Solutions to Review Questions Foundations of 3d Graphics

If at that place'southward an occupation that is 100% linked with the public's thought of what blueprint is all about, it's graphic blueprint. From the familiar golden arches of the McDonald's brand to the typography and colors of movie posters, graphic designers create some of the most iconic and ubiquitous designs around us. So why would a graphic designer like you desire to change your career to UX blueprint? Well, for one, much tin can be said almost the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment derived from getting "under the hood" of the products you lot work on rather than working on the exterior. Furthermore, co-ordinate to PayScale, the average salary for a graphic designer in the United States is $41,000(1), but the aforementioned for a UX designer is a whopping $74,000(2).Whatever the reason for the motility, information technology'due south articulate that it tin can be a very rewarding one. Merely how do you go well-nigh switching from graphic blueprint to UX design? Allow's discover out.

What is User Experience and User Feel Pattern?

The user experience (UX) is what a user of a particular production experiences when using that product. A UX designer'southward chore is thus to create a product that provides the best possible user feel. How does that happen?

Well, information technology starts with a lot of enquiry. You can't create anything of value to a user unless you understand what kind of issues they want to solve and how you can solve those bug, then that the user volition want—or better all the same, demand—your solution. You can only get that agreement past interacting with users.

UX designers tend to exist concerned with, equally y'all can see from the image below, iii primary factors: the await of a product, the feel of that product and the usability of that product.

The look of a production is all about creating a product that has visual appeal and which, in particular, harmonizes with a user's values and captures the spirit of what they expect in that product. In other words, it has to not only expect overnice, but await right too. In doing so, it establishes a bond of trust and credibility between the product and the user.

Next is the feel, which is really about developing products that are "a joy to employ". That is, whether you're interacting with them or reacting to them, products should provide a pleasurable experience and non just a functional one.

Lastly, usability is the cornerstone of user experience. If a production isn't usable, the experience of using information technology can never be skilful. UX designers want to create products which tin, ideally, be tailored to meet a user's specific needs, merely which provides functionality that is predictable.

If you're nonetheless unsure of what UX blueprint is all near, don't worry! We've got a series of articles which may help you make up your heed—they examine some of the high-level key concepts of UX design in a flake more than detail than nosotros tin can here:

An Introduction to Usability

Usability vs Desirability

What is Interaction Design?

What Practice Graphic Design and UX Blueprint Take in Mutual?

Emotional Design

Graphic design is virtually emotional advice through typography, color and images; serif fonts and dark, duller colors evoke seriousness, while san-serif fonts and bright colors tend to bring out a sense of joy or excitement. Graphic designers are hence very often emotional designers who elicit specific reactions in a user. UX pattern is too concerned with shaping the emotions of the user, although information technology tends to take a broader, big picture view of the entire user's feel with the product. On top of focusing on the right typography and colors, UX designers are besides concerned with motion pattern, the tone of the content, and information architecture, amid others.

Creative thinking

Graphic designers and UX designers are both equally skilled at creative thinking. For graphic designers, creating visuals that adhere to conventions (and thus communicate effectively) while retaining a sense of originality (to stand up out among the competition) requires some serious creative and disquisitional thinking. In the aforementioned way, UX designers have to create products that solve users' problems—and sometimes, conventional solutions aren't always the best or near appropriate ones.

Prototyping

Graphic designers oft create mockups and wireframes of their designs prior to delivering a finished design. Information technology gives a gamble for clients to offering feedback on their designs and for them to improve them without having to start from scratch. UX designers create mockups and prototypes also, only these tend to be less focused on the "look" of the product and more on the "feel" of it. Is the prototype useful? Is it usable? Is it desirable? These are the questions a UX designer wants answers to.

The Differences betwixt Graphic Blueprint and UX Design

User-focused vs pixel-focused

Graphic designers tend to pursue pixel perfection in their designs. Ensuring that texts have perfect kerning and colors conform to make guidelines often take up a significant portion of graphic designers' jobs—and for good reason, too. UX designers, however, are primarily focused on users. They study the interface between users and the product, finding means to ensure that the product answers to the user's central needs. And they exercise so by conducting a lot of research—past talking to and observing users, creating user personas and stories, doing usability testing on the products, and many more. Graphic designers looking to switch career tracks will need to do a substantial amount of work finding out how to conduct user research (more than virtually this a fleck afterwards on in the article).

Iterative problem solving

UX design is very much an iterative trouble solving process, and it can exist very unlike from what yous're used to doing as a graphic designer. It begins with the identification of a problem; this is frequently found through user research, and if it'due south non, it will and then be confirmed through user research. There is no point in solving problems that users don't care about; they won't pay to solve those problems, and that means your company won't brand money.

From the problem identification stage, more research is conducted into how best to solve the problem in a fashion that the user will exist happy with—usually via observations, surveys, ethnographic studies, etc.

This inquiry so informs the production'due south pattern. Designs are so tested with users to come across if the enquiry led to the right solutions. The designs are constantly iterated until research confirms that they are good enough.

In one case this happens the production is launched, just the design process is not over. The design volition exist continually tested and user feedback volition be taken, thus beginning a new round of user enquiry. Future improvements to the blueprint will be fabricated based on this feedback.

Multi-disciplinary vs specialized

Graphic design is a specialized discipline, and at that place is a certain level of adroitness and set of specialized skills (such as typography and color theory) required to produce not bad visuals. UX blueprint, on the other paw, is much more multi-disciplinary and involves many schools of noesis. UX designers have to constantly acquire about human psychology, interaction design, information architecture and user research techniques, just to name a few, in lodge to create the correct solutions to a user'south problems. Don Norman, the man who coined the term "User Experience", explains that user experience covers "all aspects of the person's feel with the system including industrial design graphics, the interface, the physical interaction and the transmission."

The Big Do good of Graphic Pattern Experience when Moving to UX Design

Aesthetics

The biggest benefit for graphic designers moving to UX pattern is that they can brand things attractive. A very mutual misconception virtually UX design is that adept usability trumps aesthetics. On the contrary, skillful aesthetics have been constitute to improve the overall user experience of product—by making users more than relaxed, creating a positive first impression, and by and large just showing that you lot care(three).

Aesthetics also help designers communicate with the internal stakeholders in their companies. Ex-graphic designers can nowadays inquiry results in a way that makes stakeholders sit down up and actually have notice. Graphic design skills are oftentimes thought of as optional in UX research, but it would be hard to deny the bear on of well-presented beautiful findings. If you exercise make the change, you'll demand to balance your tendency to brand things gorgeous with the demand for moving your blueprint projects frontward. There are times in UX pattern when a few scribbles on the back of a napkin are more than than enough to get things going; don't spend 3 days producing a affiche when this is the case.

Conventions and trends

Coming from a design groundwork not only ways having a good grip on design terminology, just also that you lot're likely to be familiar with the conventions and trends in spider web or app designs. Most times, UX designers brand utilize of standardized conventions (like a toggle switch for on/off states, dropdown list for multiple options, etc.) because users have come to wait these interactions on a website. Graphic designers—especially if you've created prototypes in the past—are also familiar with such conventions. That means you'll adapt more speedily to a UX design role than someone who comes from a non-design groundwork. This might not sound similar much, but communication is the core of any UX pattern project and being able to talk-the-talk is a big benefit.

How to Heighten Your Skills to Make the Bound from Graphic Design to UX Design

Is in that location a gap between graphic design skills and UX design skills? Yes, but information technology'southward not an insurmountable one. Graphic designers already speak the language of design; they simply need to brush up their skills to include those that are unique to UX pattern.

In one case you have those skills, you lot tin start to work them into your graphic design work (considering user feel design tin can inform graphic design just every bit much as it can inform product design) and start to tailor your CV to highlight your UX skills likewise as your graphic design skills.

Equally we mentioned higher up, the real fundamental for graphic designers is to understand user research in all its forms. All the courses we've highlighted below should address this need to a greater extent.

Online Courses

Interaction Blueprint Foundation

We'd like to modestly present our own course offerings for this, equally the Interaction Design Foundation is the world's largest specialist design pedagogy customs. Don Norman, the same man who coined the term "User Experience" and who is one of the world's best known designers, says that we're "a goldmine of information on interaction design"; Forbes magazine says we supply an Ivy League level of UX pattern education!

There are three courses that we have put together specifically with a career change or start job in UX design in heed. In Go a UX Designer from Scratch, you'll be introduced to all areas of UX work, learn basic practical skills to conduct UX work, and proceeds the confidence to work with UX clients as a consultant. In Go Your First Job as a UX (or Interaction) Designer, you lot'll discover out how to get the experience in UX that prospective employers are looking for, learn to develop a winning embrace letter, CV and portfolio to get a UX interview, and negotiate a job offer. And in User Inquiry – Methods and Best Practices, you'll acquire the various methods of conducting user inquiry, and so putting the inquiry results into activity.

We also offer a bunch of other courses (32, and constantly growing!) to help y'all further develop your skills in UX blueprint. The good news is that with a low annual fee, you lot get admission to all of our courses for a year with no boosted charges, and you get admission to our community too.

You can find out nigh our other courses here.

Coursera

You might also want to try the folks at Coursera.org, which is a depression-toll merely high-quality educational activity provider which delivers courses on a wide range of subjects including UX. It does partner with universities and companies to offer courses, Professional person Certificates, and degrees, and courses are generally very practiced. All content on the platform, with the exception of degrees, is available on demand. It'southward likewise worth noting that their degree programs are only available for new applications during set windows. They likewise recently launched a Google UX Blueprint Professional Document to help learners build job-ready skills in under half-dozen months.

Udemy

Udemy is the world's biggest banker of training. They don't design their own training; rather, they enable class creators to sell their courses on their platform. They offering literally thousands of courses in almost any believable discipline. The trouble is that Udemy provides no quality command, and while you can find some great courses in that location, there are a lot of non and then groovy courses too.

Classroom Courses

Nielsen Norman Group

If yous accept deeper pockets and would prefer to learn in a classroom than learn online, then you might want to bank check out the classroom courses offered by the Nielsen Norman Group. The group has an splendid reputation and is one of the world's virtually respected UX consultancies. They offer their courses in a range of locations, merely we can't guarantee that you'll find one on your doorstep and you may have to travel some distance to take function in them.

General Assembly

We too think that General Associates has a keen reputation for providing immersive classroom preparation for UX blueprint. Over again, it's not inexpensive but that is always going to be truthful of professional person classroom grooming. You can choose between role-fourth dimension or full-time courses. Every bit they're short, they repeat every few months. They are, nevertheless, available only at select locations, and you'll demand to factor travel and living expenses into the total cost, in case you don't live nearby.

University Courses

Nosotros're not certain that university is the best selection for those seeking a alter of career direction; it'due south not just the money required, merely also the time taken. Yous could be earning and learning using a different method rather than spending iii or iv years on a available's degree or 2 years on a Master's program. However, if you lot do make up one's mind to become the university route, you'll want to spend a lot of time researching exactly the right plan for you. We've got a couple of examples for you here only there are literally hundreds of programs globally and nosotros couldn't hope to cover them all.

Carnegie Mellon – HCI Programs

York Academy – MSc in HCI Technologies

We'd urge that y'all sit downward with a calculator and think about the costs associated with going to university before booking a identify. HSBC, as reported by Top Universities, plant that the average U.s. university form volition cost you $36,564 a twelvemonth (including hire, tuition, books, etc.). (iv) Over a 4-twelvemonth caste, that means shelling out a absurd $146,256—and that'due south without the costs of a loan to embrace those expenses.

But that's not all—you'll besides have to give up full-time work. According to the US Census Agency, a non-graduate earns an average of $27,351 per year.(v) This gives united states of america a 4-twelvemonth opportunity toll (that is, the income that you've forgone while in university) of $109,404. That means 4 years at university will fix you dorsum a huge $255,660!

If you don't know which kind of learning to invest in, that's OK. We know it can be confusing trying to work out what will add together the most value to your career. With that in mind, we've put together a piece that walks yous through calculating the Return on Investment in learning here; hopefully that will assist you decide what'due south right for yous.

Networking

Once you lot've brushed up your skillset and yous experience you're ready for that start UX part, you might find handy to do some networking. The best opportunities are most always found when someone already in the field recommends you for a position. Ane of the best places to outset with your networking is LinkedIn. Bring together some UX groups, first contributing, and build that all of import network with your peers. Merely accept it slow; don't just show up and start request for a job. You demand relationships with people before they volition help.

We also offering some awesome networking opportunities to both our members and non-members as well. Members tin join our global community of UX professionals in the many discussion groups and forums that we provide; we take the largest specialist design community on earth so in that location are plenty of opportunities to be uncovered in that location. For members and not-members, we also have local group meetings in many places around the planet. These meetings are completely free to attend and are a great fashion to meet people doing UX in your home town or metropolis. Discover out more at our Community page.

1 other useful fashion to kickoff networking is to follow famous members of the UX pattern customs on Twitter. Not but will you lot acquire a lot from them, you tin can also interact with their followers (who are likely to be designers like y'all too). We've put together a list of twenty people you should follow on Twitter in the UX sphere hither to get your started.

Mentoring and Feedback

Some other great way to develop your career is to work with a mentor in the UX field who has "been there, done it and bought the t-shirt", at least so to speak. You may find a mentor through your ain network nd that'due south an awesome way to connect with a mentor, but if you can't then our IxDF Blueprint League members can access our network of pattern mentors as part of their annual membership fee.

The Take Away

If you desire to change from graphic design to UX design as a career, that's awesome. It's not going to be as difficult as you might think either. You lot just need to get a picayune grooming under your belt so that you lot're familiar with what information technology is a UX designer does, and and then y'all can put some of those techniques to work in your current role. Then when y'all retrieve the fourth dimension is right, you tin can start networking and lining up some interviews for your new job!

References & Where to Learn More

Payscale'due south inquiry on Graphic Design salaries - http://world wide web.payscale.com/enquiry/US/Chore=Graphic_Designer/Salary
Payscale'due south research on UX Pattern salaries - http://world wide web.payscale.com/research/US/Job=UX_Designer/Salary
UX Myths: Aesthetics are not important if y'all accept practiced usability - http://uxmyths.com/postal service/1161244116/myth-25-aesthetics-are-non-important-if-you-have-proficient-us
How much does it cost to written report in the US - http://www.topuniversities.com/educatee-info/student-finance/how-much-does-information technology-toll-study-united states of america
Earnings by education: United states of america Bureau Of Labor Statistics - https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-pedagogy.htm

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Source: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/graphic-design

Stace Dresill