Myth is often defined as a widely held, but false belief or idea. Just like in any other field graphic designing also consists of a lot of widely held misbeliefs that the new age designers have to put up with. Today we will make sure that we burst at least 5 of these myths.
Myth 1 :
A UX designer is an analytical type that deals with user research and data.
Fact: A UX designer can be narrowed down to as someone who is an empathetic individual and most importantly a great listener, observer and storyteller.
Most of the time in terms of design thinking, you may neither always have the time and resources to conduct UX research nor do usability testing in nice linear flows. It is not about learning just processes, UX designers also need to become prompt by regularly working on it and skilled in collecting qualitative data and interpreting it
To do this, we need to empathize with our users and that means building rapport with them and stepping inside of their world and understanding it, then leveraging the research we did to identify patterns and insights so that it would finally help shape the narrative about them. This also helps in getting everyone on your team and you on the same page with your users and can dramatically level up your game.
Myth 2:
As a UI designer it will take lots of practice before my portfolio looks as good as the stuff on Dribbble.
Fact: Here is a harsh truth you and your users need to hear; your portfolio does not need to look like the stuff on Dribbble. In fact, most designs in the real world are nothing like what you see on Dribbble. Not because it is impossible to get it that way but because most companies have many voices influencing design choices. There are accessibility requirements, business requirements, customer demands and many technical considerations that go into building a successful product that can’t always be wrapped up in a Dribbble worthy UI shot. You see a design is not just meant to look like eye candy it also serves several useful purposes ranging from comfort to durability.
Many working designers don’t have an active portfolio like the stuff you see on Dribbble and that also isn’t the aim.
Myth 3:
Companies and clients will pay me for my exceptional skills and services to design their products or website.
Fact: Companies and clients will hire you to help make their business more profitable and cost-effective and create a commodity (product or website) that they can monetize. Companies are always result and money-driven. They want to stick by their company policies and delight their customers with products that will be accepted and adopted in order for them to continue to have the means to provide them value.
Thus, it might take some time for the companies to recognize your skill but at times there will be occasions where an individual might end up feeling underpaid
Myth 4:
The design tool I use makes all the difference in my productivity and output.
Fact: It’s about the right tool for the right job that feels right to the person using it. It does not matter if you use Sketch, or Figma or Abobe XD as long as you are efficient with your design tool and you are maximising productive results, that is all that matters. At the end of the day just like the name suggests it is still a “tool” it can help you add essence to your design not transform it.
Pick a program that makes some innate sense to you and matches your mental model, and requirement of your target audience then learn it inside out over the weekend and keep practising with it as you go ahead. This will not only give you insights into the tool functionary but also will help you recognize the flaws and shortcomings and how you can cover them up.
Myth 5:
UI design is about how things look and your creativity.
Fact: UI Design is about symbolism and mapping visuals and interaction to perception.
UI is not just about the pretty colors and shapes in and of themselves. We, humans, are creatures of habits. Our senses and our minds work generally follow patterns and symbols. UI designers need to understand these patterns and how the human mind perceives color, shape and dimension and then effectively and delightfully map their visuals to the user’s mental model.
To sum it up myths and facts are part of life which you create on your own. There is every possibility that you might find some of these myths working in favour of you. There are many more myths in the designing world which you will be debunking by yourself as you move ahead in your career
As long as you are determined and passionate about your design and are coming up with innovative content you have nothing to worry about. Always remember myths and facts work only when you work