How to kickstart your journey as a UI/UX designer in 2024

Whether you come from a design background or a non-design background like myself, if you are wondering what steps to take to switch to the field of UI/UX design, then this article is for you. You might have heard that the job market in 2024 is pretty rough, unlike earlier years when thousands of people made a switch and landed their dream jobs. But don’t worry, I will share all the steps I took to make a career switch to UI/UX Design from Finance. I wish I had a guide like this to unravel the world of design on my own. With the right amount of time and passion, you can definitely stand out and not just make a switch but land the job you deserve.

If you think switching careers is a cakewalk and you can do it overnight by reading an article, you would be wrong. It wasn’t easy for me or any designers out there. It takes days, months, and years to get better at what you do, and still, there will always be room for more learning and growth.

If you don’t believe in hard work, I would suggest you STOP reading right now. Leave. This article is not for those who aren't willing to put in the hard work and believe that mere blogs, online courses, or a generic portfolio are all they need to land their dream job. It’s never enough. Especially in 2024, where just the title “Hiring UI/UX Designers” attracts hundreds of “Interested” comments on LinkedIn. The goal is not just to land a job but rather to land the job you deserve and get the projects you would love to work on.

Go!

(Are they gone? Great! More jobs for the rest of us.)

Now, jokes apart, let’s focus on...

1. Understanding UX Scope and Job Market:?

Alright, before I go on at length about this, ask yourself this: Do you really want to be a designer? Are you a creative person, or are you just someone who has heard a lot about UI/UX and just wants to make money out of it? If you don’t love what you do, the chances are rare that you will succeed. I have always been a creative person, and when I started designing, I knew this was it. This is something I want to do for the rest of my life, along with the other tons of things I am passionate about. When I made the switch, there was not much awareness about UI/UX, at least in my case. I was trying to connect with anybody who could give me a clear-cut pathway to getting a job as a UI/UX Designer. I talked to a friend of my brother's who had a design degree, so her path was quite different. The call lasted for barely 5 minutes, and I couldn’t quite understand what to do first or next.

Now I would like to take some time to answer the bunch of questions I have received in my DMs over the last few years. Do any of these sound familiar?

• “I want to switch to UX as a career. How can I start?”
• “I am from a non-design background. Can I enter the field of UX?"
• “Are there many job opportunities and do they pay well?”

Switching careers is not easy, but strong intentions and a positive attitude make it worth it. I was working as a Research and Investment Analyst when I decided to switch my career to UX. I have taken multiple interviews on a daily basis and have seen profiles from Architecture, Engineering, Graphic Designing, Teaching, and HR. Does it matter what background you come from? No, as long as you're creative.

The three steps to becoming a UI/UX designer are:

Step #1 Learn the basics. UI/UX is not something you can master in a few months. Even senior designers keep on learning and applying new things in their projects. But you need to command the basics. You need to study what it means when I say the term “UI” or “UX.”

You will find this definition on Google: “In digital design, user interface (UI) refers to the interactivity, look, and feel of a product screen or web page, while user experience (UX) covers a user's overall experience with the product or website.” But you need to go beyond this. It’s not just about designing things; it’s mostly about achieving goals. Make sure you design a solution that will fulfill those goals.

Step #2 Prepare your work samples. Whether you’re starting from scratch or trying to elevate your game, you need projects to showcase. This step is the most difficult. It requires hard work, patience, and the will to not give up. There is no perfect UX portfolio out there. There are some best ones, but no portfolio has achieved perfection. Keep this in mind while working on it. Strive for perfection but remember that perfection is a myth.

I cried myself to sleep for months when I was working on mine. It’s not perfect, but the consistency it required needed patience. Aim for pixel-perfect work and don't rush this step.

Step #3 Get ready to sell not just your work but yourself. You might have a perfect understanding of the subject and a satisfactory portfolio, but if you’re shy about sharing your work with the world, you won't get that job.

I read these lines in the book "Design is a Job": “Once you are ready to take responsibility for selling your work (and I am very purposefully using the word ‘selling’ not ‘presenting’), then you can begin to call yourself a designer.”

The process might get overwhelming, and you might feel vulnerable. Embrace it. Stay vulnerable and be scared but do it anyway. If you won’t be confident enough to show your work, then who would? There are still jobs in 2024 that would pay you well. But are you willing to stand out from the crowd and grab those?

The confusing part would be...

2. Exploring UX Certifications and Education:

Questions I get:

• “Would you actually recommend these courses, or can you share how you started your journey?”
• “Do I need a certificate course on UX?”
• “The UX Certification - how much time, money, and effort did you spend?”
• “Is it beneficial to do a master's related to UI/UX, or are online courses enough?”

You can go for any course, but the certificate won't matter unless you're clear about the concepts. My personal favourite is the Google Certificate Course.

Is that enough? NO.

Since I came from a non-design background, I researched the job descriptions of companies hiring for UX/UI and made a list of the top skills they were looking for. I learned design tools, wireframe tools, graphic design, and the basics of HTML & CSS through online courses and YouTube videos, some paid and some free! Is coding needed for UI/UX design? It's not compulsory, but if you want to compete among thousands of designers out there, you should have an edge. Ultimately, you have to work with developers and should have a basic understanding of how they translate your designs.

I had limited time and money, so doing a master's was not an option for me. If that works for you, you can definitely do it, but if you think it’s going to be a golden ticket to landing a job, there’s no guarantee of that. I took the Google UX Certification course, which was divided into 7 modules with an estimated completion time of 6 months, but I finished it in 1.5 months. The monthly charges for continuing the course were a major motivation to finish early.

The biggest mistake most people make is starting to craft their portfolios before finishing the entire course. Focus on your projects and concentrate on learning the basics right. Do not mix step #1 and step #2. As I mentioned earlier, you cannot achieve something great in a rush.

There were two reasons I opted for the Google UX certification course over any other course:

• It offered a detailed course structure covering everything I needed to know to get my basics right. (This is not a promotion for the Google Course lol)
• It had the name “Google” in it. With a non-design background and no design experience, the first thing I can show companies is the credibility of the design course I finished. This course does not provide a certificate unless you pass all their assessments, which was not easy.

Here are some of the courses I took to get my basics right.

“Do I need to learn Graphic Design?”

Yes. Without a proper understanding of how layout, colors psychology, and typography work, you won’t be able to create appealing designs. These two go hand in hand. I took months to learn this while working as the UI/UX Design Lead at a firm. If you are looking for a course, here’s my favourite one.

Now let’s explore..

3. Portfolio Platforms: Showcasing UX/UI Work

• “What platform should I use for creating my UX portfolio?”
• “Should I pay for it?”
• “How to create a design portfolio without knowing how to code?”

There are a lot of platforms you can use for creating your UX portfolio. Some of them include Wix, Squarespace, Google Sites, Uxfolio, WordPress, Webflow, Dribble, Behance, and many more. I used Wix. I found it code-free, easy to use, and it had a lot of functionalities that I needed. I paid for the domain for one year to avoid ads at the top.

You can definitely use platforms like Dribble and Behance, but the problem I find with those is that they are too generic. Time and again, I have mentioned this: don't take a template and create something that thousands of people have already created. Your portfolio needs to be unique. I know originality is a myth, but you can still achieve uniqueness by taking inspiration from not one but many sources and implementing the best concepts or elements that you find fit for yours.

When you create your own website, you are showing companies and clients that you are capable of web designing. You are capable of achieving goals through your design. The goal here is for recruiters to glance at your portfolio and stay to read your case studies. The goal is to stand out among the crowd by showing your unique eye for creativity, whether that is through adding a sketching page, an illustrations page, a photography page, or simply your architectural projects page.

You must be wondering how to create...

4. Strategic Portfolio Design: Research & Approach

• “Do you need a portfolio?”
• “As I'm just starting out in this field, I don't have any prior experience to showcase in my portfolio.”
• “I have hypothetical projects in my portfolio. Is that a problem?"

No. It’s not.

The rule is simple: you need to show at least three UX case studies in your portfolio. One of the reasons I suggest the Google UX Certification course is that it helps you decide which three projects to include in your portfolio. You can definitely add one or two more, but as an entry-level designer, I recommend sticking with just three of your best projects. The idea is straightforward: find three problems and design solutions for them, but the process is not that simple. This is the most challenging part, but with proper planning, you can get it all done in time.

You should focus on choosing diverse projects. Many people rush the process and end up doing the bare minimum. No, just writing the problem statement and your solution to it will not qualify your portfolio. You need to document the entire process. Don’t make it too lengthy, but make sure you don't leave out the details. If you think being a designer is easy, it’s not. You need to be a good storyteller as well. Most people fail at this part. Of course, UX matters, but don't forget that without good UI (appealing designs), no one will stay to finish reading your case studies (harsh truth). If the fonts used in your portfolio are too small or too big, or if the colors are too bright and unreadable, it’s all going to impact your image as a designer.

Looking for a cheat sheet?

Follow what others are doing! Yes, cheat! You heard me. Every designer does that. I don’t mean you should take someone else’s case studies and present them as your own. By cheat, I mean look and grasp the idea of how great designers are doing it. Search for the best 20 UX portfolios in 2024 and you’ll get hundreds of links. Set aside 3-4 days to look at those portfolios. Make a list or create a word document and start taking screenshots of all the elements you like in a portfolio. Whether you like the homepage in some, the footer in another, the layout in others, or simply the colors, grab it all.

You can always mix it and come up with something that works for you.

By the end of this process, you should have a broad idea of how you want your homepage to look, which projects to choose from the UX course you completed, what fonts to use, what colors, what layout, what additional skill pages to show off, how your contact section should look, whether you prefer to attach your resume or write it down on a separate page, and what theme you prefer.

The details can wait, but keep this document ready for when you start..

5. Building a Job-Ready UX Portfolio

• “I'm currently in the process of applying for UI/UX design roles, and many employers are asking for a portfolio. Could you please provide some guidance on how I can efficiently build a portfolio from scratch to make it job-ready as soon as possible?”

Believe it or not, there are high expectations from an entry level designer. You will be required to work on three full-fledged projects and write about them in detail.?

A UX portfolio should include the following:

• Intro/homepage introducing yourself
• 3 Case studies—from initial concept to final results
• About Page
• Contact Page (can be just a form or email address)
• Link to download your resume in PDF format
• A page to show off your creative skills

Set specific days to work on these pages. Bring in your research document (Cheat Sheet) from earlier and use it to draft your content and design layout. I remember, just to write about myself on my About Page, I went through at least 50 portfolios to ensure I was stating just the right amount of words to not only describe me as a designer but also make me stand out from the rest. As I mentioned earlier, you need to be a storyteller.

Writing a UX case study as an entry-level designer is never easy. You do not have the money and the resources to conduct the kind of research required to design a solution. You are asked to show success metrics, but you cannot measure them because your projects are not live and are hypothetical. I get it. There are huge expectations from junior designers that most people don’t talk about. Shhh... I will tell you how I did it and how entry-level designers I know dealt with this same problem.

Whether you prefer it or not, you do need to cover the entire process of developing a design project. This starts with an overview of the project, your role, deliverables, and project specifications. Follow this with the problem statement, your design approach, discovery and research, creating personas, defining important tasks, building a site map, doing initial sketches, creating wireframes, clarifying visual design, designing high-fidelity prototypes, conducting usability testing, and finally writing a summary of your key takeaways.

I know that since most aspiring designers work on hypothetical projects, it gets confusing on how to cover all these topics. The best approach is to consider that the project is going to be live soon. Design as if someone is actually going to develop your design and use it to meet their goals. I remember scheduling interviews with friends and family and asking them to use the app I was designing for food delivery. I noted how they interacted with my design and took their feedback. I had sticky notes on my wall where I noted all their pain points. I could have assumed what the users needed, but that should be the last thing you think about. As a junior designer in my previous role, I used to take my designs and interview all the employees in the office to ensure they understood them. I have seen medium to large companies conducting real interviews, going out into the market, and collecting data. This is not always the case in start-ups. You get the project, you do your research based on the limited time and resources available, and present your designs in the next few weeks. This is how most small companies function.

The key is that you’ll get the experience once you land a job, but for starting out, you should focus on beginning with whatever time and resources you have and getting yourself prepared for what will be expected of you.

I am not going to tell you exactly what to write in your case study but rather urge you to take inspiration from brilliant portfolios available online, set timelines for working on different pages, and get started writing. It’s not going to be easy. Be a storyteller. Don’t sound generic.

It took me around two months to finish my first portfolio and 1.5 months to entirely update it later on with real projects.

But that’s not it. Once we have finished this step, it brings us to step #3: selling your work and yourself through...

6. Updating your UX/UI Resume:

Your UX resume will be the first thing any recruiter looks at. I’ll come to the details later, but the most important thing is: always include your portfolio link. I have seen multiple candidates who do not put any links in their resume or mistakenly include non-clickable links.

When you are applying online on any platform like LinkedIn, most companies scan your resume using ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems). Make sure your resume is ATS-friendly.

I know designers often wonder whether they should make their resumes creative to portray their skills. I would advise you to keep it simple. Use readable fonts and colors, but let your skills be showcased through your portfolio. Adding too much creativity to your resume often distracts people from focusing on the main part.

• “I don’t have any previous design background or experience to show in my resume. What to do?”

I know that would be tricky, but remember what I mentioned about the UX course earlier, Make sure, it’s credible. You put it in your latest education and use your past experiences in a way that would highlight the qualities that could benefit you in your future role as a UI/UX Designer. I had past experience of working as a social media designer and as a Research and Investment Analyst. I used that fact. I had an eye for details and I was good with research. I have seen amazing students from architectural backgrounds. If you are one of them, use your design projects. It’s mostly your design thinking process that matters the most.

Recently, I took the time to study about ATS friendly resumes and you can read everything about the same here. Make sure you follow these steps and avoid all the mistakes most people make initially including me.

If you have done this step right, you will have to focus on your..

7. First UX/UI Interview Preparation

• “Could you kindly provide me with some beginner interview questions so that I can prepare for my first interview for a ui/ux job role?”

Believe me, it’s not as daunting as it seems if you take it the way I do. It is merely a two-sided conversation. You can do that! You’ll be interviewing the company as much as they’ll be interviewing you. It’s a two way road. Do you wish to work for a company who does not respect their employees or do not provide you the project opportunities you are looking for, or not willing to fairly compensate you? NO. Right?

Similarly, the company and the client needs to understand how you can be a good fit for their firm, would you rather be a good team player, are you reliable and responsible and willing to learn new things? You just have to tell them the truth (assuming these are true for you).

I have interviewed multiple candidates and I have seen some great candidates as well. I would rather have someone in my team who’s willing to grow and be a good team player rather than someone who’s a know all and hard to deal with. Working with your colleagues and proving you’re a people’s person begins with the interview process as well. If you are not able to make a good conversation with the HR, it’s possible, they might not refer you forward. You need to be a cultural fit.

There’s always a set standard of questions that are asked in an interview. You can always expect some surprise questions but if you know, you know. Do not try to guess the answer. Here are the the questions you can expect in your UI/UX interview as an entry level designer.

Believe me you can achieve anything if you’re organised, determined, and passionate about something. Once you successfully pass this step, you need to..

8. Overcome UX Assignment Challenges

• “I also got shortlisted at one place but unfortunately I could not clear the assignment task.”

When you're given tasks and a deadline to work on them, it's not as straightforward as it appears. This is often the stage where many candidates are sifted out. There's no guarantee that your best work will be appreciated by every employer. I've personally worked on assignments for major brands only to have them pass on my work. But here's the important thing to remember: your worth as a designer isn't determined solely by the approval or rejection of your work.

Through experience, I've come to realise that beyond just creating beautiful designs, how you present them matters significantly. Are you organising your designs neatly in a PDF or simply sending separate PNGs? Are you taking the time to study the brand's guidelines? Are you going the extra mile to conduct thorough research and propose innovative solutions? There are countless criteria to consider.

While selecting candidates, poorly executed assignments are always a deal breaker. It might also be possible that there was someone who was better than you for the specific role. That does not mean you are any less. And working on assignments is always a good thing to learn and grow your skills.?

Make sure you submit it before the deadline. I remember, I received an email at 2 am at night from a candidate who submitted their assignment. It was the weekend and I couldn’t help but notice the dedication. I could have waited for Monday to reply to that candidate but the very next day, I sent the candidate an email stating that their assignment was well received. If they could go beyond to work on something, as a recruiter and a designer, it was my responsibility to appreciate that hard work.

If you secured a decent job, well done! You must be proud. But being a designer means there’s no end to learning. You are constantly evolving and..

9. Enhancing UI: Designing Engaging Interfaces?

• “I completed my high fidelity screens but I am not getting that look for my screens. how to make my screens more attractive, and how to grow my knowledge in UI interface design.”

Each new project will challenge you and would give you the chance to learn something new. I began my career in design as a UI/UX designer. Little did I know that it was just the beginning. Even after working on so many projects, I feel the constant urge to keep learning and enhancing my designs.

The first best way to do that is - Take inspiration. It’s not cheating. You are studying how other people are solving the same problem. How are they designing to fulfil the game goal as you. You can spend hours studying it and literally there’s no end to it. Each day, the first thing I do in the morning is open LinkedIn and go through the amazing projects brilliant designers are posting online. And to be honest, saving them for my future reference. I take inspiration all the time. You can be in the shower and still going through the packaging design on the shampoo bottle or sipping water from your bottle and looking at its design or using that habit builder app and checking out how simple the entire process is. There are so many amazing platforms to study about brands and their case studies.?

Some of the sites you can go through are:

1. Godly

2. Minimal Gallery

3. Awwwards

4. Lapa

5. Appshots

6. Envato

Dribble and Behance are quite popular ones.

Once you have worked on ample projects, you will start visualising how your projects should unfold. Nobody becomes a master overnight and you’ll never know what you are capable of unless you try. And don’t underestimate the power of learning on the way. You can still be unprepared and take on a project and learn as you go. As long as you’re confident enough to finish the project from start to end, you’re good to go.

If you are thinking about my journey..

10. Freelancing in UX/UI: Starting Your Solo Career

• “Can you tell me a little bit more about your role as a freelancer?”
• “How to get clients?”
• “How to start freelancing?”

Once you have worked for a few companies and on some significant projects, you can always start working as a freelancer. I was too scared when I started working as a freelancer. I did not know how to deal with the clients, how much to charge, and more importantly I was not confident enough if I would do justice to their work. But here I am. It’s rightly said, “the work you want to do, you need to put it out in the market”. The best way to sell your work is to sell yourself first. Sell your confidence and then you can sell your work based on the value you are helping the clients make.?

A few of my friends helped me along the way. It was 20%. The remaining 20% I learnt from my online research but the major portion of it that is 60% is what I learnt through doing it. I am on the constant verge of growing and always looking for good clients who would put their trust in me as a designer. If you are just using me for production and not picking my brain, it would be useless. The journey is not easy but a new chapter in my solo career.

Sometimes the best way to get started is by just starting. You can keep planning for years but won’t reach anywhere unless you do it. In case, you want to discuss anything in particular, you can anytime reach out to me at [email protected]