UI Design is one of the in-demand skills within the tech space. It focuses majorly on the design part of User interaction and experience.

What is Ul Design?
The** "UI" **in Ul design stands for "User Interface." The user interface is the graphical layout of an application. It consists of the buttons users click on, the text they read, the images, sliders, text entry fields, and all the rest of the items the user interacts with. This includes screen layout, transitions, interface animations, and every single micro-interaction. It's any visual element the user uses to interact with an application.

It is the job of the **Ul designer **to decide what the application is going to look like. They have to choose color schemes and button shapes - the width of lines and the fonts used for text. Ul designers create the look and feel of an application's user interface.

Ul designers are concerned with aesthetics. It's up to them to make sure the application's interface is attractive and themed appropriately to match the purpose and/or personality of the app. And they must make sure every visual element feels united, both aesthetically.

Let’s talk about UX Design.
"UX" stands for "User Experience." A user's experience of an app is determined by how they interact with it. Is the experience smooth and intuitive or clunky and confusing? Does navigating the app feel logical or does it feel arbitrary? Does interacting with the app give people the sense that they're efficiently accomplishing the tasks they set out to achieve or does it feel like a struggle? User experience is determined by how easy or difficult it is to interact with the user interface elements.

So UX designers are also concerned with an application's user interface, and this is why people get confused about the difference between the two. But whereas Ul designers are tasked with deciding how the user interface will look, UX designers are in charge of determining how the user interface operates.

How They Work Together
So a** UX designer** decides how the user interface works while the Ul designer decides how the user interface looks. This is a very collaborative process, and the two design teams tend to work closely together. As the UX team is working out the flow of the app, how all of the buttons navigate you through your tasks, and how the interface efficiently serves up the information user's needs, the Ul team is working on how all of these interface elements will appear on the screen.

What skills and traits do you need to become a Ul/UX designer?
Learning to be a Ul designer is not easy. Some specific skills and traits will make your journey into this career go more smoothly and I've listed a few of them

1. Drive: The most important thing to succeed as a Ul/UX designer is attitude. If you don't have a personal drive to learn and grow then you won't get very far!

2. You enjoy learning: Being a Ul/UX designer means staying current on the latest design trends and changes in the industry. Things change fast! If you don't keep up it's easy to fall behind and become less relevant.

3. You care about people: User Interface design is all about people. After all, they're the ones who will be using the interfaces you design! If you don't care about their needs and wants, you won't get very far in this industry. If you're not sure what it means to be user-centered

Here are some platforms where you can learn UI or UX design, some of which are paid while others are free

• YouTube

• Udemy

• Coursera

• Freecodecamp

• Google UI/UX certification

A list of some useful tools for UI/UX designers

• Sketch

• Craft

• Proto.io

• Adobe XD

• Marvel

• Figma

• Webflow

• Wireframe.cc

Here are some channels on YouTube with comprehensive materials that can aid you through the UI/UX journey as a beginner

• Freecodecamp

• DesignCourse

• Thefutur

• DesignSense

• Andre the Designer

• Thinkful

• CareerFoundry

Just to name a few...

Conclusion:
Starting as a Ul designer can be difficult at first, design concepts can be hard to wrap your head around when you're teaching yourself. To aid your journey you can set out to find other designers that you can learn from. Join communities by following designers on social platforms like Twitter and developing relationships with them. It's also a way you don't get left behind when there's a new design trend. Learn the basics. This applies to every type of skill an individual has set out to learn.

A strong foundation leads to steady progress. There are a lot of opportunities available as a UI/UX designer. Most companies or businesses need someone to help design the user interface and general flows of their applications, therefore demand for Ul designers is always on the rise. According to StackOverflow, most** Ul/UX **designers average around 40-120k$ per year which also makes it one of the most lucrative jobs in tech.