Guide to Transitioning Your Profession into User Experience Design
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A career in User Experience (UX) design is not just limited to those with a design background, as evidenced by the diverse range of professionals who have successfully made the transition. Cory Lebson, a UX design consultant and author of The UX Careers Handbook, emphasizes that UX design is an accessible and vibrant career choice for individuals from various backgrounds and experiences.
Lebson suggests that UX design comprises three core features: design, evaluation, and strategy. Social sciences, IT, marketing, art or graphic design, and even fields like law can serve as starting points for a career in UX design.
To transition into UX design, identifying transferable skills from your current or past roles is crucial. Transferable skills such as research, communication, problem-solving, user empathy, and technical abilities like front-end coding can be valuable assets in UX design.
Once you've identified your transferable skills, it's essential to learn essential UX skills, including prototyping, user research, visual design, information architecture, and Agile project management. Both hard skills (e.g., prototyping and design tools) and soft skills (e.g., collaboration and communication) are important.
Building a portfolio is another key step in transitioning to UX design. This can be achieved by volunteering on projects, redesigning existing products, or participating in UX challenges. Quality of work tends to outweigh formal education in hiring decisions.
Considering certifications or courses, such as Google UX Design Professional Certificate, can also help gain structured knowledge and credentials that showcase your commitment to UX design.
It's also important to understand and adjust your mindset to think like a UX designer—focusing on user-centered problem solving rather than just technical or aesthetic aspects.
Lebson's book, The UX Careers Handbook, offers insights on creating a portfolio that can help land UX jobs and clients. The book also provides guidance on how to make a UX portfolio stand out.
Networking and mentorship are crucial for career advancement in UX. Lebson recommends growing your UX network by participating in local meetups, such as those organized by the Local Groups of a specific acronym name. Mentorship is a valuable tool for advancing a career in UX.
Thousands of people have successfully transitioned into UX design, according to Lebson. He provides tips on how to change careers to UX design in a series of articles, including those focusing on transitions from psychology, marketing, graphic design, and software development.
Storytelling can be a powerful tool in transitioning to and advancing in a career in UX design, particularly when framing a portfolio as a story. By leveraging your unique background and transferable skills, you can stand out in the UX job market and build a successful career in this exciting field.
[1] Lebson, C. (2020). The UX Careers Handbook. A Book Apart. [2] Ben-Menachem, D. (n.d.). Statement on UX values. Zonar Systems. [3] Lebson, C. (n.d.). Tips on changing careers to UX design. [Online resource]. [4] Lebson, C. (n.d.). The UX career framework. [Online resource].
- To bolster your transition into UX design, consider enrolling in education-and-self-development courses like the Google UX Design Professional Certificate, which offers structured learning and credentials.
- A successful career in UX design doesn't solely require a design background but values transferable skills like research, communication, problem-solving, user empathy, and technical abilities such as front-end coding from various fields like graphic design or marketing.
- Career advancement in UX often relies on networking and mentorship opportunities, so attending local meetups organized by specific acronym groups can help broaden your professional network.4.User experience (UX) design encompasses three core areas: design, evaluation, and strategy, making it a vibrant career choice for individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
- Cory Lebson, a UX design consultant and author of The UX Careers Handbook, suggests that storytelling can be an effective tool in transitioning to and excelling in UX design by showcasing your unique background and transferable skills in your portfolio.
