Online UX Design Course Work?
Each unit of NYIAD’s online UX design course includes reading assignments and a great deal of HD video lectures, design demonstrations and tutorials. You will watch professional User Experience designers walk through projects, talk about UX design concepts, discuss their own design careers and more.
You will also complete interactive projects- such as mock user interface modifications or asset library creation. Further along, you will begin to do mock designs of your own, and by the end of the course, one of your final projects will be to create your own a beginner’s online portfolio.
Want to Enroll in NYIAD’s UX Design Course?
If you are interested in starting a career as a professional UX designer and you think that NYIAD could be a good fit for you, feel free to get started whenever you’re ready. Our courses are entirely online and self-paced, meaning there are no start dates, class times or project due dates- you make your own schedule from home. You can enroll and get started online, or call 1-800-583-1742 to get started over the phone with one of our student services representatives.
