Did You Know?
Before Facebook launched its Like button in 2009, the team that built it called it the "Awesome button." Mark Zuckerberg made the final call on the name "Like."
What UX / UI Designers Really Do
A new app lets grandparents video call their grandkids, and your job is to make it so easy that a first-time user can do it without help. You sit beside a grandfather as he tries it for the first time and watch where his finger goes. He taps the wrong picture three times before he finds the call button, and you write down what he says out loud. You go back to your sketches, make the call button bigger, and add a word next to the picture. When he tries again, he finds it on the first tap.
UX/UI designers make apps and websites easy and nice to use, so people do not get stuck. UX stands for user experience, which is how it feels to use something, like how many steps it takes to find a button and finish a task. UI stands for user interface, which is everything you see and tap on a screen, like buttons, colors, and pictures. UX/UI designers work on both. To get it right, they talk to people, watch them try things, and draw screens on paper and on computers, and then programmers build what they design. If you love noticing when something is confusing and imagining a better way, you might already be thinking like a UX/UI designer.
You Might Love This If...
Skills That Follow You Everywhere
UX/UI designers build skills that reach well beyond the screen. They learn to understand what other people need, to keep improving an idea after the first try, and to adjust when the plan changes. These abilities are valuable in any career where people are the ones who use your work.
Adaptability
Feedback from users can change a design overnight, and designers have to let go of their first idea when testing shows a better one. They also adjust their work to fit different screens and devices, like phones, tablets, and watches. The more kinds of people and devices they design for, the more flexible their thinking becomes.
Problem-Solving
UX/UI designers choose a solution, build a rough version of it, and test it with real people. When something does not work, they fix it and test again until the design does what people need. Each round teaches them something the last one did not.
Empathy
A designer cannot guess what will frustrate someone, so they learn to watch and listen. They notice when a person hesitates, sighs, or taps the wrong spot, and they care about why it happened. Understanding how someone feels while using a product helps designers build things that work for people who are different from themselves.