The Shortest Roadmap to UX Design on Earth
Yup! Shortest, no-bullshit, easiest — call it whatever you like, but this is the truth about being smart in your design career.
The reality
“Behold…Designers! How art thou so glamourous?” — people nowadays
I have to be honest with you. Designing is like every other job — we solve problems and get paid depending on how well we can solve those pain points.
UX Design is all about using every tool and skill to solve a problem and present it to users — mostly through digital experiences. So if you think, it's all about Instagram reels and mentioning the word “design” in a sentence 10 times — take a deep breath and relax, because this article is for you too.
How do I start?
I have many people flooding my Instagram DM with this question. As someone who transitioned from Mechanical Engineering to UX Design, I have myself thought of the same. Many of us are confused about the first step to take when choosing a new career. Here are some factors why you are confused
- Looking up UX Design at every website listed on Google
- Searching tips & hacks on the Internet to be a UX Designer overnight
- Keeping up with various trends on social media at the same time
- Not following the design process consistently
Now that we are aware of some common problems, let’s solve them as a designer would.
1. Do we need a university degree?
Let’s address the elephant in the room — No, we don't need an expensive degree to become a UX designer. I won’t deny that there are perks to that but it's easier to learn this skill than you think.
2. Get your basics right
You don’t have to spend days trying to learn the vocabulary and theory. These are things you pick up along the way. However, you need to work on understanding what you would do, as a UX designer.
User experience (UX) design = Holistic Product Design (HPD) = (Business Objectives + Tech Integration + Human-centered Design) * (Effective Collaboration + Iterative Design Process)
— Shai — Head of Design at Mycaptain
3. Get your skills right
There are a million tools out there to learn and be a PRO. But trust me when I’m saying all you need is Figma.
Before you get excited about all that jazz, here is a task to perform every day/week/month/ until you understand the UX process.
- Start using new apps/websites that solve a problem
- Look for areas where the product lacks user experience — you can interview users and ask about their pain points while using the app
- Solve these problems as a UX Designer — use the design thinking process, create new prototypes
4. Become visible on the radar
I don't mean to go and spam every designer out there asking for guidance or a job. Sorry, but that never works. Here’s what you need to do instead —
- Use social media like, LinkedIn and Instagram to observe how others solve design challenges and learn from them.
- Follow UX Designers who offer consultation and will help you clear your doubts, for a reasonable fee (I charge a nominal fee that most would use to buy a Diary Milk chocolate instead) on Instagram.
- Attend design meetups, workshops, and events — connect with these mentors on Linkedin/Instagram, and make sure you send them a message to highlight your concerns.
- Go to Medium and read case studies — understand how they solved problems and the process they followed. Now, write your own case studies and publish them on Medium.
5. Know your Weakness before your Strengths
I was so proud of my designs when I started my UX career many years back, only to realize how little I knew about my weak points. I had to hear them from HR and Managers who rejected me. This was a long and demotivating experience. Instead, steal my strategy to improve yourself by doing these —
- Compare your case studies and process used with other top designers.
- Think from a fresh perspective — think as a user who is completely different from you
- Question your decisions — why did I do this? Why did I put that button there or Why didn’t I use X color instead of Y, etc…
6. Finally, Dont reinvent the wheel
Stop figuring out things on your own. Learn from other products’ success stories and apply the same formula to your design. See how it plays out. You can get inspired from any product like a movie or a brand — understand how they solved a problem.
Find a few good mentors and upcoming designers who share tips and roadmaps to UX Design. I am posting a lot of Daily Tasks for Figma on my IG Stories. This will give your design brain some workout and following such methods can upskill yourself. I am focusing on putting more content, you can check out my Instagram if you’d like – @thenobledesigns
I hope this article has inspired you to do or learn something new. I appreciate you reading this till the end and good luck on your journey.
