How I Changed My Design Mindset
A year ago, I was a print graphic designer. I designed books and posters, mostly for architects and urban planners. While earning my BFA in Graphic Design, I made print work almost exclusively, so I was stoked about landing a job in print. However, whereas in school, I always got to start with identifying the design problem, developing a strategy, and doing a lot of research, I didn’t get to do that as much in my job. I loved the delicate details of setting type and creating icon sets, but I wanted to be part of the design process earlier on. So, I decided to focus on UX. I started a night class in interaction design, quit my job, and started an internship in experience design.
What I’m writing about here is the biggest challenge I experienced in transitioning from graphic design to user experience design:
thinking and working like a designer who could approach more complex design and usability problems very different than the design I was used to
Here are some things I did that helped me change my design mindset and start thinking like a UX designer:
Making stuff
I started by just making stuff. Guess what? You’re a UX designer! Congrats! Don’t wait for permission to design user experiences. If you want to be a UX designer, start calling yourself one. You should change your title on LinkedIn. And your resume. And your website. I’m not advocating lying about the experience you have, but start seeing yourself as the designer you want to be and telling the world that’s who you are.
When I wanted to build a portfolio for UX jobs and only had books to show, I redesigned apps and websites that I spent a lot of time on. Use your everyday interactions as research and start sketching ways to improve your own experiences. If you spend lots of time on an app, you probably already have a few ideas: you are the user, so you know what users need.
For example, my roommates and I used a cost-sharing app to split apartment expenses. I really liked it, but there were a few things I thought could be improved. I wanted to be able to add expenses to split with just one roommate (I had three) versus everyone. I wanted to create a ‘group’ and have only expenses pertaining to the apartment be displayed there, no other one-off charges like meals or a cab ride. I thought seeing how much we spend on utilities and house items in one place would help us budget.
When I first started redesigning apps I fell into focusing on what I knew: color, type, and iconography. Push yourself to focus on content, usability, and interactions. If you find yourself struggling to get into the UX mindset, try asking yourself:
- Who are the users of the app?
- What do the users need?
- What is the app doing well?
- What could it do better?
Sharing stuff you make
Another thing that can help is a gut-check on how you’re doing from someone else’s point of view, a great reason to share what you make. When I started sharing work with friends, going to portfolio reviews, and applying for jobs my work got so much better. Looking back, I wish I’d started doing it way sooner. The most helpful feedback I got was in interviews for jobs I didn’t get. It gave me a pulse on what was not resonating.
For example, when I showed the cost-sharing app I mentioned above in an interview, the designer interviewing me had questions that I couldn’t answer. I hadn’t thought through how members would be added to a household or how all users would be on-boarded onto the app. I didn’t have an answer for the incentive as to why users should create a group at all. This was a cost-sharing app, not a budgeting app; was I solving for a problem that did not exist or was I changing the app’s primary purpose?
Talking to the interviewer was instructive, because it prompted me to reevaluate how I approached self-initiated projects. I needed to stop getting attached to an idea and executing it before thinking through the UX flow. So I went back and asked myself the questions above. The result was me deciding to chuck that project out. I showed something else in my next interview. But it definitely wasn’t wasted time. Without making stuff and getting feedback, I wouldn’t have worked my way up to making a successful case study.
Since user experiences are created expressly for users to interact with, they require multiple perspectives. If you struggle with putting your work out there, here are some things to try:
- Set a share date and stick to it: Set a goal for yourself to share the next thing you make within a few days of making it, no matter what. Setting a goal that you stick to will help you push a project out into the world, step back, and get some feedback before spending too much time on an idea that doesn’t work (remember when I did that with the cost-sharing app?)
- Leverage your design community: Go to a meetup in your community or online. Share your work as well as what type of feedback you’re looking for.
- Make it a habit: Start a blog or a tumblr. Even if no one is looking at it initially, forcing yourself to put ideas out there will get you in the habit of doing it. And when you apply for jobs, you can share that link and show a cross-section of your process.
Getting comfortable with sharing your work and seeking feedback sets you up to be a UX pro, because it’s a skill that’s necessary throughout the process. When you test a prototype with users, you’ll get great feedback on how to make the design better. Or when you suggest an interaction in your wireframes, the visual designer you’re working with might have an even better idea about how the element could behave. Seeking feedback and being open to it at all times is key.
Looking for inspiration everywhere
Another perk of being part of a UX community that shares work is that you can check out what other designers are making. I love looking through Dribbble, Pinterest, Medium, etc. to see what other people are thinking about. In his recent article, An Open Letter to Designers of Unsolicited Redesigns and Unbuildable Apps,Ted Goas wrote about how helpful it is for him to see others process work and experiments:
“Thank you for giving me something to think about. Thank you for helping me frame my design problem in a different way. Your design doesn’t have to solve an immediate problem or be sold to someone who needs it in order to help people like me.”
Ted’s words highlight a key difference between graphic design and UX: there’s never one person making work alone. Augustin Esperson wrote about his experience transitioning from Graphic Design to UX and noted that it’s not a sin to copy. If someone else has created a pattern that works, there’s no reason you shouldn’t consider including it as an element in your design.
Instead of striving to be the best autonomous designer, strive to be a designer who is genuinely curious about others’ work and ideas. There are tons of resources out there for inspiration. Browsing the ‘UX’ tag here on Medium provides articles full of great resources. Some of my other faves include:
Focusing on one case study
If you’re already comfortable with sharing your work, be open to changing how you share your work. The process to make successful work is different in UX than in graphic design, so how you show it is going to be different. Prospective UXers should know that you just need one case study to get going. Many terrific designers have written that presenting your work like a case study is a great way to show your chops, including Timothy Jaeger in how to create a portfolio that has impact. He advocates showing your approach to solving a UX challenge rather than focusing on the end solution. I’ve found organizing my ideas as he suggests helpful in achieving a successful outcome:
- Describe challenges
- Outline your approach
- Show your process
- Show your result
- Share some things you learned
When I applied to the job that I now have, I showed just one piece of work. In graphic design, I wanted to show multiple projects to show how I worked with different mediums, typefaces, and colors. With a UX portfolio, your focus should be on showing how you can think.
Additional points to think about when putting together a case study:
- Who did you collaborate with? How did you work together as a team
- Was there anything you struggled with? Will you approach that challenge differently next time?
- Which skills (both yours and your teammates’) proved useful? Was there anything you didn’t expect, like being a great listener? Did it inspire you to learn something new?
- What surprised you the most? Was there anything you learned through the process that was a new insight?
Put your best foot forward, and don’t be hesitant if your portfolio feels less robust than you’re used to. It’s not, I promise.
Figuring out what you want
While you’re making work and figuring out how to present and share it, also consider who you want to work with and what motivates you. What excited you most at the prospect of being a UX designer?
Make a list of what you are hoping to gain from your first job in UX. Is it important to you to learn and use lots of different software? Do you want to work closely with UI designers or developers? What types of projects excite you? What type of work environment do you think you want to be in? When you find a company or designer that excites you, tell them in plain words why you’re a great fit. Once I started approaching job applications this way, I was able to connect with the right place for me.
When I applied to my current job, I wrote about how I admired their commitment to reinventing their business for the digital age. I thought I’d be a good fit because I was doing the same thing for myself, and I was passionate about opening myself up to new ways of thinking too. Making that connection openly led to a great interview that led to an internship, which led to a job.
I’ve now been working in UX for a year. I’ve learned a lot and it’s been super awesome. The biggest takeaway so far is that UX has taught me to not get too attached to any one way of doing something. Jessica Ivins wrote some great advice about getting a job in UX and one thing she said I think epitomizes the whole process: get comfortable with teaching yourself new things.
This year I’ve experimented with tons of new tools: Sketch, Principle, Axure, Invision, Proto.io, AfterEffects. I’ve worked on many different projects with many different designers, copywriters, account leads, producers, creative directors, and clients. Adapting on a regular basis has given me the confidence to know I can totally do it and shown me that constant adaptation is necessary to making something great.
I’ve spent some time lately thinking about what I want to learn most this year. There are lots of things I want to improve upon, and my #1 goal for 2016 is to be a better collaborator and listener. Here’s how I am going to work towards this:
- Becoming less hesitant to share parts of ideas that team members can build on. Be receptive to teammates’ ideas and build on suggestions from others.
- In client interactions, work on setting a tone that helps to create trust so we can collaborate closely and make better work.
- Be more communicative with the teams I work on. Be better at snagging someone and getting their opinion when I have an idea. I can’t remember where I heard this, but I like the sentiment so I’m adding it here: approach my job as leading the design process, not as the designer. I like thinking of UX that way because it gives a nod to the truly collaborative and curious nature of the work.
I wanted to share my #1 goal because I think it’s important to acknowledge that getting into UX doesn’t mean you have to be the best at everything. Don’t be deterred if this is something you want to do. As long as you’re open, eager and willing to teach yourself, you’ll be a great UX designer. You can do it!
