Careers you can pursue with a degree in UI, UX Design

While the job of a User Experience (UX) designer is to make the product look extremely attractive by adding eye-catching features, the real advantage of a good User Interface (UI) is visualisation

In this age of digitization, product manufacturers always look for innovative ways to grab eyeballs through their websites and apps. Businesses are going the extra mile to invest more into their UX in order to retain a competitive edge in a market defined by frequent change in tastes and preferences of consumers.

Being a UX designer, you don’t necessarily need to be a UI designer but you need to take control of the entire customer journey. These include the technology, the marketing, and even the research aspect, apart from having a good understanding of the experiences of the customer or the user.

The job of user experience (UX) designers is to make the product look extremely attractive and alluring by adding eye-catching features which the consumers find difficult to ignore.

In some places, UX design team members are in great demand because of their creativity, specialised skills, and the sheer uniqueness and variety they bring to the products.

The amoebic pervasiveness of the internet, technology, and social media have given consumers greater purchasing power, choices, and higher expectations when it comes to interacting with digital products.

With their ear to the ground, companies are doing everything they can to make sure the buyers’ mobile and web experiences are positive ones. And it is the UX designers who make all this happen.

On the other hand, the real advantage of a good user interface (UI) is visualisation. The general customer does not prefer to read too much information, so giving the content hierarchy, visualising it, making it legible and easy to understand are the crucial decisions you need to take while defining a user interface.

Role of a UX designer

A UX designer thinks out of the box so that the user always experiences something unique about the product he is using. The designer also undertakes task analyses to see how users actually complete tasks in a user flow.

It all boils down to a matter of convenience for the user. It is the UX designer who has to ensure that the checkout process of the user when shopping online is hassle-free. If your online banking app makes it easy for you to manage your money, then the credit for this goes to the dexterous UX designer who makes it possible.

The ultimate purpose of UX design is to create user-friendly, relevant, and all-round pleasant experiences for the user.

Career prospects for UX designers

The demand for UX designers is steadily on the rise. As UX designers gain experience, they have a plethora of opportunities to handle prestigious projects.

A UX designer can go on to hold managerial positions like UX manager, UX director, and creative director.

As you get ahead in your career, take up new challenges that give you more experience and responsibilities. Working on different types of projects will bring out the best in you and teach you how to respond to them.

Develop solid interpersonal and leadership skills, as managers oversee groups of people and can interact with employees outside of their team.

UI Design as a career option

UI design as a career provides ample opportunities for growth and success, not to mention, an attractive salary package.

You can take your career as a UI designer to the next level if you are imaginative, have a fine eye for visuals and are creatively inclined; all you need to do is scratch the itch to become a UI designer.

UI vs UX Design

Unlike UX, UI design is digital in nature.

A user interface is about the interaction between the user and a digital device or product—like the touchscreen on your smartphone, or the touchpad you use to select what kind of tea or beverages you want from the vending machine.

In relation to websites and apps, UI design puts more emphasis on the look, feel, and interactivity of the product. It’s also about making sure that the user interface of a product is as intuitive as possible, and that means carefully considering each and every visual, interactive element the user might encounter.

A UI designer focuses on the effectiveness of icons, buttons, spacing, typography and colour schemes.

If UX design identifies and solves user problems, UI design is all about creating aesthetically-pleasing, interactive interfaces.

UX design is always conspicuous by its prominence in the product development process, followed by UI. The UX designer follows the trajectory of the user journey; the UI designer embellishes it with visual and interactive elements.

UX can make a qualitative difference to any kind of product, service, or experience whereas UI is integral to digital products and experiences.

UPES offers B.Des in User Experience and Interaction Design.