Visual Design
Related Blog Posts
Q&A with user experience design student, Jessica K (Kent State Online, ’17)
Q&A with user experience design student, Jessica K (Kent State Online, ’17)
Q&A with user experience design student, Jessica K (Kent State Online, ’17)
Q&A with user experience design student, Jessica K (Kent State Online, ’17)
When I started Kent State University’s UX master’s program, I was excited about the opportunity to advance my education but apprehensive, because I had no UX experience prior to my enrollment. My expectations were to gain a general understanding of UX, develop a foundation for UX practices and be able to build a portfolio that I could use professionally in search for a career in UX.
When I was considering the Kent State program, I read some UX message boards where posters warned that having a master’s degree in UX would somehow make me less marketable, but now, having finished, the opposite has been true.
I can’t emphasize this enough: Consider each deliverable as possible portfolio material. Starting the course, I was so focused on learning, getting good grades and hitting those deadlines that I often overlooked adequately documenting the process. When it came time to create my portfolio, I struggled to recall all of the steps I took to arrive at my solution. Be sure to take some time after portfolio-worthy assignments to note the steps, objectives and results of your efforts. Your life will be much easier later on.
Most people considering a career in UXD may not fully understand the difference between user interface vs. user experience, but it’s a critical piece of of knowledge to understand. Ryan Spencer, a UX professional, explains these concepts in the most simple, yet matter-of-fact way possible.
Since you made it to this post, you’ve most likely heard of user experience design (UXD). You may even have a clear understanding of what it means already. For those who don’t, however, a UX designer is a person who works to make a platform or product as user-friendly, enjoyable and useful as possible for end users. This involves seamlessly integrating digital systems and technology into both traditional products and new, innovative products.
As more consumer-facing brands look for ways to keep their current customers while implementing measures to help attract new ones, creating a positive user experience has been at the forefront of any new initiatives. Unfortunately, unless something goes wrong, the importance of the user experience goes unnoticed.
