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Matthew Farley
3,426 PointsWhat type of designer am I?
I have a hard time labelling myself as a specific type of designer because there seems to be so much crossover between the different specialities, at least that's the picture a lot of design, UX and Usability blogs are painting for me. I do a lot of wireframing and some prototype testing (no enough), some people might refer to me as an Interaction Designer, but sketches usually influence the UI of a product, so does that make me an Interface Designer? Or is a UI Designer more a Visual Designer / Graphic Designer with an good working knowledge of UI patterns and design tools like PhotoShop? And what about Product Designers and UX Designers? How are they different from each other in terms of what type of work they do? Aren't both responsible for the overall experience of using a product? Typically as a freelancer, I'm in charge of that part of the design process too! And what about a Web designer? Are you a Web Designer if you create products that solve user problems using the browser as your medium? Or do you need to have a specific set of skills in your toolbox like graphic design and front end development to wear that label? The amount of inherent ambiguity in the design industry gets me really frustrated, and its hard to really understand where I fit in. Does anyone else struggle with this?
2 Answers
Kevin Korte
28,148 PointsYes. My formal education is in the product or industrial design focus, but when challenged with creating an elevator speech for what I do, we (my classmates) decided to call our selves "interdisciplinary designers". I think it's important to be a jack of many trades here. If you're looking for an elevator speech type of name to call yourself, think about what it is you like to focus on.
Ultimately at heart, you're a problem solver. A creative one at that. You probably know more about what you don't know, than do know. At least that's how I am. I much more love product design, ergonomics, human factors, UX with actual products, but the web world is such a huge challenge I have fun with it, and have no problem calling myself a UI/UX designer, web designer, front end dev, etc. Probably depends on the client at hand how I pitch myself.
Paul Graham
1,396 PointsClients don't care what sort of designer you are, they only care about results. Those titles are only relevant for job postings. You don't really need to put yourself in a box. If you submit a resume somewhere, you should list all relevant design experience.
James Barnett
39,199 PointsJames Barnett
39,199 Points>have no problem calling myself a UI/UX designerRead the article this graphic comes from: http://www.helloerik.com/ux-is-not-ui
Kevin Korte
28,148 PointsKevin Korte
28,148 PointsI meant that as a concatenating; not saying one is the same. I read the article, for the most part I agree with it. Wasn't anything in there I didn't already know. If you're a one or small man show, you'll need to be both. You'll need to understand how to build a solid user experience. UI is part of that. In my experience, in very few projects do you work on UI and not on the construction of the UX, and vice versa. You can have great UI without great UX, but not the the other way around.
I guess the point I was trying to make was basically the same as what Paul said. Don't box yourself in with trying to define yourself as a particular type of designer.
Real world example : I hear a lot of people complaining about the newest iOS7 look. People don't like the flat design, the icons, etc....but yet people keep buying iPhones. It's either they are complaining about the change because it's change., or the UI is a miss, but the UX of the iPhone keeps them selling.
I think I rambled, but I hope that helped clarify my previous statement. I still stand by it.
Matthew Farley
3,426 PointsMatthew Farley
3,426 PointsThanks for the insight Kevin. I appreciate it. There has to be a middle ground somewhere, because too general isn't specific enough for startups or companies recruiting for specific skill sets, and too specific limits opportunities to get involved in projects in other capacities and roles that I could excel at... if that makes sense.