How to Learn UX Design With Less: My Journey into Tech
Never in a million years did I think the day would come when I’d consider myself “a techie”.
Once I tried to learn to code and God, was that a hard skill to pick?
Actually, I didn’t succeed in picking it, so like you must have done at some point in your life, I gave up too, “this isn’t meant for me” I thought.
Well, I was WRONG.
I mean, how else do you explain how I started learning to be a UX designer in January, didn’t give up in February, and will continue in March?
You might say “passion”, but while that slightly might be true, I need you to know first that until I started learning, I never knew such a skill existed.
My point is, while passion can be a push to learn something and makes the process a lot simpler, passion was not there initially.
So what was?
Let’s go on a short ride…
How I Came Across UX Design
I’ll bet a thousand bucks that in a group of 10, there’ll be a 1:10 chance of people hearing about UX design from a source that isn’t the internet.
So like you, the 9/10 population, I came across UX design on the internet, however, not intentionally.
What do I mean?
As a writer, actually scratch that, as an individual that wishes to improve in any field, your duty is to constantly research any new development in your field or discover ways to sharpen and get better at your skill.
In my case, I was looking for ways to get better as a content writer, to understand how to put out articles that people would enjoy while reading, and by understanding the psychology behind reading an article.
I had typed into my google search bar “how to be a better writer”, at least I think those were the words.
Among the articles that came up was one talking about UX writing. Now I admit, before this, I had come across UX writing in my job searches on platforms like Upwork and WritersGig but never thought to find out what it was about.
So stumbling on this article, to me was killing two birds at once, and as I read along, my interest began to develop and I wanted to be a UX writer.
Knowing I didn’t have the funds to enroll in a course, I decided to learn from YouTube, like I mostly do. I came across a webinar on UX writing that was held by CareerFoundry, a YouTube channel that focuses on helping those who wish to make a switch in their career into tech or learn a tech skill.
In the description box, some resources were listed and one of them was a link to enroll in a free UX writing class, hosted by CareerFoundry.
You know what I did?
Exactly! I enrolled.
However, in the course of the class, while I was getting excited with the thought of soon being able to write microcopies, push notifications, and 404 pages, I felt it would be a lot better and easier to be a UX writer if I can first understand what UX design was about, although my tutors at CareerFoundry had said it wasn’t completely necessary.
So yeah, my UX writing course is currently on pause, while I navigate my first mile into UX designing.
The Role of Twitter: The Journey So Far…
Oh, I dare not devalue the role of Twitter in this journey. Although I haven’t explored its full potential yet, however, I’ve been able to connect with the tweets of some experienced UX designers and I can tell you following such tweet motivates one to get back to their course, learn more, and practice.
I even got the opportunity to get more materials I could read up on the basics of UX design, wireframing, and navigating through Figma.
While I was thinking I could learn all things through YouTube, one of the tweets from one of my most followed UX designers Davio White, recommended getting a course first and not just watching any random YouTube videos.
He even went further to introduce me and the many that saw his tweet to free UX design courses, such as that offered by Coursera.
Well, thanks to the free Coursera course hosted by the Georgia Institute of Technology on UX design, I’ve been able to get an overall knowledge of some important terms and concepts of UX design and the design processes involved.
I was also exposed to some materials on wireframing and prototyping.
Finally…
From my experience, I can say that anyone can learn any skill, given the right blueprint and networks.
Additionally, you don’t always need many funds to learn a skill, there are free courses out there waiting to be explored. Although I intend to improve my skill by paying for a course in the future, however, I don’t regret starting free.
Sidenote
Hey, since you’ve read this far and like this, you may also be interested in reading about ways to improve your health. Here’s my health blog, check it out
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