Service designers work on projects that enhance the customer experience by considering all aspects of the customer journey, including interactions with various touchpoints, from digital products, online platforms, and physical spaces. The goal of service design is to create a seamless and enjoyable experience for all end users, while meeting core business objectives.

A Day in the Life of a Service Designer

A typical day in the life of a service designer can vary depending on the project they are working on, but some tasks that a service designer may undertake include:

• Conducting research to understand the customer’s needs and preferences
• Developing and prototyping solutions that will enhance the customer experience
• Collaborating with a team of designers, stakeholders, and clients to ensure the project’s success
• Presenting findings and recommendations to key stakeholders
• Creating a service blueprint that outlines the customer journey and identifies areas for improvement

Who Can Become a Service Designer?

Service design is an interdisciplinary field that requires a combination of skills and knowledge from various backgrounds, including:

• Design: A background in design is helpful, but not necessary. Service design is more about the process than the aesthetics of design.
• Business: Service designers need to understand the business goals and the impact of the work on the organisation.
• Social Impact: Service designers need to understand the human aspect of the project and the end user’s needs and desires.

What is important to become a service designer is a willingness to learn, a passion for critical problem-solving, and an interest in improving the holistic customer experience. Many people who move into service design also bring transferable skills with them. Here are some additional skills and traits that can be beneficial for service designers:

• Strong communication skills to collaborate with team members and stakeholders
• Empathy and a human-centred approach to design thinking
• Ability to think strategically and solve complex problems
• Flexibility to adapt to changes in project requirements

Why can a course help?

Taking a service design course can help provide foundational skills, along with understanding of key methods and tools, in order to succeed as a service designer.

Here are some benefits of taking a service design course:

• An immersive service design course will teach you the principles and processes of design thinking and service design. You’ll learn about user research, prototyping, testing, and implementation.
• Well designed courses often involve working on real-life projects, giving you hands-on experience in the field and experience of working with real stakeholders
• Completing a course can help you build a portfolio of work that showcases your skills and knowledge during the interview process.
• Good course providers can share opportunities to network with industry professionals which can be helpful in securing your first job in the field.
• Service design is an evolving field, and taking a course can help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends, industry tools, and often used techniques.

If you are keen to explore moving into a service design role in the near future, do not hesitate to look into a course – there are various benefits that will ultimately help prepare you for long lasting career.

The post Transform Your Career Trajectory: How Service Design Courses Can Help You Achieve Your Goals appeared first on Experience Haus.

UI design, or user interface design, is the process of designing digital interfaces that are intuitive, visually exciting, and most importantly, easy to use. A UI designer works to create a user-centered (and tested) design that meets the needs of the target audience and helps them achieve their goals and tasks within the product. In other words, user interface design is all about making our everyday products more user-friendly and accessible to everyone. So what does the role look like?

Typical Day of a UI Designer at a Startup

At a startup or early stage venture, a UI designer will have a range of responsibilities as team sizes may be a bit smaller as the company grows. Their day may involve conducting user research, creating wireframes and prototypes (often using an industry leading tool like Figma), collaborating with developers, and testing and iterating on designs. Because of the small team size, they may also be involved in branding and marketing initiatives, such as creating social media graphics or designing marketing materials.

Using tools like Figma allows you to design concepts and test them with users during the design process.

A UI designer at a startup needs to be agile, adaptable, and able to work well in a fast-paced environment. They need to be comfortable with the unknown, able to take feedback constructively and move quickly forward.

Typical Day of a UI Designer at a Product Company

Working as a UI designer within a product company (for example Spotify or Nike) typically involves designing and maintaining the visual and interactive elements of digital products such as company websites, mobile applications, or software programs.

As an in-house designer, you would be part of a team that is responsible for creating and improving the user experience of all products. You would be collaborating with other members of the team such as product managers, engineers, and UX designers. You would work closely with them to understand the product goals, target users, and technical constraints to create designs that meet user needs and align with the company’s strategy and vision.

Typical Day of a UI Designer at an Agency

At an agency, a UI designer’s day may involve working across a variety of clients and projects. They will be involved in designing digital products, such as websites and apps, starting from a low-level of detail (or what is referred to as levels of fidelity) and working them up to include company branding. As they may be working on multiple projects simultaneously, they need to be able to manage their time effectively.

A UI designer at an agency needs to be a strong communicator and collaborator. They need to be able to work well with clients and other members of a team, and to manage expectations effectively. You may also be called upon to present your work often to internal and external teams, in order to get feedback and buy-in.

Skills You Should Have

To be a successful UI designer, there are several skills you should have:

User-centered design: You should have a deep understanding of user needs and behaviors, and be able to design interfaces that are intuitive and easy to use. You will be collaborating often with user experience designers – design thinking is a good area to explore to add to your mindset and approach.

Visual design: You should have a strong sense of aesthetics and be able to create visually appealing designs that are consistent with brand guidelines. This will take time and practice to develop – constantly look for inspiration wherever you come across it.

Technical skills: You should be familiar with design tools such as Figma, Adobe XD, Axure and others. Webflow is another tool that may be worth exploring. Remember these tools help execute your ideas, and it’s recommended to learn one, master that, then move on to others. We recommend Figma as a starting point.

Collaboration: You should be able to work well with others, including clients, developers, and other members of a design team. This is key in order to find your role within a good product team.

Why UI Design is an Exciting Career Option

UI design is an exciting career path for several reasons:

Demand: There is a high demand for skilled UI designers in today’s digital world, making it a lucrative career path moving forward. You could even work remotely once you have built up a concise skillset. If you are currently a graphic or visual designer, moving into UI is a strong option to consider.

Impact: UI designers have the opportunity to create designs that make a real impact on people’s lives, making it a fulfilling career path. Imagine seeing your designs being used in a globally used product.

Innovation: UI design is a constantly evolving field, with new technologies and design trends emerging all the time, making it a career path that offers opportunities for growth and learning. You must stay on top of these trends, and ensure that you always aware of the latest design guidelines.

UI design is no doubt an exciting career path that offers a range of opportunities for those who are passionate about designing user interfaces that deliver value and excitement to users. Whether you’re interested in working at a startup, agency, product team, or pursuing a freelance career, the skills and experience you gain within UI design will set you up for success long-term.

The post Exploring UI Design as a Career Path. appeared first on Experience Haus.

Structured Learning Experience

Immersive courses offer a structured learning experience that covers the end-to-end design process, including not only UX and UI design, but also product strategy as well. This means you’ll have a clear understanding of the entire process, from user research and wireframing to prototyping and user testing. Learning in a structured environment allows you to progress faster and more efficiently than you would on your own. Courses often come in various lengths and formats (in-person vs online), and it’s important to find what works best for you both learning wise and practically.

Learn from Industry Experts

A major advantage these courses provide, versus studying yourself or taking self-paced/pre-recorded courses, is the access to experienced and knowledgeable instructors who have real-world experience in the industry.

At Experience Haus, our instructors are experts in the field, having worked for some of the biggest names in tech and design, from industry disrupting startups, or industry leaders such as Amazon. Learning from instructors with practical knowledge and skills helps you succeed in the industry, gives you valuable critique and feedback, and the opportunity to leverage their network.

Real-life Projects

One of the most important aspect of any course is the opportunity to work on real-life projects and gain hands-on experience. By working on real-life projects, you’ll be able to apply what you’ve learned in a practical setting. Ensure that real-life projects are a part of you decision making process. This is a crucial component of the learning process as it allows you to build your portfolio and demonstrate your skills to potential employers.

Good courses can also prepare you for the challenges you will face in your career and helps you develop core problem-solving skills. In a growing job space, and one that is attracting many people, it is important to differentiate yourself – real-life projects allow you to do that.

Working on live design challenges, and interacting with real users is a major advantage of well-defined course.

Community of Learners

Finally, you want to be in a place that can help you succeed. Well-defined and structured courses can offer a supportive learning environment where you can collaborate and co-create alongside like-minded individuals. This is especially important for those making a career pivot, as it can be daunting to enter a new field.

Being part of a community of learners can help boost your confidence and motivation. The ability to build a small support network is key, but also perhaps adding a mentor or two to help you navigate your journey.

By enrolling in and completing an immersive user experience design course, you can unleash your learning potential, and land the knowledge required to get your first role, and open up new job opportunities. It is important to arm yourself with industry-relevant skills and knowledge you need to succeed in the field of UX and UI design. This is especially important for those looking to make a career pivot into UX and UI design.

The post Unleash Your UX/UI Career Potential with an Immersive Course: The Advantages You Don’t Want to Miss. appeared first on Experience Haus.

But just how do you break into a new career in UX & UI?

1 – IMMERSE YOURSELF

There is more free resource than ever at your fingertips, take advantage of this and commit to giving yourself the best chance at doing well. Attend every free event on offer, watch the latest YouTubers, download podcasts and read every book going. Give yourself the best chance possible of success by going into ‘sponge’ mode to soak up what’s on offer. 

Once you’ve established a strong interest in UX/UI, talking to people in the industry and listening to how they describe their jobs is illuminating. Hear about their everyday and make sure you find it genuinely interesting. If you don’t, then you have saved yourself a lot of time, effort and money.

It is also important to consider the practical sides to a job. Do you know the salary? Will it pay your mortgage? These critical questions will help you assess whether or not a career in UX design will be practical for you.

And if it still sounds like the right path for you, it’s time to truly get stuck in.

(Check out our upcoming free workshops to ‘fully immerse yourself’ in the world of UX!)

2  – FIND A MENTOR

By fully immersing yourself, hopefully you have created great opportunities to network and meet others in the field. Consider who wow’d you or struck a chord – whether it was someone you heard speaking at an event or a UX blogger – find a way to connect with them. Don’t be afraid to find them on LinkedIn! Start off asking for a little advice or a phone call at a time that’s convenient for them as you would like to follow in their footsteps – it will only ever be flattering.

These relationships (both short and long term!) will prove invaluable for your early development as a UX’er. 

The UX community is incredibly supportive and there is a real drive to nurture new talent – take advantage of this opportunity. The power of good mentorship is second to none. Find someone that can be on your side to support and help you navigate the overwhelming amount of advice and choice. They will be a constructive cheerleader, guiding you through the best training to undertake, coaching you through creating a great portfolio and offering wise words of encouragement.

3  – TRAIN UNDER THE CLOSE EYE OF AN EXPERT

Consider investing in the right training course that will provide you close access to an industry expert and make sure you do your research to make sure you are getting value for money. 

To develop a strong understanding of concepts and methodologies, it is key to find a course that delivers live workshops and content – whether that be online or in-studio – to enable back and forth, in-depth discussion with debate and constructive feedback every step of the way. An expert in the field will be able to drive you forward in the right direction whilst also offering important insight from their own experiences. 

Important: Make sure you really are training ‘under the close eye’ by avoiding large class sizes, look for more intimate courses to ensure you receive the expert’s attention and advice.  

Whilst ‘3 day immersives’ and ‘5 day bootcamps’ provide a tempting quick win, there is a notable difference in quality of work and comprehension when someone has taken the time to train over a matter of weeks or months. This time between sessions allows knowledge to sink in and ideas to evolve, resulting in better case studies for your portfolio.

4  – GET REAL

Apply your newfound skills, work with a real client and have them scrutinise your work. There’s nothing like working for a real client who has some skin in the game. You will be able to practise and prove your end-to-end skills whilst gaining a strong and unique project for your portfolio so you stand out from the crowd. It is really important to learn how to manage your client as well as respond to feedback. 

Talk to a friend who has a side hustle, a family member with their own company or the small retail business down the road – listen to their current challenges with their online presence and see if you can help them pro-bono with their website. This free work will pay off when it comes to having a winning portfolio.

A lot of courses offer class-wide hypothetical briefs, so you end up with very similar outcomes and final projects in a sea-of-sameness for entry level roles. Give yourself the best opportunity to succeed by taking your initiative to land some distinctive projects where you really have to analyse and appraise a situation, and deliver. 

As a result, you will grow in confidence, become far more creative and come up with unique design solutions. 

5  – FIND YOUR ANGLE

How did you end up wanting to pursue a career in UX? What inspired you? What is your journey up until now that has manifested in a fascination with human-interaction design and behaviour? Look at your past and start to connect it to the world of UX to craft your narrative. 

Hiring managers want to buy into your passion and drive – help them to understand you. What makes you stand out from the many applicants applying for the same entry-level job? What is your personal brand?

6  – BUILD YOUR STORY

With each project under your belt, you can begin to build your story. You want it to be as unique as you are – develop your angle to devise a strong theme throughout your projects which you can use to reinforce your personality, your motivations and vision. 

Your portfolio should illuminate your personal brand and journey through case studies that succinctly showcase your approach, process and the challenges you overcame. The story and thinking behind the project is the most important, not the output. Aim to have 3 compelling projects that present your skillset. 

Luis Beremun Castro, UX Designer and Mentor, commenting on hiring Junior UX Designers wrote “Every time I see a young UX Designer working hard to get their first job I remember when I was like them, knocking doors with a printed portfolio full of school projects. Yes, printed portfolio (I am not that old, I just started working very early).

Now as a Senior with almost two decades of experience, I am more likely to be at the other side of the room during the interview. I get to read every single cover letter and the resume (just kidding, I click to the portfolio first, then check the resume and almost never read the cover letter).”

Your portfolio is your key to success. Use it wisely. 

(For portfolio inspiration, check out this great website! https://www.bestfolios.com/home)

7  – TELL YOUR STORY

Your portfolio is looking great. Let’s shout about it. Practise pitching it over and over again to different people from diverse backgrounds and all sorts of design expertise. Get them to challenge you and to interrogate your thinking, ask them to dig holes in your approach, put your pride aside and be ready to listen to what they think. The responses will help you note any recurring issues, refine your ideas and prepare to defend them when needed. Use this feedback to strengthen your story and improve.

By doing so, you will be more than ready to nail an interview and be far better at handling the unexpected. 

8  – SECURE A ROLE

Now it’s time to secure a role. Your first job is critical – you want to look for a well functioning design team with great leadership and a clear vision within an organisation where design is respected. A supportive and encouraging team culture will allow you to continue to learn and grow whilst in the early days of your career. 

What type of organisations should you look to apply to? Well as a rule of thumb, agencies and series A/B/C+ startups provide great opportunities to Junior UX Designers – they will offer a wide range of projects, fast paced environments and exposure. Corporations tend to be good options but early on, juniors tend to be siloed into ‘waterfall’ work practises and work on similar projects throughout their time. Seed stage startups are very tough and volatile for junior UX designers and often lack mentorship – they suit more experienced UX’ers. 

Wherever you apply, the job should provide you with a well-rounded foundation of experience. You should establish whether the opportunity offers diverse projects across the end-to-end process. Remember that an interview is just as much about you sussing out the company, as them assessing you – ask considered questions to highlight whether it is the right opportunity for you at this stage in your career.

9  – KEEP DEVELOPING

You’ve got the job, but don’t stop now. Continue to network, immerse yourself and develop your story. 

Go wider than UX/UI, make sure you also look at other design disciplines to expand your knowledge – such as industrial design, product strategy, service design, behavioural change and economics. This will empower your design thinking skills and process. 

Use your social media platforms to amplify your voice. Ensure you are regularly posting and commenting on relevant content, actively getting involved in topical discussions online and perhaps start contributing your own material. Make sure you stay true to your ‘angle’ and story. Let social media reinforce your positioning and personal brand. 

Beyond this, give back to the design community by attending and supporting local events. You will become a better designer as a result and reap the rewards.

Demand more for your money.

At Experience Haus, we pride ourselves on providing the best possible start for our students by covering all the steps needed to break into a career in UX at a much more affordable price compared to other training providers.

Check out our upcoming Product Design (inc UX/UI) In-Studio Course and UX/UI Online Course dates to see how you can join our next cohorts!

The post How to become a UX Designer in 2020 appeared first on Experience Haus.