This week we looked into roles in UX and what we could be possibly be doing in the future. What I understand from being a good UX worker is that communication plays a huge role in it, it is very important that communication is clear. I also learned a lot during the interviews that I had with my placement opportunities that teamwork also plays a big role; it is all about being part of a big team that has one goal, and in order to achieve this it is important that all workers keep each other updated to allow a smooth workflow and as little mistakes as possible. Constructive criticism also plays a big role, companies seek people who are good at taking criticism because it is not given to put you down but to point out your errors and lift you up to become a good worker.

Roles In UX

There are copious roles in the UX industry and these are some that stood out to me.

• UX Designer: According to my research it’s the most recognised role in the industry and comes with a lot of responsibilities. They focus on the overall feel of the product, ensuring it is user friendly and meets the users’ needs.

It involves:

1. Conducting user research such as interviews and surveys to learn that users need and want, user testing with prototypes and more.
2. Conducting competitor analysis to learn the faults of other products and find a way to fix it and implement them in their own work or even get inspirations from them as to create a familiar product for users.
3. Create user personas and journey maps to simulate who would interact with the product and how they would go about it.
4. Create sitemaps that serve as the architecture to the interface
5. Build wireframes and then prototypes.
6. And finally team collaboration to ensure an all round consistent product and good user experience.

• UI Designer: They design the hi-fi visual elements of a product like the screens, buttons, icons, etc. Their role is to ensure that the product is aesthetically pleasing and align with the brand’s guidelines.

1. They have they have the same responsibilities of a UX Designer, except they are the ones who make decisions about typography and colour palettes, designing logos and individual UI elements. They also design the interactive elements and the animations.
2. They finally handover their designs to the developers who then make the design come to life; they work together with developers to ensure consistency.

• UX Researcher: They learn how users interact with a product to gather insights by conducting interviews, surveys, and usability tests to inform design decisions.

1. They conduct both quantitative and qualitative research by asking the UX team what would be the most beneficial research
2. They also create user personas with the data they’ve collected and build journey maps.

• UX Writer: Their role is to craft the text users see in a product, like button labels and error messages. They write clear and concise content that guides users throughout and interface.

1. They assist researchers during the researching phase as this helps them learn about what tone of voice to develop for their target audience; this of course must meet the brand’s guidelines.