How to get a UI UX design job with no experience?

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Are you looking for a dream job that combines your creativity and problem-solving ability? Then UI/UX design might be the perfect option. You can begin your career journey to become a UI/UX designer even if you have no experience in the space.

Nonetheless, becoming a UI/UX designer is not a task that can be completed in a single day. It requires time, hard work, essential skills, efficient planning, and determination to become one.

Working as a UI/UX designer is one of the market’s most rewarding and in-demand jobs. If you are eager to be a part of the field and want to build a solid foundation for your career, here’s a comprehensive guide on how to get a UI UX design job with no experience.

Let’s get started.

Skills required to become a UI UX designer

Whether you are a fresher or already established in the career, learning and equipping yourself with as many skills as possible is one of the best ways to get established in the industry as a novice. Below we have listed the essential soft and hard skills that will help you to carve a versatile career and build a stronger portfolio.

Hard skills

Having a basic knowledge of technical skills will give you a competitive edge in the more advanced UI UX design roles. Below are some of the important hard skills that good designers should possess.

1. UX research

UX research is one of the most important skills that will help the designer to create a product with an excellent user experience. From reviewing the quantitative data to conducting user interviews, the UX research skills have a variety of tasks.

You should know how to choose participants and record results from unstructured discussions, and you should also be familiar with usability test methods, including card sorting and heat maps.

2. Wireframing and prototyping

The major part of the product development is focused on envisioning what the product will look like. Hence, if you want to convince clients of your UX acumen, you need to grow your expertise in wireframing and prototyping.

You need to know which features to display, where, and how to position them to offer a simple and efficient user experience. In prototyping, you need to test the functionality and ensure there is a match between the system and the user before the final production.

3. Visual design

Since design is highly graphic, UI/UX designers need to have a comprehensive understanding of visual language, from colour theory to layouts. Even though it is one of the easiest skills, make sure to know the reasoning behind every design choice in your portfolio.

4. Typography

Typography is an important skill every UI/UX designer must master in the digital age. With its origin rooted in graphic and print design, typography can catch the user’s attention by defining and distinguishing the content in the design.

You need to know when to choose between serif and sans serif and keep it italic or bold to make your design and content more legible.

5. Knowledge of design tools

To be a good UI/UX designer, one should have proficient knowledge of one or more design tools. You should be highly proficient in industry-standard design software like Figma and Adobe XD. You need to practice and master these tools by taking advanced courses. These tools will help you in creating wireframes, and user interface designs and building interactive prototypes.

Soft skills

Designers often underestimate soft skills, but they are vital for one to become a more accomplished professional in the industry. Soft skills can be deeply connected with an individual’s personality, which greatly affects career prospects and growth.

Let’s have a closer look at the soft skills that are essential for UI and UX designers.

1. Empathy

The ability to put yourself in the shoes of the user/customers is critical to becoming an expert UI/UX designer. Building empathy on understanding the needs of the people by attentively listening to their feedback will enable you to find a better and more meaningful solution to their problems.

2. Curiosity

The UI/UX arena is continuously evolving and searching for an innovative way to improve the world. The curiosity and desire to learn beyond the books is an integral part of the job description. Hence, you need to boost your curiosity and learning skills by viewing the problems from multiple angles and asking yourself new questions often. You may sometimes have to play the Devil’s advocate to question your own design choices.

3. Communication

Communication is one of the most essential skills, which is required in almost every job. You may be the best designer, but a lack of communication with your team members, employers or clients will make it difficult for you to deliver the desired final product on time.

Hence, whether you are planning to start your career in a start-up or a large one, you need to interact more often, express your thoughts, provide feedback and communicate your approach to be a good addition to the team.

4. Collaboration

A good UI/UX design requires the implementation of ideas from developers, clients, and team members. Hence as an efficient professional, you need to provide and receive feedback for the ideas, explore solutions and incorporate the expertise and suggestions of everyone involved in the project to deliver the best product possible.

5. Analytical ability

Even after realizing the product or feature, as a UI/UX designer, you need to monitor the product usability data regularly. Understanding the numbers, percentages, and ratios will aid you in evaluating the performance of your designer and infer new solutions.

6. Flexibility (open-mindedness)

UI/UX design is all about creativity and changes. Hence you need to be flexible enough to adapt to the new trends in the industry. Besides, you should also be prepared to take on extra responsibilities, multitask, changes in the shift, and more. Adapting to these changes rather than sticking to one routine will help you to concentrate on the task better.

Steps to getting a UI UX design job

A survey from CNN Money has predicted that the demand for UX designers is expected to grow by 13% between 2017 and 2027. Landing your first job as a UI UX designer could be challenging, especially when you don’t have experience in the field.

However, extra effort, strategic networking, and careful attention while building your portfolio will enable you to acquire your first job in the industry. To make things easier for you, here we have chalked up the actionable step-by-step guide on getting a UI UX design job without experience.

1. Know your area of interest

Finding the area of interest and your motivation to become a part of UI UX design will allow you to overcome the challenges and problems in the future. For instance, if you want to be a UX designer who tends to design and develop interfaces of an app, then you should focus on the specific knowledge of designing the application interfaces.

2. Learn and improve your UI UX design skills

Whether a fresher or an experienced professional, learning UI/UX design skills and abilities is important to finding a prospective career. Hence, before anything, you need to improve your skills by practising every day, self-reading various books/articles on design and human psychology or enrolling in professional online courses.

The latter will help you to learn in a systematic, fast and convenient way and ensure to create a significant impact on your learning journey.

3. Master the necessary tools

A survey from Adobe research indicates that 42% of hiring managers prefer the candidates to know UX tools. Even though the broad discipline has countless tools to practice, getting hands-on experience with the tools such as Figma or Adobe XD will help you visualize and communicate your ideas is recommended.

4. Practice the skills through real work

Practice is what makes you perfect. The next step in getting a UI UX design job is to practice your skills through actual projects to improve your design skills. To begin this idea, you can either volunteer or intern in some projects, search for a freelance opportunity, or even redesign any familiar projects that will help you in showcasing your unique talent. Nonetheless, challenging yourself with daily tasks will grow your skill to the next level.

5. Build your portfolio

A well-designed portfolio works better than a mere cover letter or resume while searching for a UI UX designer job. Hence, ensure to build a unique and creative portfolio since it’s what most companies or clients verify to discover more about the candidate’s creative thinking, design skills and problem-solving skills.

6. Leverage social media and build your brand

In this digital era, it is essential to use social media to your advantage. You can showcase your UI UX design work as a prompt portfolio reference. Social media accounts, including LinkedIn and Instagram, will help get you noticed and find new customers/employers.

7. Prepare for your UI UX job Interview

Once you are ready with the above steps, it’s time to apply for relevant jobs. This step is usually simple, where most employers require a cover letter and portfolio. However, you may have to face an interview where the organization will test your abilities in design and decide whether you are suitable for the position.

This video by Career Foundry sheds light on the most essential UX interview questions that employers usually ask.

Final thoughts

The field of UI UX design is dynamic and growing, with high demand for professionals, due to the increasing need for exceptional usability and intuitive digital products. Professionals who can work outside of the creative space and apply business techniques to their designs are in demand in the current market.

Now that you have decided to get into UI UX design, look for the best training courses and choose the path that suits them best to your needs to emerge as a competent and confident UI UX designer.

If you want to start your career as UI UX designer, don’t forget to check job openings at Octet Design Studio.

Related articles:

5 Steps to Become a Successful UX Researcher in 2022

Will AI affect UI UX Designing?