Best UX Skills
Soft Skills
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Identifying with the needs and feelings of the users is critical when creating good designs for users. The UX design process needs to be user-centered when creating designs. Empathy at Wings means empathizing with the members and the struggles they face when interacting with online experiences at the credit union.
Creativity
Creativity is the use of the imagination or original ideas. Designs should be approached with critical thinking and creativity to solve design problems. Creativity at Wings means coming up with new solutions to help user experiences that the members have every day.
Curiosity
Curiosity is the desire to know or learn something. Technology and design change rapidly so UX designers need to have a drive to continuously learn new techniques and design patterns. Curiosity at Wings can bring new ideas and knowledge to help inform design decisions.
Communication and Collaboration
Collaboration is the action of working with someone to produce or create something. UX designers need to be able to communicate with business analysts, developers, and stakeholders to find out requirements and needs for the project. They also need to be able to present their ideas, collect feedback, and be able to explain design decisions made in the design.
Technical Skills
Research
UX design requires a constant curiosity of new technology and design patterns. The ability to research and gather findings means designs can be informed and be backed up by evidence. Research at Wings can help provide reasoning to stakeholders and other employees as to why certain design decisions are encouraged.
Wireframing and Prototyping
Wireframing and prototyping is the skill needed to put a UX design together. This includes multiple screen size designs to include desktop and mobile versions.
ADA Compliance
ADA compliance is required for the best experience. UX designers need to have a general knowledge of ADA guidelines in order to design for compliance when creating prototypes. An example includes colored text on a colored background.
Coding
The ability to develop code is not required but a UX designer should have a general sense of effort it takes to make front end code possible for developers. The more a designer understands HTML and CSS the better collaboration and communication can flow between design and development.
Degrees
UX/UI Designer, Usability Tester, Researcher, Front End Dev: Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees in Graphic Design, UX Design, Interactive Design, Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction or related.
Content Strategist: English, journalism, communications, marketing creative writing, technical writing, information management or related.