#NoCode Series: UI/UX Design and UX Writing
Do you want to be a techie without writing code? Here’s one way to.
UI/UX design has become one of the most sought-after skills in the tech industry. Recently, I have come across many tweets about how to be a techie and earn from the tech industry without writing code. Over time, I have met people who love the idea of tech but think that they are not cut out for it because they do not like writing code. Some have even tried to code in the past but failed at it and got discouraged.
In this series, we’ll be discussing different no-code tech skills that you can learn. The first in this series is UI/UX Design and Writing. They are three different roles, but they go hand-in-hand, so we’ll discuss them together. Let’s dive in.
What is UI Design?
UI means User Interface. User Interface/Interaction Design focuses on the look, colour, and layout of a digital product, ensuring that it looks fascinating and appealing to the users whilst serving its purpose. As a UI designer, you’d be interested in how your prospective users would navigate your product and the beauty of the said product-the arrangement, font, colour palette, etc.
If like me, the idea of graphics, matching colours, and design generally stresses you out, then UI Design might not be the suitable space for you. To be a UI designer, you’d need a good eye for design. You must be flexible — willing to unlearn and relearn things, as trends may change from time to time.
What is UX Design?
UX means User Experience. As the name implies, a UX designer aims to satisfy users and ensure they can use the product seamlessly. As a UX designer, you’d have to understand your users, what they need, and what they want or do not want and how your product fits into their daily lives as a solution. You’d then work towards creating a design that factors in all the information from your research — creating user personas and use cases. UX is the caring parent of design.
UX designers do a lot of research; they run surveys and interview people to know what they should consider and factor in their decisions. A UX designer should be a good and effective communicator and a curious person. UX designers are critical thinkers and possess problem-solving skills.
UX Writing? What’s that?
UX Writing deals mainly with microcopy: short, concise, and clear copies. Good UX Writing involves curating microcopy that aid your customers’ easy usage of your digital product. It helps to give clarity and direction, especially by describing what specific design elements are meant for on the screen they see. Examples of UX Writing are the words you see in a form field before typing your response (placeholder texts), hero text, etc.
UI and UX: The Link
“Think of UX as the way a car drives, shifts gears, or protects you in an accident and UI as the colour and design of that car.” — Matthew Cogswell, UI/UX Designer at Modop.
As implied in this article, If Techies Made Up A Construction Team, I like to think of UI/UX designers as the architects and/or interior decorators of digital products. A website or app should have great UI and excellent UX; one shouldn’t go without the other. The floor in a Montessori classroom should be colourful (UI) and have enough friction, so the children do not slip and fall (UX). Do you get it?
An attractive website with a confusing or illogical flow is an example of good UI and bad UX. In contrast, an app that functions appropriately but has slightly irritating colour combinations or layout is an example of good UX and bad UI. UI and UX go hand-in-hand; that’s why you’d mostly see vacancy ads saying something along the line of “UI/UX designer needed.”
Career Prospects
All digital products require UI/UX design and writing. It means that the more technology evolves or, the more startups are created, the higher the demand for UI/UX Designers and Writers.
The average salary of an entry-level UI/UX designer is about $83 421 annually in the United States. Of course, that’s just the average pay; you can earn more. You can even be a Freelance Designer.
UX Writing is lucrative, too; The average salary for a UX Writer in the United States is $112,726 per year.
Getting Started
If you think that UI/UX Design or Writing is it for you, here are a few tips to get started:
- Take a course: If could take courses on IDF, Coursera, Udemy, etc. and watch YouTube videos. Samples include:
- Read books/articles: Principles of Product Design by Aarron Walter, Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug are samples of great books you could read. Also, read publications or articles of renowned designers and writers or those you look up to.
- Follow people in the same field: Whether it’s on Twitter, Linkedin, or any other social media platform, follow people who have scaled through the level you’re at and learn from them. You could also read their blog posts if they have any.
- Attend events/training: Instead of majorly self-learning, some prefer hands-on training as it may be easier and quicker to understand, and that’s okay. Look out for events/training in your field, attend, learn, and rub minds with other people.
- Practice regularly.
- Get a support group: A support group, in this case, refers to a community, whether small or large, of people who are at the same level as you or on a higher level in the same field. As in this article, communities like this serve as your emergency helplines when you’re stuck on something, tired, or need someone to walk you through stuff. At She Code Africa, we have a design group you could join to mingle with and learn. Sign up here or find a chapter near you.
