4 Things I’m Learning as an Aspiring UX/UI Designer

A little backstory about myself, my name is Grace H. Park and I graduated from UCLA in 2016 with a major in Psychology. I dabbled into entertainment, social media, and marketing for a little before I ultimately plugged myself back into school to learn more about the world of UX/UI.

We’ve reached the halfway mark of my program and I wanted to recall some of the main key points that I’ve learned so far during my journey of entering into a new field.

1. Fail fast

Failing quickly will save you time in the long run. Trust me when I say, you’ll learn the quickest in times where you fail the most. There have been countless moments where I would stay up all night in order to figure out how to create the smallest micro-interaction or scratch fully fleshed out wireframes. It was frustrating, tedious, and daunting but if I didn’t encounter so many failed trials, I wouldn’t have the knowledge I possess now. As Thomas Edison states,

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

2. Don’t be discouraged

I constantly ask myself “How will I ever be able to be a good UX/UI designer?”. From the start of my program, I held onto an unrealistic expectation that I should be at a certain level of proficiency even though I had so much left to grow. I easily got discouraged looking at the work of others and telling myself that I should be as experienced by now… 2 weeks into the course (ridiculous, I know). It was naive of me to think that the art of perfecting one’s craft should happen overnight. My professor always stated that working up to your career is like climbing up a large ladder, it’ll take time until you reach the top.

So what’s my perspective now? The question still remains the same, “How will I ever be able to be a good UX/UI designer?” but I now follow up with “Practice, time, and persistence”, even the greatest designers started somewhere. I still have ways to go till I reach my goal but I know in time I’ll get there eventually.

3. Help Others

Don’t view your peers as the competition but as another way to learn. My classmates are some of the most talented people I’ve ever met and let me tell you, I definitely learn the most when I collaboratively work on a project rather than tackling a feat on my own. It’s always a victory to be able to solve a difficult problem, but to share in the joy and success with others makes all the difference. There is always something to learn from the people around you and, guaranteed, they’ll be learning from you as well. As the quote states,

“The smartest person in the room is never as smart as all the people in the room.” -John C. Maxwell

4. Research

Utilize the resources all around you. There are endless amounts of articles, books, and videos that can assist you in solving a problem. Google and YouTube have become my teacher whenever I encounter an obstacle and I’ve learned that all the answers you need are out there, it’s just up to you to go and find it.

Thanks for reading and hopefully, this post helped those who are interested!