The ultimate guide to all the skills - both technical and soft - that you need to be a successful UX Designer, and how to develop them.
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If you’re considering launching a career in UX design , having a deep knowledge of the UX designer skills you’ll need will be crucial to getting your learning off to the right start. However, as a relatively new field, it can be hard to know where to start. If this sounds like you, don’t worry. In this article, we’ll be outlining the essential hard and soft skills of successful UX designers so that you’ll know exactly which areas you need to get skilled up in to launch a career in the field of UX design .
Here’s a clickable list of what we’ll cover in this article, so you can jump to the section that interests you the most!
Ready to learn more? Then let’s get started!
UX designer technical skills
Technical or “hard” skills are objective, quantifiable skills that are typically gained through specific training courses or education programs taught by individuals who are highly skilled in the chosen area. A technical skill can be easily proven as an individual can either complete the required task or they can’t, depending on whether they have that specific knowledge and technical ability. Now, let’s take a look at the hard, quantifiable UX designer skills needed to launch a career in the field.
1. User research
User research lays the foundation for any successful design project as it provides crucial data regarding users’ needs, motivations, problems, likes, and dislikes that will directly inform the design of the product. How to execute this research is a skill a UX designer will need to have in abundance.
There’s an array of user research methods to choose from, including user interviews, surveys, focus groups, card sorting, usability testing, and others. The UX designer (or UX researcher) will be expected to know the right type of research to use to get the information needed to optimize or improve the user experience. User research, combined with user testing, will also be important for the UX designer when validating their design decisions to external stakeholders.
Here is an example of a User Research project, completed by a group of learners pursuing AND’s Diploma in UX UI Design course, for a company - Farms of India - that wants to design a system to minimize the ‘time to table’ for local, sustainable, organically farmed crops in order to maximize health benefits for local residents and reduce the carbon footprint of the supply chain.
2. Wireframing, prototyping, mock-ups, and user flows
A UX designer makes this low-fidelity version of the design by creating wireframes, prototypes, mock-ups, and user flows. Here’s a quick runthrough of what we mean by each of these commonly-used design terms.
A UX designer makes this low-fidelity version of the design by creating wireframes, prototypes, mock ups, and user flows. Here’s a quick runthrough of what we mean by each of these commonly-used design terms.
Wireframe
A wireframe is a 2D outline or drawing of a web page or app that contains no elements of the visual design but is a guide to how to prioritize page elements based on user behavior and preferences.
Prototype
A prototype is a general term used in design to describe an early version of a product that is typically built to test how well the concept or process works. A low-fidelity prototype could just be a pen-and-paper sketch, while a high-fidelity prototype could be created digitally, enabling some form of basic interaction.
Mockup
A mock-up is a highly accurate but purely visual representation of what the final app or web page will look like.
User flow
A user flow is a diagram of the path taken by the end-user when trying to complete a specific task on the chosen website or app. It begins at the user’s entry point and follows their steps towards what would be deemed a successful outcome, such as signing up and paying for a class.
3. Information architecture
Information architecture involves the organization, structuring, and labeling of content, typically on a website or within an application, to optimize its findability and usability for end users. The information architecture should enable users to find what they’re looking for and meet their goals with ease. This is achieved through the use of clear content labeling and structuring, which provides users with a clear idea of where they are on the site and what they need to do next in order to complete their desired action.
Other benefits of information architecture:
- It helps to provide better clarity for a project
- It helps UX designers identify content gaps
- Provides a blueprint for the entire website
4. Knowledge of coding and app development
While it’s not a specific requirement of those who work in UX, increasing numbers of UX designers are learning coding and web development skills because of the numerous advantages having this knowledge brings to the role. It’s also worth noting that frequently employers will ask for some development skills in UX designer job descriptions. Knowing how to program using coding languages such as JavaScript, Ruby on Rails, CSS, and HTML, will enable a UX developer to:
- Have enhanced and informed communication with the development team building the product that’s been designed
- Have clearer expectations of what can be achieved with the design in real terms
- Be able to better pass on a design to the development team
- Boost their job chances as many, especially smaller, companies are seeking UX designers with coding skills
- Speed up the overall workflow in product development as designers with coding skills do not have to wait on the development team for answers or responses, they can see for themselves what is possible with the code
Coding and app development are certainly some of the more optional UX designer skills, but it’s a great one to have under your belt if you get the opportunity to learn it.
5. User testing
User testing is a fundamental part of the UX design process as it enables the designer to evaluate their product or service with real users and enables them to create truly human-centric experiences. Without user testing, the design team could potentially send a flawed or unsatisfactory product into development, which would then need to be fixed at a later date at a much greater cost.
By conducting user observation during the testing phase, the UX designer can experience first hand how the user interacts with their designs, witness any challenges faced, and ascertain if a user has a positive or negative response to certain elements or features. The UX designer can also measure the ease with which the user reaches their goal, such as purchasing a product or signing up to a newsletter.
Using testing isn’t just important to the design team and end users; while testing helps validate design decisions and highlights necessary tweaks or improvements, it’s also crucial to stakeholders and management as it saves time and money and boosts overall customer satisfaction with the product.
UX designer soft skills
When we talk about soft skills, we’re referring to non-technical, transferable skills that inform how you work. These can include how you work in a team, how you interact with clients, how you solve problems, and how you manage your workload. Let’s take a look at some of the UX designer skills that fall into this category that will be fundamental to your success in the field.
6. Collaboration and communication skills
Working in UX design centers around teamwork. Not only will you work closely with your colleagues in the design team, you’ll also be working frequently with developers, project managers, stakeholders, and end users to meet the goals of your project.
Strong communication skills will also ensure you get the most valuable data from customers and end users during user research and testing, while confidence in your presentation skills will help you build support for your designs and ideas with management.
Depending on the size of the company, a UX designer can often be responsible for overseeing the UX writing of a website, an activity that relies on excellent visual and written communication skills, too.
Needless to add, this set of skills will, in the first place, also play a vital role in enabling you to succeed in your UX job interview and land your dream job.
7. Empathy
UX design is all about improving the user’s experience with a product or service. When a UX designer can sincerely empathise with the end user’s frustrations, challenges, and needs they are in a much better position to find solutions and optimize experiences for them.
Empathic UX research and design focuses on the end user’s feelings regarding a product or brand and what prompts them to make certain decisions. This is in contrast to more traditional research methods which concentrate on more static information such as age, location, or job. When a UX designer works with an empathic mindset, they can create experiences that cater specifically to their users. When done successfully, this type of design encourages repeat custom, brand loyalty, and word-of-mouth recommendations as users feel truly seen and heard by the company.
8. Curiosity and desire to learn
With technology evolving at breakneck speed, it’s important for UX designers to be excited about staying ahead of industry changes, the latest digital tools, and trends in user preferences and behavior. For this reason, UX designers need to learn continuously. It should come as no surprise that companies that resist change–both technologically and in terms of user preferences–are soon left behind.
Curiosity also plays an integral role here. UX designers are always on the lookout for ways to make everyday interactions more enjoyable and more intuitive; they do this by listening and learning from those around them. This curiosity about human nature is what then feeds a UX designer’s creative problem-solving, enabling them to come up with increasingly innovative strategies to overcome challenges and meet user needs.
9. Critical thinking
Critical thinking is a skill requirement seen in many types of job descriptions including that of the UX designer. Although its exact meaning can be subjective, it’s defined by The Foundation for Critical Thinking as: “the process of actively conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.”
In other words, UX designers are expected to make reasoned judgments based on the data gathered and to practically apply this information in a way that is both useful and relevant to the task at hand. A person with a critical thinking mindset doesn’t simply accept all arguments, opinions, or conclusions, but instead adopts a frame of mind that is constantly questioning and looking for evidence to support decisions.
10. Task prioritization and time management
The ability to prioritize tasks is crucial for a UX designer as they will need to be able to quickly assess which user needs most urgently need addressing, and if and when they can be addressed. This can be achieved through user research (how important is this issue to users?) and an assessment of the company’s available team and resources (do we have the capacity to do this right now?)
Time management here is also key. The UX design team is often expected to juggle numerous projects, or parts of a project, simultaneously. A UX designer might be overseeing a whole project, in which case they’ll need to be able to manage and delegate tasks to the team, or they might be completing a range of tasks themselves. Strong communication, concentration, goal-setting, planning, and delegation skills will all assist with task prioritization and time management, as will working with some of the latest digital tools. We’d recommend: Rize, Motion, Asana, and Notion.
How to develop essential UX design skills
If you’d like to develop both the technical and soft skills needed to excel as a UX designer, there are numerous learning options available to you. Let’s take a look at some of the resources out there to help you further your UX learning.
Courses
A great way to onboard all the knowledge you need to learn UX design skills and launch a successful career in the field is by enrolling in a UX design course. At AND Academy, we offer UX design courses consisting of interactive learning, an industry-focused curriculum, extensive resources, and mentorship from UX design professionals. With both part-time and full-time courses available, you can study at a pace that suits you as you learn the fundamental UX principles and processes of user experience design. Upon completion, you’re ready to take on your first position in the field, and, with our Job Guarantee, you know we’ll be supporting you every step of the way.
Blogs
There are some fantastic UX design blogs out there covering trends, tools, theories, and thought leaders in the field. Here are some of our favorites.
- Awwwards
- Design Better by InVision
- Nielsen Norman Group
- Dribbble
- A List Apart
- Sarah Doody
- Smashing Magazine
Podcasts
Fancy listening to a UX design podcast while commuting to work or going for a run? Below are some inspirational podcasts that we’ve been enjoying.
- What is Wrong with UX
- 99% Invisible
- The DesignBetter.co Podcast
- UI Breakfast: UI/UX Design and Product Strategy
- UX Podcast
Social media
Following UX design influencers and thought leaders can be a great way to build on your knowledge and get inspired to try out new practices or the latest tools. Here’s who we’d recommend:
- Jared Spool
- Lizzie Dyson
- Kim Goodwin
- Jeff Gothelf
- Anfisa Bogomolova
- Ioana Teleanu
- Laura Klein
Books
Do you prefer getting comfortable with a good book? There are some fascinating UX design books available right now. Here’s a handful of our favorites:
- The UX Book: Process and Guidelines for Ensuring a Quality User Experience
- The UX Book: Agile UX Design for a Quality User Experience
- Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience
- UX for Lean Startups
- Don't Make Me Think, Revisited
- 97 Things Every UX Practitioner Should Know
Next Steps
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning which essential hard and soft skills you’ll need to succeed as a UX designer. If you’re thinking about launching a career in UX design, consider which of these skills you already have and which you’ll need to onboard or strengthen. From this starting point, you can focus your learning around what’s missing from your current skill set by participating in a specialised UX design training course or bootcamp, by reading UX design books and blogs, by following UX design influencers, and by taking on UX-related volunteer work with an organisation.
If you would like support to learn the essential skills and industry knowledge needed to succeed as a UX designer, here are some of our resources you can consider:
- Watch this session by Shiva Viswanathan, Design Head of Ogilvy Pennywise, and Naman Singh, Product Experience Designer at RED.
- Talk to a course advisor to discuss how you can transform your career with one of our courses.
- Pursue our UI UX Design courses - all courses are taught through live, interactive classes by industry experts, and some even offer a Job Guarantee.
- Take advantage of our scholarship and funding options to overcome any financial hurdle on the path of your career transformation.
Note: All information and/or data from external sources is believed to be accurate as of the date of publication.
