The knowledge system and career planning that UI designers should master!

With the rapid development of mobile Internet, mobile product designers urgently lack. Because of the high pay, many other industry designers switch to do UI design .

So what exactly is UI design?

do What knowledge system does UI design need to master?

How to learn?

How to do career planning in the future?

is a lot of new people often encounter problems!

In view of these problems, give us a more comprehensive explanation, hope to help the new mobile design people!

First, I have to distinguish a few terms:

UI (user Interface): User interface

IxD(Interactiondesign): Interactive or interactive design

UE or UX (user Experience): UX

UED (user-experience design): User Experience Designs

UCD (user-centered design): User-centric designs

PM(product manager): Production manager

Visual Design ( Visual Design)

Detailed Explanation:

UI (User Interface):

that is, the user interface . UI Design is in fact a more general term, refers to the software's human-computer interaction, operating logic, the overall design of beautiful interface. It contains 2 aspects of interactive design and visual design .

Interactive design: Take into account user's usage scenarios and user behavior habits, reduce user cost by simplifying user task flow.

UI design is a visual language, excellent interface design to be able to correctly communicate the page information through visual means and interactive details, guide the user how to operate.

therefore, want to do a good job of UI design, visual design knowledge and interactive design knowledge must be mastered!

IxD(Interaction Design):

Interactive design or interactive design. Popular is the design of software and user interaction, by understanding user needs, goals, using effective interactive way to make the whole process available, and to be easy to use. A bit more straightforward, is to solve how the software is used.

UE or UX (User Experience):

User experience. The user experience is primarily a process of interaction between the user and the HMI.

it refers to the entire experience of a product when a user is using it. Their impressions and feelings, whether they are successful, whether they enjoy it, or whether they want to come back / use it. The degree to which they can tolerate problems, doubts and bugs .

Product Manager ( Product Manager):

is the enterprise specializing in product management positions, product managers are responsible for investigating and according to the needs of users, determine what products to develop, choose what technology, business model. and promote the corresponding product development organization,Ta also according to the product life cycle, coordinate research and development, marketing, operations, etc., to identify and organize the implementation of the corresponding product strategy, as well as a series of related product management activities.

Visual Design ( Visual Design):

visual design is also a relatively general concept. is to use "vision" as a means of communication and expression, to create and combine symbols, pictures and words in a variety of ways, in order to convey the visual expression of ideas or messages.

Visual designers in the Internet area are primarily required to have the following capabilities:

1 Logo Design, 2 layout design,3 font design,4 graphic design,5 advertising design; 6 Interface Design

Second, the role of product development team composition and responsibilities

a lot of people might ask, why do you say this? Not to speak the UI?

First of all, any product is done by team collaboration. Understanding the responsibilities of each position helps to improve team collaboration efficiency. It also helps to understand the knowledge and skills that you need to master.

Research and development team from the product design, technology development of two aspects of the post composition. Product designers include product managers, interaction designers, visual designers, technology developers including the front end, the service side, data side, testing and other aspects of the engineers.

seeing this, a lot of people feel more like a pit father. Why is there no UI Designer?!!

The above-mentioned division of labor is a relatively standard post distribution model, because the domestic industry development is not perfect or the cost of employing personnel.

At home, many companies do not have a single interactive designer post.

one case is the direct responsibility of the Product manager, the requirement and the interaction design are the product managers alone, and then the visual design is responsible for the graphical interface design ( GUI) and other art resource designs.

in another case, the product manager is responsible for the requirements, UI Designers (or interaction designers) are responsible for interactive design and visual design. Product managers and UI designers work together to explore the user experience.

Of course, in companies with interactive designer positions:

These are generally larger companies, generally set UE Post to be responsible for interactive design and user research. Product managers and interaction designers consider the user experience, so product managers are sometimes involved in interactive design, and product managers and interaction designers have a lot of overlap when it comes to product requirements design.

From the above analysis, we see that the product manager and interactive design work content overlap. Interactive design and visual design work content also overlap.

therefore, generally do UI design is best with visual design and interactive design of the two aspects of knowledge system.

Iii. Knowledge Architecture

1. Visual Design part:

first, visual design is not just about doing ICON, do interface or interface elements.

Many people think that if you go to the Internet company to do visual direction UI design, will simply do the icon, the interface is OK. This is a very naïve idea.

If the general company spends money to hire the full-time visual designer, then the entire company's art design work generally will give the visual design to do. This requires you to be almost proficient in all the knowledge that a graphic designer will have.

So, if you want to be a part of the visual landscape, the following skills are essential:

1) plane composition;

2) color composition;

3) layout design;

4) Psychology;

5) art painting;

6) design awareness;

2, the interaction designer should have the basic ability:

1) Understanding of user experience design, usability principles;

2) Information Mining, user research, data analysis;

3) good logic ability;

4) Psychology;

5) The principle of interaction design, the specifications of different platforms;

6) Product visual sense;

7) Communication skills.

Iv. Career Planning

because UI design, interaction design, product manager work content is relatively strong, and there are some intersection, many UI Designers choose UI -Interactive Design-product manager This development route.

But we must understand that these 3 posts are 3 Different directions after all, the professional ability in each direction is very different. The final choice is how to develop or to see their own interests.

Many people think that product managers pay high wages and want to switch products from the UI . This also depends on the company, the first-line company UI designers are generally 15K+, but the small company's product manager is 12K. But the division of labor is different, there is no high and low.

even if you only want to do visual design, it is not without development. Domestic first-line repair map, a picture price of 3K . And the General planner, one months also can not earn so much.

So whether to do visual, interactive, or product manager, one is to see that they are suitable, and the second is to see their own interests. Do not blindly follow the bandwagon!

Five, frequently asked questions

1. visual design is art?

whenever I see this, my heart is like a 1- headed Grass-mud horse running!!!!!

Don't want to be the design of the art is not good shop long!!!

The industry division of labor is different, the row of the champion. Trying to do your job is the point.

General situation a qualified designer, if in a first-tier city, wages will not be less than 9K. This depends on the ability, most people pull hind legs, because they are not qualified at all! So even if you change an industry, do not work hard, so will not change the status quo!

2. Does theUI designer need to be Axure ?

first, you need to understand that interaction design is not Axure operator.

interaction design is not equal to using Axure Design the interactive interface in the prototype!

we need to be sober . The location of Axure in product design!

The starting point of the interaction design is to studythe human's psychological mode and behavior pattern in the dialog, and on thebasis of this research, the design of artificial objects can provide the interactive way to meet the needs of human beings to use three levels of artificial objects ( Usefulness,usability, andemotionality). From this point of view, interaction design is a design method, and interface design is the natural result of interactive design.

The steps for interactive design include:

1) User Survey

2) Conceptual design

3) Create a user model

4) Create interface Flow

5) Development of prototypes and usability testing

It is clear that the use of Axure Design Rapid prototyping, should be placed at the end of the overall interaction design, that is, the framework layer design.

So, Axure is just a tool. In the design of the product structure, the best design tool is your brain and pencil.

When you make a product information architecture, the information structure and the interface flow sketch drawn with the pencil will be more intuitive and image than the software.

3. Does theUI designer need code?

in small companies, there are traditional software outsourcing enterprises (such as UF and iSoftStone), such companies often need to The UI design will point xhtml+css.

But now most Internet companies already have a full-time front end and don't need code.

and familiar with Xhtml+css only takes about 2 weeks, so learn not to look at your own positioning!

4. What is the difference between a product manager and an interactive designer?

the product manager needs to understand the interaction, But the interaction designer is not the same as the product manager.

Product managers are more focused on user needs development.

Interaction designers Learn more about user behavior and understand the user experience.

Article Source: Silicon Valley Hall

The knowledge system and career planning that UI designers should master!