Breaking Into Tech 101: Guide to breaking into Design roles within the Tech industry

Design is an essential element of the tech industry. Whether it's developing user interfaces, designing logos, or creating marketing materials, design plays a crucial role in the success of any tech product or service. If you are a college student interested in pursuing design as a career, I have some good news!!! There are so many different design roles available within the tech industry, and in this article, we'll explore some of the most common design roles, what they entail, and how you can effectively break into them.

• User Experience (UX) Designer: As a UX designer, you will be responsible for creating user-centered designs that are intuitive and easy to use. You will conduct user research, create wireframes and prototypes, and collaborate with development teams to ensure the final product meets user needs and expectations. I always recommend a course as one of the first ways to break into a role, especially within the tech industry, because it equips you with the skills, knowledge, and certification which you can put on your resume when applying for the roles. You can take the 谷歌 UX Design course and also check on Udemy and Skillshare for a variety of UI/UX courses.?

• User Interface (UI) Designer: As a UI designer, you will be responsible for the look and feel of a product's user interface. You will create designs that are visually appealing, consistent, and easy to navigate. UI designers work closely with UX designers to ensure that the interface is both attractive and functional. Ideally, in a tech company, the two roles would be combined to form - UI/UX Designer. The courses stated above would also be relevant for this role.?

• Graphic Designer: As a Graphic designer, you will create visual designs for products, marketing materials, and branding. You will also create logos, infographics, and other visual assets that communicate the company's message and brand identity using software such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), Canva , and Figma . When I was first interested in graphics design, I took a course on Udemy called “Graphic Design Masterclass - Learn GREAT DESIGN” by Lindsay Marsh . It covered an in-depth lesson on the basic concepts in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. I would recommend it to beginners in graphics design. Other relevant courses are Graphic Design Specialisation - CalArts (Coursera), Daniel Walter Scott - Adobe tools (YouTube), and Piximperfect (YouTube).

• Game Designer: Game designers create the visual and interactive elements of video games. They design characters, environments, and gameplay mechanics that are engaging and fun for players. There are courses on Skillshare which offer a one to three month free trial so I suggest you check them out. Unreal Engine is another website that offers a learning platform for those interested in game development.?

These are just a few design roles available within the tech industry. Others include Motion design, Product design, and Brand design, among others, so don't limit yourself to the information in this article; EXPLORE!!!

My personal tips for breaking into these roles:

• I need to state this boldly: "You can't sell what you don't show." Although learning design skills through certified courses is an effective way to break into the role, what matters more than showing a certification on your resume is showing the skills you've gained through the course through projects and relevant work experience. I highly recommend that, as you develop your skills from these courses, you build a personal portfolio on sites like Dribbble , and Behance to showcase your design projects. This holds more weight than certificates.

• Another effective way to break into the tech industry through a design role is by connecting with people who have been able to develop a career in the specific role you are interested in. By building a network of fellow designers, you get to learn from their experience, potentially get referrals from them for job opportunities and collaborate with them on projects or at least get concrete feedback to build your portfolio. You can feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn, so I can connect you with my design colleagues, who would be happy to mentor and guide you.

Although I am not an expert in design, I do hope this article was able to give you a bit of insight and direction into how to effectively break into the tech industry through a design role. I wish you success as you unlock your potential within the design space and give us the best designs the tech industry is yet to see. Goodluck!