We’ve received quite a few emails lately from readers looking to get started in UX Design—many coming from a print background.
Here’s one such email, which I’ve published here with permission:
I’m a traditional print-based graphic designer looking to get into UX design. I’ve a good background in the Adobe Suite and traditional print software (QuarkXpress etc). Currently I’m working within the newspaper industry and am fearing for my future, as the industry is in (probably) terminal decline. I am looking to re-skill towards web-based UX design. Can you recommend a starting point and path I should look to take? Many thanks.
In our animated video (embedded below) I mentioned that a career as a UX Designer is interesting, challenging, rewarding, pays well, and has a low barrier of entry.
What I didn’t touch on is how to get started as a UX Designer. What follows is my advice for anyone looking to get started in UX Design.
1) Get Educated
I’m not saying you should go invest in a university degree. While I’m certain that there are quality higher education courses out there, I don’t think that’s a necessary step to take to break into the UX world. What I mean is: read, watch and listen to everything you can get your hands on in order to understand how UX Designers do what they do.
Read our review of User Experience: The Ultimate Guide to Usability
We’ve put together a ton of recommended books, which should form a good starting point.
If you’re looking for an online course to help you get started, we recommend User Experience: The Ultimate Guide to Usability by David Travis. Read our full review of the course here). The subject matter itself isn’t difficult to digest, but there is a lot to learn. The more you can digest, the better off you’ll be.
2) Get The Right Tools
UX Design is more about working with people than working on your own in front of a screen. That said, there are two tasks that stand out as being a huge part of what I do: creating interactive wireframes and conducting guerrilla usability testing sessions. Both require software to do properly.
I’ve tried a few different applications, but keep coming back to Balsamiq Mockups as my wireframing tool of choice, and I use Silverback (Mac only) for recording my usability testing. There are plenty of other alternatives to these tools out there; these just happen to be what works best for me. For the most comprehensive list of UX Tools ever, check out our 100+ Awesome Tools For UX Designers.
3) Get Some Experience
Your next step is to find a way to put some of this new-found knowledge into practice. Luckily, it’s possible to do so without having to bluff your way into a job only to discover you’re out of your depth. Whether it means spending some time after hours helping a friend’s small business, a local non-profit, or a personal project, seek out the opportunity to apply some of the theory, and start getting those runs on the board.
It could even be as simple as taking the initiative at work to conduct some user testing sessions, and branching out from there. Approach an agency or organisation that you have contacts on the inside, and volunteer your time to conduct some usability testing sessions or perform user interviews. While it may go against the grain to admit to being a novice at something (and taking8 a pay cut to go with that) after you’ve had an established career doing something else, this is a field that is so fast moving that I honestly feel like a year after being “that intern” people would forget that was where you came from, and if you’re adding value then you may be in a good position to renegotiate (or move on to somewhere else that recognises the value you’re adding).
For an activity such as conducting user testing, a handful of sessions is all you need to get the hang of things. Once you’ve introduced that user feedback loop to your project, you can start focussing on developing other skills.
4) Get Connected
The best UX jobs, like all jobs, aren’t advertised. They come through LinkedIn, Twitter, local event meetups, referrals, or are only ever sourced internally. Trusting somebody to own the user experience of a product to somebody, for many organisations, is like trusting them with a newborn baby. There will be a ton of questions and building trust with the interviewer is key.
If the position has come from the result of a conversation in a social setting, or a recommendation from somebody you met, then you’ll already have a head start on building that trust. So get along to your local UX Book Club, find an event on meetup.com, and start following some of the UX thought leaders on Twitter.
5) Get A Mentor
For me, finding a mentor was a real turning point. Even though we don’t catch up as often these days as when we first formalised the mentoring relationship, when I look back now, many of the big decisions I made career-wise happened soon after I found a mentor and he started encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone. My mentor not only helped shape the process that I use on design projects to this day, he also encouraged me to start giving presentations at conferences and meetups, and to quit the low-paying job that I was in and take control of my career. For that I’m eternally grateful.
Finding a mentor can be hard, but hopefully if you’ve done a good job of Step 4, you’ll at least have more people within your circle and a better understanding of who’s who. Hopefully someone will stand out. Failing that, you could try a more formal program such as IAI mentor program.
6) Get Hired
With those ducks all lined up, you’re now in the best possible place to land an awesome job. What’s missing, however, is a portfolio of your work. Much like a graphic designer would have an A3 portfolio that showcases logos, posters and t-shirts he or she has designed, your portfolio should include examples of the deliverables you’ve produced.
Your portfolio could include wireframes you’ve created, example personas and scenarios you’ve developed, photos of walls covered in post-it notes from affinity diagramming exercises, photos of you conducting a workshop … whatever you need to tell a story about the process you follow, and to help you talk about that process during an interview.
I wish you all the best. Now get to work!
Related Reading
- Getting Started in User Experience Design by Fred Beecher
- Whitney Hess’s mind-bogglingly comprehensive collection of resources and guiding principles.
- Patrick Neeman’s list of seven tips on how to get started in user experience
- Nick Finck’s excellent tips on starting a career in user experience design
What other advice do you have for people trying to migrate to UX Design from another career? Let us know in the comments.
Hey Matthew,
Thanks for the tips on getting started in UX. While I have no aspirations to be a UX designer, the entire industry fascinates me. Having a basic understanding of how things should work on the web is always helpful, too.
You’re welcome Michael. Yes it’s a very interesting space to be working in!
Hello Matthew,
Great article as always, a lot of ppl around eager to enter the UX field and you showed them the way.
Thanks .
Happy to help, Ahmad!
Matt,
Always value from your content and posts. Continue with your mission on helping people change their lives. You have been an inspiration to me indeed.
Thanks,
Duke
I’m honoured that you thought so highly of this post Duke! Thanks so much for saying so.
Hi Matthew,
This article really gave me a great understanding of how to put myself out there in helping me attain my goal of becoming a UX Designer. However, I’m finding difficulties finding the right school to help my study this field. Any suggestions? I’m looking somewhere along the East Coast in the NY, NJ, PA area. Thanks again!
Sorry Parker. As I described in my post, my experience does not include attaining a formal education in UX, and I don’t believe it’s necessary to succeed. I’m sure there are some worthwhile courses out there, but I also get the impression that there are plenty of universities whose curriculum is woefully out of date.
You don’t need a degree in UX Design to be a successful UX Designer. You need knowledge, tools, experience and a network.
Thanks for the info and refresher!
I know from my end, I’ve worked in community management and social media marketing within the video game industry. Although we are not always looked at as specifically user experience, you can’t help but understand how critical those roles are to the end user.
For me, I represented many high-quality and award-winning digital products. My role as simply a community management professional played a vital role with understanding the users who played those products. In return, that knowledge improved the product development before going to market and therefore after. It’s simply amazing how vital user experience is as a science to almost every type of business out there.
Great insights Glen. There is much the UX world can learn from both the gaming industry and community management.
You know I wish I had found this article before I completed my MSc in UX. As you said the university course is completely outdated. Only handful of lecturers are updated with UX, or even technology!
Yeah it’s a shame that some academics can become ensconced in academia and lose track of what is happening in the real world. It happens, unfortunately!
Matt:
My mind was like a monkey in the cage. It did not settle until I watched your video and landed here. I’m interviewing for a UX/UI design position Thursday, to be a member of a UX team. The job description’s bullet point list is like a Wikipdia page. This knocked me off the beam. Especially since I thought I knew more thne basics.
Now somehow though the night before I think I have to know EVERYTHING!
Wish me luck!
Glad I could help you get your head around the vast spectrum that UX covers, Bob. How did the interview go? I hope you nailed it!
The interview went well. Honest, inquisitive and fun. It was the second round. My first was a phone screen of about 20 minutes. Then the face-to-face lasted an hour. If enthusiasm was the only requirement I would have the job!
It’s for a sports network, ESPN of course. Still twisting in the wind as I heard no decision has been made yet as of 2-18-13.
Either way I know which direction my career is forging towards.
I will keep you posted.
You know what the hardest part is – finding a mentor. That is gold, that’s what I wish I could have found over a decade ago.
Getting involved in organising industry groups is what helped me find the right mentor—I’m sure it’s been useful for you too, Gary!
Thanks for sharing your insights!
UX is the field where I would like to move. In the last 8 years or so, I have been developing e-commerce solutions, RIAs, games and installations. I have worked so often with UX and graphics designers. I’ve lead both designers and devs.
However, I somehow am not certain how to move towards UX, how to sell myself as able to document and convey UX information.
I thought of doing what a lot of designers do, unrequested designs for existing or ideal services. I would be documenting my whole UX process, and then write an article about it. It may be better than relying on my dev portfolio.
What do you think? What other solutions would you suggest?
Hi Mat. Documenting your process would definitely be worthwhile, whether you’re looking for a salaried role (in-house or agency) or looking to take on freelance projects. The problem with creating an unsolicited design is you’re unlikely to be able to really demonstrate UX techniques that were used (e.g. interviewing stakeholders could be a tough one).
How about approaching a not-for-profit, and creating a solution for them instead? A local sporting club, or scout group, or something? If you volunteered your time, you’d not only have the opportunity to work on a real project, but you’d be making a huge difference to a community that would otherwise probably not have the resources or awareness for what you’d be able to deliver them. Then you’d have almost free range to try out a few different techniques that you hadn’t tried before, which you could then talk about with authority in your next job interview or client meeting.