WANT TO BE A BETTER UI/UX DESIGNER? FIND OUT FROM THREE
Do you think you can’t be a better UI/UX designer? Do you believe your mentors are perfect and nothing seems difficult for them? Then this article is for you, TO PROVE YOU WRONG.
PS: Grab your popcorn and get comfortable, this is going to be a long but fun ride.
As the base for the continent’s finest UI/UX engineers and designers, one of our motives at 115garage is to transform a rookie into a world-class UI/UX designer. Three of our senior designers share their growth process as well as tips to becoming a better designer.
FYI: A rookie is just a fancy word for a beginner.
The names of our UI/UX designers are Pascal, Kay or Tomide.
Pascal as a senior designer is also the community manager at 115garage. Studying sociology and anthropology at the university, she utilizes these skills to create a perfect UX design process.
FYI: Sociology is the study of societal interaction, culture and relationships.
Anthropology is the study of humans, their behaviours and societies in the past and present.
UX, which means user experience, is a person’s emotions and attitudes about using a particular product.
Also, since she has hands-on experiences of these skills, she possesses a high emotional quotient which qualifies her as a competent community manager.
Kay studies computer engineering at Bells University of Technology, Ogun State. His designs are simple but intriguing. He seems to love what he does as he would break UI/UX tough terms into simple pieces. His smile, friendliness and rapt attention to coworkers put everyone at ease.
Tomide is a UI/UX engineer as well as a frontend developer. Since he loves to create, designs come naturally to him. He desires to solve societal issues through designs.
Stay-stunned as we’re about to ask them questions!!!
HOW DID YOU KICK OFF YOUR UI/UX DESIGN JOURNEY?
Tomide: It all started with having a UI/UX designer as a roomie. I would sneak peek at his designs and collect tutorials from him. But although I was captivated by UI/UX design, I wasn’t into it until 2years later. I can still remember the day I started like yesterday, I wanted to build a website but thought to design it first. I did and fell in love.
Pascal: I was initially a frontend developer but was encouraged by my boss to give UI/UX design a try. I did and I’ve been engrossed since.
Kay: Uhmmm, I started as a graphics designer. During this period, I interacted with different types of designers: logo designers, iconographers, illustrators, videographers and UI/UX designers. I felt attracted to UI/UX design instantly and made up my mind after two UI/UX design sessions. I haven’t looked back since.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO DESIGN?
Kay: I love the ability to design a better solution to an existing design. I also love to create a better user experience.
Pascal: I understand that I have an opportunity to create what would solve a problem.
Tomide: To be able to create a product that would solve people’s problems.
WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL TOOLS YOU USE WHILE DESIGNING?
Pascal: I have a lot of tools I use. I’m going to mention some of them in no order of preference: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, Google doc, dropbox, notion, Coolors and MockUphone. Sidenote: I always use Figma, I use Adobe XD as my canvas, notion for documentation and Coolors for choosing my colours.
Kay: Figma and Paper.dropbox.
Tomide: A pen and a dotted notebook, and Figma.
WHAT DO YOU DO TO BE FOCUSED AS YOU WORK?
Kay: I listen to music while designing. I do not listen to music during the UX process especially since it’ll involve interviewing users, that would be rude.
Pascal: I also listen to a wide range of music during UI design.
Tomide: I listen to electronic music.
WHAT CONCEPT STRESSES YOU ABOUT UI/UX DESIGN?
Pascal: The UX process. I wouldn’t call it stress, but UX demands a lot of attention. It requires that you interact with your potential users so as to understand their needs and create a useable design. Since every human has a unique experience, perspective and desire, it’s important and thus tedious to respect this uniqueness and put them into consideration.
Kay: As she said, people have unique reasons for doing things. Prioritizing one reason over another can be difficult and challenging.
Tomide: Interaction design.
FYI: Interaction Design is the creation of a dialogue between a person and a product, system, or service. This dialogue is both physical and emotional in nature and is manifested in the interplay between form, function, and technology as experienced over time.
WHAT ARE THE MISCONCEPTIONS YOU HAD ON UI/UX DESIGN?
Pascal: I believed that design was all about aesthetics.
Kay: That was how I felt too.
Tomide: Me too (laughs).
WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO IN THE UI/UX INDUSTRY?
Kay: the Futur and 115garage.
Tomide: Jonathan Ive and Joshua Oluwagbemiga.
Pascal: A lot of people in the industry.
HOW DO YOU UPSKILL YOURSELF AS A UI/UX DESIGNER?
Pascal: I read articles about designs, take online design classes, follow designers on social media, collaborate with fellow designers, and also assist junior designers in their projects.
Kay: I take online classes, read design articles and collaborate with fellow designers on design projects.
Tomide: I design regularly and teach junior designers.
HOW CAN ONE BECOME A TERRIFIC UI/UX DESIGNER LIKE YOU?
Pascal: The first step is to be certain that this is the field for you. Then take design classes, follow designers on social media, and attend tech conferences. You should also intern in a tech firm and offer to assist a designer or developer in a project. Also, make sure you design every day even if you don’t feel inspired to create something new, redesign an existing design. Always remember, “Practice makes perfect”.
Kay: UI/UX is a field that is always evolving so you need to keep updating your knowledge. Interact with people who are more proficient and like Pascal said, embark on projects.
Tomide: As everyone said, immerse yourself in the world of design, follow designers and check out their works, read design case studies and practise.
WHAT DO YOU DO OUTSIDE WORK?
Pascal: I love to eat ;). I’m a humanitarian and the secretary of the rotary club in my local district. I also take photography classes and swim.
Kay: I love listening to music. I skate a lot too in fact, I’m a member of a skating (rollerblading and skateboarding) group at school called Velocity Crew Skate. As a member of a group, I improve my leadership and communication skills.
Tomide: I ponder a lot, dance to afro-beats and spend time with creative people.
THE END!
