In my last post, I laid out what I think are requirements for a UX designer role. Some of you may have taken umbrage that I left some skill or other out of the list. Let's see if we can't straighten that out right now.
Here are some skills that turn your candidate from a UX designer to a senior UX designer. Or, if you will, a unicorn. Free and gratis, I'll throw in some pros and cons for each.
Candidates are unicorns if they …
- Write front-end code. UX is often associated with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills, so you might be asking yourself why I don't include that in the required skill set. Answer: You can design 24-carat user experiences with zero coding skills, for the same reason an architect does not need to know how to arc weld. Being able to write the front end, or interactive HTML prototypes, is useful. It gives you an intimate knowledge of what can and can't be done. It makes it harder for developers to blow smoke and say something is hard or time-consuming which really isn't (what, we can't acknowledge this happens?). That said, Web pages are only one medium you might be working in. Mobile apps, e.g., aren't written in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, so having those coding skills nets you zero benefit any time you're working on something that's not a Web application. Lastly, as much as I like to consider the craftsmanship of the source code, semantic HTML, and object oriented CSS, those are periferal at best to the actual user experience. It's not where you want a highly skilled designer to be spending their time.
- You have front-end development.
- Are graphic designers. This will raise some eyebrows. Doesn't UX start with graphic design? No. UX design isn't “graphic design++”. Graphic design has a definite impact on the user experience and so absolutely falls within the UX purview. However, there is some distance between being able to competently lay out and design forms and pages — a requirement, in my mind — and knowing how to evaluate graphic design — also a requirement, in my mind — to earning the title graphic designer. I have the highest regard for graphic design, and I think we ought to acknowledge that the ability to, for example, design a logo, an ad, a set of icons, or a complete corporate identity is a high-level skill that almost always takes a specialist, not a generalist like a UX designer. Are there kick-ass graphic designers who are also very good at UX? Absolutely. They are just rare, and if you do find one you have a very valuable combination of skills.
- You have graphic design.
- Write good copy. Copy is the most neglected and undervalued qualities in Web and software design. We still communicate primarily with words, and yet they're usually treated as an afterthought in UI design and on Web sites. Everyone wants to talk about the color of the navigation bar, but a good copywriter makes a difference in clarity, persuasion, credibility, and brevity. The labels on navigation items, fields, and buttons matter, as do the headings and paragraphs that describe why someone should use your sign-up form. If your UX designer is also a competent copywriter, you won't have to plug words into the mock-ups after they're created or, worse yet, just go with whatever the project team can agree on.
- You have copywriting.
- Know how to design and tweak Web sites to convert visitors into customers. In e-commerce, the point is for as many visitors as possible to buy something, but all sites (should) have some end goal — something you want visitors to do. For example, if you're a bank, it's a goal to get customers to use online bill pay, because improves retention. If your sales are high-touch and offline, like realty, your goal is to generate hot leads in the form of prospects filling in a contact-us form or simply calling off the number you put on your site. If you're a non-profit, your goal is to generate donations. If you don't have at least one goal, why do you spend money on a Web site? An exceptional UX designer knows how to optimize your site for that (those) goal (goals).
- You have conversion rate optimization (CRO).
There. Everyone feel better now? Ready to hire yourselves a little UX design? Let me know if that was helpful. Or not.
