What are the top 5 hard skills needed to design seamless user experiences?
UX research
UX Designers need to begin with an intimate understanding of their customers’ expectations, behaviours and motivations. From analysing feedback, to creating empathy maps and user personas, you’ll use a variety of research techniques.
The insights that UX research brings about are used to ensure that any subsequent design decisions serve the best interests of the user.
Wireframing
Just as an architect starts with the blueprint of a new building, UX Designers will use wireframes to lay out the overall structure and functionality of a website or app.
Wireframing is a crucial UX Design skill, helping to ensure that the user flow is optimised, long before any visual design or content is added.
Prototyping
UX Designers often build a simulation or sample version of a product, called a prototype, which can be used for testing before launch.
Prototyping helps UX Designers validate their ideas before sharing them with stakeholders and passing the finalised design to development teams.
- Low-fidelity prototypes are normally sketched onto paper and don’t offer user interaction.
- High-fidelity prototypes are digital and often allow for mouse and keyboard interaction.
Information architecture
When UX Designers create apps and websites, they plan each individual page to ensure that information is quickly and easily locatable, and that the user’s attention is focused on the most important actions.
Beyond the digital space, UX Designers use information architecture when planning signage in large spaces (airports or department stores, for instance), helping people understand what’s around and where to go to perform certain tasks.
Whether it’s on a website or in a shop, information architecture makes sure your customers are kept well-informed, oriented and on track to make a purchase.
Visual design
UX Designers often use visual design software like Figma, Miro, Photoshop, and Illustrator to plan and create the visual elements of a design.
Besides getting to grips with the tools, you’ll need to build your understanding of how typography, colour, shapes, layout and icons can enhance the usability and aesthetic appeal of a product.