From Graphic Designer to UI Design
About 2 and a half years ago I attended Swansea College of Art studying Graphic Design. About halfway through my 3rd year I moved out with my partner and little one and needed money — real quick.
It was then I found myself at cdsm, an e-learning company. I started out a Junior Graphic Designer creating e-learning content, designing infographics & photoshopping trailers on the back of cars, Hah!
Worth noting that starting out in design, it isn’t always glitz-and-glamour, but to get ahead is all about a solid work ethic, an enthusiasm for every task (even those mediocre ones) and a positive attitude towards everyone.
So, I guess you want to know how you can take your graphic design skills and transform yourself into a Ui designer, eh? Okay, let's dig in.
Design for digital
There is no 2 ways about it, this is going to take practice. Like you would starting out designing for magazine’s and page layout’s, you now need to do the same for ui. Use sites like Behance and Dribbble to search for epic web and software designs from designers you like and replicate their designs — scrap the notion of being a copycat and own it. Only then you can start innovating by adding your style and flavour baby!
Geek out & grasp UX
I know, I know — a lot of us took up a career in design specifically to avoid books, you know, the kind of one’s that use pages infiltrated by those things, those words. However, the trick is to choose the right books, and learn the right things. UX (User Experience) and Human centred design is what will guide your design choices and build sweet and functional Ui’s. Here’s 3 books to add to your list:
‘The Design of Everyday Things’ — Don Norman
I’d suggest reading the first 2 chapters and get a grasp on what it means to design useful products that eliminate problems and make positive changes in people’s lives.
‘About Face’ — Alan Cooper
This book is about skimming and focusing in on specific area’s. You’ll want to learn about building persona’s and designing with them, scenario’s and user journey’s, and where design fit’s in the process of building a feature for a product or site.
‘Design is a Job’ — Mike Monteiro (audiobook of this is pretty wicked)
This is more of an all-round design book. Mike Monteiro is badass designer at ‘Mule’ giving us designers a breakdown of what to be weary of, and how to own our status of Designer. Were not the magical unicorns, office wizard’s or outliers, we are workers all the same, having our voices heard on what sometimes feels like an uneven playing field.
Get critical, be consistent
Many of times I have thought a design is polished until I put it in front of my peers or mentors and receive what feels like a reel of feedback. The usual culprit, Consistency. It’s important be consistent and build a rule set of how button, icons, lists, etc. should look because this creates harmony between different pages. This helps users build an understanding of the Ui patterns they inherit to achieve their desired outcomes.
Design consistently, reuse components and the user will explore more and experiment with the different functionality — this will help to turn new users quickly into intermediate users, and a good design into a successful product.
There you have it, 3 ways in which you can begin to delve into Ui design. And if I had to leave you with one more pointer, it would be this;
What ever your background is, do well to incorporate it. If you can illustrate, animate, or maybe you’re a photographer, Use it! There are plenty of ways designers have used their additional skills to enhance their work and to add their own flair.
Give me a hola if you have any questions! ~ Thanks! 🤙🏼
