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Does UI Design Require Coding?
Every designer has faced the dilemma of wondering whether they would need to learn how to code in order to be successful. In today’s world of UX unicorns, where businesses post job listings looking for UX designers who also code, you might be thinking, “Do UX designers need to code to make it in this industry?”
If you have the same question, here is the answer: Great UX architecture does not necessitate coding skills. Yes it is helpful but not necessary. Although it is not necessary, there are several situations in which learning to code can help your UX career in general. Certain designer styles can benefit from learning this additional ability, which we will discuss in this article.
What are the requisite skills for a UX designer?
What are the important skills that UX designers should have if they are not expected to code? Conducting user testing and identifying the pain points that your product needs to overcome is one of the most important responsibilities of a great UX designer. Ideally, you can iteratively validate this feature on your customers during the design process. This concept thinking method is the most valuable technique to learn if you want to be competitive.
Remember the stages of the design thought process: empathise, describe, ideate, build, and evaluate. This iterative method of learning, planning, and analysing is central to the skill set of a great UX designer. The first step is to be able to properly study a situation and locate the real problem at hand. The designer should be able to define the customer’s pain points that their product would address using different methodologies such as user evaluations, contextual investigations, ethnographic analyses, and strategic analysis.
The next important skill for a designer is the ability to build a product that solves the user’s pain points. This expertise covers user interface design, information architecture, structure design, and interaction design. Prototyping tools aids in bringing your vision to reality by encouraging you to try your designs to see if they are viable. The usability of these prototypes, as well as their aesthetics, is what make or break a product.
The final step in the process is to test your app on consumers to ensure that the concept addresses the pain points found during the study phase. Iterative usability checking is the most effective way to ensure that the concept is on the right track. Whether it is a remote usability exercise or an on-site session, checking your project with specific users will help you understand what is successful and what needs to be revisited before the next iteration.
Why does a designer want to learn how to code?
Now that we have the answer to the question, “Does UX need coding?” we can move on to the next one: “Do UX designers code?” For certain people, the reaction is “yes.”
Most UX programmers have some knowledge of coding, such as HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Other languages, such as Reach and Quick, are less important. While it is better to leave coding to the pros, there are few reasons why you should have a basic understanding of code:
It allows you to interact more effectively with developers when you are still speaking the same language.
Understanding and appreciating the degree of execution needed by the developers to complete the concept will help you stay practical.
Knowing how to code is a valuable tool in your toolbox, and it makes you more marketable as an employee, particularly in start-up environments where you can need to wear several hats.
Your effectiveness as a UX designer is not measured by your ability to code; rather, it is determined by your implementation of the design-thinking process and your ability to produce prototypes that address the real challenge at hand.
It is also worth noting that most businesses do not expect UX programmers to write any code. The handoff between designers and developers is a very smooth process for emerging modelling and wireframe technologies. However, possessing a basic knowledge of coding will help you articulate your projects better and empathise with the production process. Finally, it is up to you to determine if you are the sort of designer that would benefit from learning code or whether you choose to concentrate on your specific role in the design process.
What types of designers profit the most from coding?
Few programmers prosper more than others from learning to code. Assume you want to work for a bigger corporation. Since those organisations’ architecture and programming teams are usually distinct, you will only need a simple knowledge of code to collaborate easily between departments. A better knowledge of coding, on the other hand, can be very useful to your career if you enjoy working in a start-up environment. Start-ups often choose to pay a single individual to design and create their goods.
Aside from that, the following three styles of designers should try learning to code:
The enthusiastic
The first type of designer who can learn from coding is one who loves it naturally. In their spare time, these individuals love experimenting with CSS and studying HTML to see how much they understand, while filling in the holes with extra analysis on the side.
One point to bear in mind is that it is important to specialise in one field and understand how to do it well. If you place too much focus on learning code before mastering the necessary UX skills, your products can suffer as a result. Before you delve into coding, make sure you have taken the appropriate measures to learn the UX process, including learning the distinctions between UX and UI. At the end of the day, it does not matter how much you code if your app has a bad user experience; the product will fail.
The consultant
If you wish to work as a UX consultant, pairing your ability to build out the ideas you propose makes you a marketable commodity. In this situation, the customer would just have to pay one person rather than two. Furthermore, as the one who codes the designs, you are more mindful of the compliance steps underlying the design solutions. This encourages you to propose more practical designs and you are mindful of the construction work that each would require.
The Entrepreneur
There are the enterprising people who wish to see their side projects through to completion. Since you may not be able to afford to employ a developer in the early stages, it may be more time and cost-effective for you to build the vision yourself. Regardless of the funds available, developers frequently have the spirit to approach problems from many perspectives, and learning how to code is one of them.
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