In this edition’s Weekly Cheeky Tip, we put on our French berets and our best impression of the “I am artiste!” meme to deep dive into the world of UX and Product Design.
💡So, what exactly is UX? And what is Product Design?
Putting “design” at the end of these roles is actually quite deceiving because both UX and Product Design go far beyond the aesthetics of a product.
UX Design: “The process to create products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users...entire process of acquiring and integrating the product, including aspects of branding, design, usability and function” - Interaction Design Foundation.
Product Design: “The process to blend user needs with business goals to help brands make consistently successful products...optimise the user experience...and make brands sustainable for longer-term business needs” - Interaction Design Foundation.
Sounds similar, huh? Fair enough.
Both UX designers and Product designers follow the Design Thinking Process, focus on the end-user and they might even use the same design tools!
The key difference between the two roles is scope. While both UX’ers and Product Designers need to put the user front and centre in order to create something great, the Product Designer also needs to consider the business requirements as well such as the broader design direction and strategy of the organisation.
Don’t just take it from us though.
We chatted to two superstars in the design space to pick their brains on what design means and some tips on how to take your first steps in the space. Read on to see what they said!
What are you working on these days?
Gloria:
Recently I’ve been working on creating some exciting new features and products in Canva which you will hopefully see very soon! As a Product Designer, I get to wear multiple hats which means my day-to-day will never look the same. I could be conducting user research for a product on one occasion, or deep in the weeds prototyping and designing the UI (User Interface) of a new feature the following day.
The best part about Product Design is that I get to dip my feet into multiple parts of the design process – from research to product management, data analysis to marketing and of course, design itself!
To learn more about what Product Design involves, you can read about it in my article here.
Penny:
Recently I’ve been working on creating some exciting new features and products in Canva which you will hopefully see very soon! As a Product Designer, I get to wear multiple hats which means my day-to-day will never look the same. I could be conducting user research for a product on one occasion, or deep in the weeds prototyping and designing the UI (User Interface) of a new feature the following day.
The best part about Product Design is that I get to dip my feet into multiple parts of the design process – from research to product management, data analysis to marketing and of course, design itself!
To learn more about what Product Design involves, you can read about it in my article here.
🤔 What makes UX & Product Design such a highly coveted role? What’s so great about it?
Penny:
“I chose UX/UI Design because my work makes people happy, makes business better and the opportunity to get my design recognised by millions and billions of people. I can say that “I DESIGNED THAT!” and that motivates me to be in this job every day. UX/UI Design does not make me a designer but it taught me marketing, psychology, business, data and tech.”
Gloria:
“What I find most fascinating about a career in Product Design is the ability to create products that solve real-world problems which could also have a huge impact on shaping our societal behaviours and attitudes. Have you ever wondered why your digital voice assistants — Alexa, Siri and Google are all in female voices? As designers, we need to question whether we should be allowing these old school gender norms to be translated into the products we create. As designers, we must ensure technology recognises us all.”
🔥 Bonus tip: check out Gloria’s post about the impact of design on society here
🌟 Sounds great! How can I do it too?
First of all, do your research! Both Penny and Gloria emphasise the need to learn the skills, understand the role to the best of your ability and also have a strong personal “why”.
Gloria:
“If you’re new to the field, start by soaking in as much information as needed to understand what the career is about and the types of things you’d be getting yourself into if you were to pursue this. You can achieve this by reading books, watching videos, attending events or even just by talking to people in the industry.”
Penny:
“Know yourself, what you like and don’t like, what you’re capable of. I find that a lot of people want to get into UX/UI because of the ‘trend’ or because ‘it pays well...Know the roles that UX/UI play in different industries. There is a difference between UX designer, UX researcher, visual designer, product designer, UI designer and UX/UI design consultant.”
And just like most startup & tech roles, there isn’t a specific university degree that will land you in the design world, but getting practical experience is key.
Gloria:
“Exposure. If you’re new to the field, start by soaking in as much information as needed to understand what the career is about and the types of things you’d be getting yourself into if you were to pursue this. Gain credibility by building a portfolio, getting a certification, becoming a freelancer or applying for a job. Work towards something that will give you some level of credibility to prove to others that you’ve successfully consolidated your theoretical knowledge and practical experiences.”
Penny:
“If you’re a university student, a degree such as psychology, any design degree, computer science or information system/information tech will probably touch on UX/UI a bit. Ultimately, I don’t think you need a specific degree to become a UX/UI Designer. You can teach yourself these skills yourself and seek a mentor to validate your work (that’s what I did).”
