{"id":28716,"date":"2019-12-13T23:32:01","date_gmt":"2019-12-13T15:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=28716"},"modified":"2021-10-01T19:48:41","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T11:48:41","slug":"interation-designers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/interation-designers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Become an Interaction Designer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The growing field of interaction design<\/strong> encompasses everything from mobile apps to websites, and even video games. The skillset is in high demand but what exactly do you need to start a career in interaction designing<\/a><\/strong>?<\/p>\n

Interaction design is often seen as a combo of UX design and UI design for digital interface projects<\/strong>. Interaction designers can also specialize in websites, desktop software, or anything else that requires human-computer interaction<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In this guide, I want to cover the necessary skills<\/strong> and best tips<\/strong> needed to become a masterful interaction designer. There\u2019s no single best course into this industry. It just requires hard work and tenacity to push yourself further<\/strong> and keep learning<\/strong> along the way.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tRead Also:<\/strong>\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\tInteraction Design: How to Create Simple User Profiles<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Basics of IxD<\/h2>\n

Every digital project can be influenced by interaction design. It forces you to go beyond the interface aesthetics<\/strong> to consider how a typical user interacts with the interface<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

An interaction designer handles interface design from the standpoint of user psychology<\/strong>. When you work as a UX designer you\u2019re mostly concerned about behaviors and metrics<\/strong>, such as time on page or conversions. When you work as a UI designer you focus on aesthetics and design principles<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If you have the skills in both areas, then a career in IxD is a stellar idea. You\u2019ll be a true asset to any team you join and there\u2019s a lot of upward mobility.<\/p>\n

The interaction designer\u2019s job is to craft user engagement<\/a><\/strong> by outlining the most important features<\/strong> and designing an interface that matches those behaviors. Daily tasks range from user testing<\/strong> to Photoshop work<\/strong>, and even live prototyping<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Understand the behaviors first<\/h2>\n

Every interface is made for human interaction<\/strong>, meaning that it is never just a matter of pretty designs or cool animations. It\u2019s a matter of how users behave<\/strong>, and what you want them to do<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s best to start with a plan<\/strong> before approaching the design. Consider the best features<\/a> for each project, and organize them based on prominence<\/strong>. Should users be signing up for a new account, buying a product, or reading through a blog post? Each of these scenarios has a different user flow<\/strong>, and requires a different interface<\/strong> to compensate.<\/p>\n

This design process involves a lot of user psychology<\/a><\/strong> where the interaction designer must plan how users would ideally behave<\/strong>. Once the UI is done you can run basic user tests<\/a><\/strong> to see if these assumptions were correct, and if not then you can make tweaks<\/strong> to improve the UX goals.<\/p>\n

\"design<\/figure>\n

Every design decision should come from a logical thought process<\/strong>. If you want to work in IxD you\u2019ll need to study the interface psychology<\/strong>. For instance, try to observe your own behaviour<\/strong> while using a mobile phone. Mull over things like, which apps feel intuitive<\/strong>, why do they feel intuitive, and how can you replicate these features<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

Ask lots of questions<\/strong>, and study other interfaces<\/strong> as much as you can. Over time, you\u2019ll internalize this process<\/strong>, and ultimately improve your day-to-day working patterns<\/strong> with interaction design.<\/p>\n

Design digital interfaces<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s rare to find an interaction designer without any graphic design skills<\/strong>. If you want to do this as a career then you need the ability to actually design and create interfaces<\/strong>. This means a solid understanding of a program like Photoshop, Illustrator, Sketch, or whichever design software<\/a> you prefer.<\/p>\n

It also means that you should have the knowledge of actually designing interfaces<\/strong> and understand design principles<\/strong>, such as typography, whitespace, color choices, and generic design aesthetics. If you don\u2019t already have design skills then you should practice building mockup designs<\/strong> to see what you can do.<\/p>\n

Most interaction designers know a little about the entire creative process<\/strong>. This includes UI prototyping<\/a><\/strong>, and more detailed wireframing<\/strong> before jumping right into the mockup.<\/p>\n

\"wireframe<\/figure>\n

It is possible to land an IxD job without design skills, however, you\u2019ll be a much more lucrative candidate in the industry if you know UX psychology and technical UI design<\/strong>, too.<\/p>\n

Try to work with every stage of design<\/strong> from basic wireframe sketches to more dynamic prototypes<\/strong> and the nitty-gritty details of a full mockup. If you have no idea where to start I recommend following a few tutorials<\/a> to polish your skillset.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a small list to get you started:<\/p>\n