GOOGLE UIUX NOTES

Working through the entire UX pipeline: From conducting user research to launching the final product.

Collaboration with cross-functional teams: He learned to work effectively with engineers, project managers,
and other stakeholders.

Wearing multiple hats: As the sole UX designer at his startup, he gained experience in branding, marketing,
iconography, and more.

Mastering the UX process: Through repeated iterations and product launches, he developed a strong
understanding of the UX design process.

Essentially, he learned by doing, collaborating, and adapting to the demands of a start ups.

Introduction to Course 1: Foundations of User Experience Design UX designers help make

technology easier to understand and more enjoyable to use. So, when did the study of user experience, or UX,
begin? Let's learn some quick history, to get us up to speed. The phrase "user experience" was first coined in
the 1990s, by cognitive psychologist, Don Norman, as technology use expanded and evolved. Although the
term came about relatively recently, the principles of user experience actually stretch back thousands of years,
all the way to ancient China, where the practice of Feng Shui began. Play video starting at ::54 and follow
transcript0:54 Practitioners believe that the arrangement of a physical space, like how furniture is positioned in
a room, could bring someone luck or improve their health and happiness. Today, lots of different industries still
rely on these same basic ideas. In the tech world, user experience mostly focuses on how people use or
interact with products.

The basics of user experience design:

The user experience is how a person, the user, feels about interacting with or experiencing a product. Play
video starting at ::29 and follow transcript0:29 A product is a good, service, or feature. It might be a physical
product, like a video game controller or a bag of potato chips, or a technology product, like an app, website, or
smartwatch. There are many things that can make up a good user experience. In this video, we'll highlight
some of them. Play video starting at ::51 and follow transcript0:51 For example, for a user to have a good
experience, the product needs to be usable, equitable, enjoyable, and useful . Let's break that down. To
begin, user experience is about improving usability or making something easier to use. This means that the
design, structure, and purpose of the product are clear to everyone.

So, how do we figure out what makes a user happy with the product? That's where research comes in. To know
how users feel, we have to collect evidence on how they're experiencing that product in real time and ask them
about it, too. We'll discuss this in a lot more detail later. As humans, we want products that are useful, meaning
they solve our problems. For example, if you're lost, a map app telling you how to get home is useful. But if the
app can't find your current location, it's not so useful anymore.

Jobs in the field of user experience: Rather than sharing similar work histories, UX designers
tend to share common skills and interests instead. A lot of UX designers have a good sense for visuals, which
means you recognize when an image fits or doesn't fit in the space or what colors complement each other. But
you don't need to know anything about graphic design or even be able to draw to be a UX designer. UX
designers tend to be curious about people and like thinking about how people's minds work. They also enjoy
figuring out how people use products and how to make those products easier to use. UX designers are
empathetic too. Empathy is the ability to understand someone else's feelings or thoughts in a situation, and it's
a major part of UX. Remember earlier when we mentioned equitable design and designing for everyone? Well,
in order to design for everyone, we need to understand how a person might feel or what they might think in
any situation. Just like a lot of UX designers don't share work histories, they don't always share educational
backgrounds either.

So, we've covered common characteristics of people drawn to UX design. Now let's explore what those UX
designers actually do. When you think of the word "design," you might think it's all about the visual aspects of a
product. But it's only one small part of what the UX designers might do. In fact, there are many different kinds
of UX designers: interaction designers, visual designers, and motion designers. Let's start with interaction
designers, who focus on designing the experience of a product and how it functions. They figure out how to
connect the users' needs and the business's goals with what's actually feasible to build. As an interaction
designer at Google, my team and I are responsible for defining the user experience for security and privacy
related tools. In my world, users always come first. There are also visual designers who focus on how a product
or technology looks. They might be responsible for designing logos, illustrations, or icons. They may also decide
font color and size, or work on product layouts. Motion designers are another common type of UX designer.
They think about what it feels like for a user to move through a product and how to create smooth transitions
between pages on an app or a website.

Next up, we have production designers, who often act as a bridge between interaction designers and
engineers. They make sure the first and final designs match in the finished product materials and that the
assets are ready to be handed off to the engineering team. The assets are everything from text and images to
the design specifications, like font style, color, size, and spacing. Which brings us to the UX engineers, one of
the groups that UX designers work with most frequently. UX engineers translate the design's intent into a
functioning experience, like a website or an app.

Finally, UX program managers ensure clear and timely communication so that the process of building a useful
product moves smoothly from start to finish. This might include setting up goals and writing project plans.

or go for this
To help you get started, this reading will explore a handful of different careers within the field of user
experience.

Icon showing two smart phone screens with a green arrow pointing between them, text underneath reads
"Interaction Designer".
Interaction designers focus on designing the experience of a product and how it functions. They strive to
understand the user flow, or the path, that a typical user takes to complete a task on an app, website, or other
platform. . At Google and many other companies, interaction designers are a specialized type of UX designer

An interaction designer's work answers questions like: What should happen if a user taps on this button? How
do we make this action easier for users to complete? And, how are the design elements within the website laid
out? Interaction designers focus less on how the product looks and instead strive to make the product easy to
navigate and simple for users to interact with.

Icon showing a cell phone screen and color swatches, with "Visual Designer" in text underneath.
Visual designers focus on how a product or technology looks. They are often responsible for designing logos,
illustrations, and icons, as well as deciding on font color, size, and placement. Visual designers focus on the
layout of each page or screen and make all of the design elements fit together in a visually appealing way. At
Google and many other companies, visual designers are a specialized type of UX designer.

The role of a visual designer is to answer questions like: What kind of visual style should icons have, in order to
fit the product's branding? Or, which color and font should we use for this button? The goal of a visual designer
is to delight users with designs that inspire, engage, and excite them.

Icon shows a computer screen with a video play button and primary colors, text underneath reads "Motion

Designer".
Motion designers think about what it feels like for a user to move through a product and how to create smooth
transitions between pages on an app or website. They may also create animations or visual effects to bring
their design ideas to life. At Google and many other companies, motion designers are a specialized type of UX
designer.
A motion designer’s work answers questions like: How should an app transition between pages? How do we
show the connection between these actions? And, what’s an engaging animation that will help tell our story?
Motion designers focus on design elements that move, rather than traditional static designs.

Graphic of a VR/AR headset and a pen, text underneath reads "VR/AR designer".
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) designers create products that provide users with immersive
experiences, unbounded by the limits of the physical world. Virtual reality involves a wearable headset
that takes over a user’s vision; it blocks out their physical surroundings and immerses them in a completely
virtual world. For example, VR can feel like you're entering the setting of a magical imaginary land.

On the other hand,AA AAAugmented reality uses the physical world as a backdrop and adds virtual
elements on top of it. Users are still contextually aware of their surroundings, but their reality is augmented, or
enhanced, by adding elements through a screen. For example, you can sit in your actual kitchen, and an AR
experience can add digital images, like a new barstool or a piece of aartwork, to the room around you.

A VR or AR designer’s work answers questions like: How do we create a user experience that leverages 3D
space? Or, will this action cause a user motion sickness? To ensure users are comfortable immersing in a VR or
AR experience, designers need to carefully consider everything from sound to lighting.

Tablet screen with a webpage shown, icon of a red magnifying glass overlayed. Text underneath reads "UX

researcher".
UX researchers conduct studies or interviews that examine how people use a product. UX researchers often
identify pain points that users are experiencing and explore how products can help solve those problems. They
also explore the usability of existing products, by asking users to complete tasks in an app or website, for
example.

UX researchers answer questions like: What problems are users facing? Is the design of this product easy to
use? And, would people be interested in this new design feature? The goal of UX researchers is often to
understand how a product can provide a solution to a real problem users are having.

Webpage with text is show, with a pencil overlaid. Text underneath reads "UX Writer".
UX writers think about how to make the language within a product clearer so that the user experience is more
intuitive. UX writers also help define a brand’s voice and personality. The work of UX writers often includes
writing labels for buttons and determining the tone of language used within an app or website.

UX writers focus on answering questions like: What words should be used to communicate this idea clearly?
Should the tone for this app be friendly or technical? And, what should the language on this button label say?
UX writers often become subject matter experts in order to present content that’s easy to understand for all
users.

Icon of a person, a piece of paper, and an arrow in all in a circle. Text underneath reads "UX program
manager".
UX program managers ensure clear and timely communication, so that the process of building a useful product
moves smoothly from start to finish. This might include setting goals, writing project plans, and allocating team
resources.

UX program managers answer questions like: What are the overall goals for this project, and what’s the plan to
achieve them? And, how can we create and improve processes within the team? UX program managers work
across departments to make sure that UX is involved throughout a project lifecycle.

Icon of coding language and a smart phone, with text underneath that reads " UX engineer".
UX engineers translate the design’s intent into a functioning experience, like an app or a website. They help UX
teams figure out if designs are intuitive and technically feasible.

UX engineers answer questions like: How do we implement each interaction? How do we build this design in a
way that stays true to its original intent? And, how might we explore alternatives to determine the best user
experience? UX engineers synthesize design and development, bringing product concepts to life.

Icon of a bot and two speech bubbles above, with text underneath that reads "Conversation designer".

Conversational interfaces are everywhere, from intelligent virtual assistants like Google Assistant and Siri, to
interactive voice response systems like customer service systems you can talk to. Conversational interfaces
even include automobile navigation systems and chatbots! Conversation design incorporates natural, real-
world conversational behaviors into the interactions between users and these systems.
Conversation designers make it possible for users to have natural conversations to get things done. They
leverage user research, psychology, technical knowledge, and linguistics to create user experiences that are
intuitive and engaging. Conversation designers develop the “persona” or personality of the voice, as well as the
flow and dialog of the interaction.

Conversation designers answer questions like: What’s the ideal language and flow based on who users are, the
task to be accomplished, and the context of the conversation? Does the personality of the virtual assistant
seem genuine, engaging, and reflective of the brand values? How does the conversation work with on-screen
elements? Does the virtual assistant offer a consistent, usable, and useful experience end-to-end?

Explore careers in the field of UX

You now know about some of the most common jobs in the field of user experience! As you begin your first job
as a UX designer, you’ll collaborate with fellow UXers, like the ones listed here, to create innovative and
beautiful products that people love to use. Pretty exciting, right?

Most common ux tools:

Capabilities of the tool

When you get to the point of choosing a UX tool, you’ll also need to consider the capabilities of the tool. You’ll
learn more about these capabilities later in this certificate program. Going forward, you’ll investigate the tool
and ask questions such as:

Does it allow for mobile-responsive design?

For example: You may create templates and layouts for various devices. Does the tool account for, and adapt
to, different screen sizes?

Does it allow for prototyping, testing, and reviewing?

For example: You’ll eventually want to build a prototype, or sample, of a product. Does the tool allow you to
build the prototype? Does it allow you to test how it works? And, can the tool allow other stakeholders or
designers to review it and provide feedback directly into the tool?

Does it allow for team collaboration?

For example: You will likely work on a team with several people. Can each team member work in the tool? Can
revisions or suggestions be made by other team members?

Does it allow for a centralized design system?

For example: You likely won’t be the only designer on a project. With multiple team members and
collaborators, consistency is key. Does the tool allow the team to view and/or copy styles and properties to
ensure consistency across the project?

UX tools—an overview
In this certificate, you’ll focus on Figma. Figma is one of the preeminent UX tools. There are other UX tools,
mentioned previously, you can look at for comparison.

Sketch, Freehand, and Zeplin

Work well with very large teams that may struggle to adopt new tools

Paired most commonly with another of these tools

Do not require WiFi, enabling offline design work

Do not afford real-time collaboration, prototyping, or design to development collaborative activities

Adobe XD
Works well with teams that already use Adobe’s Suite

Rounds out Adobe’s suite of products with one that is entirely built for digital and UX design work

Syncs to Cloud rather than using actual real-time collaboration and can be used offline

Figma
Is excellent for most designers and contexts

Includes FigJam access, a whiteboard for brainstorming, diagramming, and strategizing

Requires WiFi connection

Is a digital-first, remote-friendly, all-in-one tool, allowing for easier sharing, designing, collaboration, and
reviewing in our ever-changing, more virtual workspace

Do your research

Check out each tool’s website for additional information. As you educate yourself on each tool’s features and
benefits, you’ll be able to choose the UX tool that is right for you. But remember: You’ll be introduced to Figma
and you’ll learn how to use it throughout this certification course.

1. Sketch

2. Freehand

3. Zeplin

4. Adobe XD

5. Figma

STAY CURRENT WITH THE FIELD INDUSTRY:CHECK

IT OUT IN THE MODULE 1 OF 40 MIN READING

The product development life cycle:

The first stage of the product development lifecycle is brainstorm. It's an active discovery stage that's all
about generating ideas about the user and potential needs or challenges the user might have. During the
brainstorm stage, the team generates ideas to solve a problem, understands the audience they're designing
for, and identifies needs or challenges the audience may have. Research plays a key role in this first stage
because you're exploring different ways to get to know the audience you're designing for. UX researchers and
writers are often heavily involved in this stage, where the team might conduct interviews with potential users
or conduct other research.

Play video starting at :1:28 and follow transcript1:28

The second stage in the product development lifecycle is define. Define is all about using the insights from
the brainstorm stage and starting to narrow the focus. During the define stage, the team determines concrete
ways that the product being developed will impact the user. As a UX designer, you'll begin to think more about
specific details related to the product, who the product is for, what the product will do, and what features need
to be included for the product to be successful. Statements that outline the goals or outline any problems you
want to answer with the product design are the focus in the define stage.

Play video starting at :2:8 and follow transcript2:08

The third stage in the product development lifecycle is design. In the design stage, UX designers begin to
actively develop ideas, and they also check that all specifications from the define stage are realistic. The first
two stages are more about preparation and planning. They give you a clear understanding of who the user is,
what the user wants, and which problems or challenges you want to address in your design. Using the insights
from the first two stages, UX designers generate designs that keep the user top of mind. You'll create many
different assets, including storyboards, which are sketches that help explore the user's experience, or
wireframes, which provide outlines of the content layout. Or you might create prototypes, which are models
that allow UX designers to test the functionality of a design. All of these things will be covered later in the
program.

Play video starting at :3:8 and follow transcript3:08

The fourth stage is test. In the test stage, the team evaluates the product design based on feedback from
potential users. Testing designs with users is really important because it helps the team focus on the user first
and foremost and the designs second. Testing helps identify areas to refine or improve the designs. It also helps
UX designers consider the interactivity of the design. This is a stage that involves lots of interaction between UX
designers and front-end engineers as they figure out ways to create an end product that satisfies users' needs
and is practical and functional. They discuss things like how the color or font can fit the company's brand or
whether the prototype designs are easily understandable.

Play video starting at :3:59 and follow transcript3:59

Finally, of the the last stage product development lifecycle is launch or sharing a finished version of
the product with the public. This might involve listing an app in the Google Play Store or Apple's App
Store, making a website go live, or putting a physical product on store shelves. Launching can be very satisfying
for you and your team because you have the chance to understand how your designs will be received in the
real world. However, the work on a product isn't quite finished after launch. You may still identify opportunities
to improve on the designs or learn even more about the user experience based on feedback. This could involve
going back to the design or testing stages and figuring out ways to produce a more enhanced version of the
product. Now you've been introduced to the five stages in the product development lifecycle: brainstorm,
define, design, test, and launch. Coming up, you'll learn about some of the characteristics of a good user
experience. Meet you there.

Design for good user experience:

Predicting user roadblocks and potential design mishaps is what
good UX design is all about.
Characteristics of good user experience

Good design is easy to spot but often hard to pin down. What exactly makes a product effective to its users?
Is it a matter of simplicity, structure, or functionality? The answer depends on the product in question.

In the earlier video, “The basics of user experience design”, you were introduced to some primary
characteristics of good UX. These characteristics—usable, equitable, enjoyable, and useful—can help you
evaluate a product’s design. In this reading, you’ll learn more about each one and why they're important.

If a product is usable, it means the design, structure, and purpose of the product is clear and easy to use.
As you evaluate a product for usability, you can ask questions like: Is everything in the design easy to find? Is
the design’s functionality easy to understand? Can users accomplish specific tasks within the design? As you
evaluate, these questions can help you determine whether the design delivers a usable experience.

Imagine you are evaluating the usability of an airline app. Assuming the primary purpose of this app is to
book a flight, the design should provide a clear and easy way to complete that task. For example, a section
where you can easily enter travel and flight details on the homepage would be an example of good usability.

If a product is equitable, it means a design is helpful to people with diverse abilities and backgrounds. In
other words, the product’s design addresses the needs of a diverse audience and ensures a high-quality
experience is delivered to all users regardless of background, gender, race, or ability. Equity means
providing people with the tools they need to accomplish their goals and support improved quality of life.
Equity goes beyond the concept of equality, where everyone is given equal resources, because people often
need different tools and support based on their needs. This is especially important to keep in mind for those
in commonly disenfranchised groups. As you evaluate the equity of a product’s UX, you can ask questions
like: Are the needs of a diverse group of users considered? Does the product’s design address the needs of
traditionally underrepresented and excluded groups? These questions can help you determine whether the
design delivers an equitable experience.

Imagine you are evaluating how equitable a social messaging app is. You might consider the design more
equitable if the keyboard emoji list includes different skin tones and gender-neutral avatar options.

If a product is enjoyable, it means the design delights the user. The design reflects what the user may be
thinking or feeling and creates a positive connection with them. A product’s design doesn’t have to be
enjoyable for it to function properly. But, an enjoyable design adds to an already functional product and can
enhance the user’s feelings about the experience. As you evaluate how enjoyable a product’s UX is, you can
ask questions like: Are there aspects of the design that consider the user’s feelings ? Does the design inspire
delight in the user? Does the design keep the user engaged throughout their experience? These questions
can help you determine whether the design delivers an enjoyable experience.

Imagine you are evaluating how enjoyable a video streaming app is. Design aspects that might increase how
much you enjoy the product include personalized recommendations based on previous watching habits, or
the ability to customize the appearance of your account.

If a product is useful, that means it solves user problems. In other words, the design intentionally solves a
user problem that the designer has identified. It’s important to note that, while similar, useful and usable
have different meanings. A product that is useful isn’t always usable. The same is true for the opposite. The
distinction between the two is that usability refers to the product working well and being easy to use, while
usefulness refers directly to the ability to solve user problems. As you evaluate how useful a product’s UX is,
you can ask questions like: Does the design add value to the user’s experience? Does the design solve a
problem for the user? Does the design help the user achieve a specific goal? These questions can help you
determine whether the design delivers a useful experience.

Imagine you’re evaluating how useful a banking app is. Users typically download these apps because they
need a place to manage their money. With this in mind, aspects of the app that might be considered useful
are features that can be used to transfer money between accounts and pay bills.
Job responsibilities of entry-level UX designers:

To get started, let's identify some typical responsibilities of entry level UX designers. Researching,
wireframing, prototyping, creating information architecture, and communicating effectively. Entry level UX
designers start their careers by doing a lot of tasks to learn the basics. One of those tasks might be research.
UX designers use research to understand audiences and learn about their backgrounds, demographics, like
age and location, motivations, pain points, emotions, and life goals. There's a lot to learn about users and
their preferences, and UX designers want to discover as much as they can in order to inform their product's
design.

An entry level designer also creates wireframes. A wireframe is an outline or a sketch of a product or a
screen. It helps a designer figure out how a page is arranged, where each piece of a product fits in with the
others, and how users will likely interact with the product. Wireframing is one of the first steps designers
take when building a new product or feature. It's done after or at the same time as the research. We can
wireframe by drawing on paper or digitally on a computer. Here are some examples of wireframes I've done.
This is for a webpage on Google's Transparency Report. Notice that they're just basic drawings, but you can
tell what goes where. These wireframes were designed to demonstrate the basic structure of the page to
gain support from key stakeholders, people with a business interest in the final product. A UX designer will
also create prototypes. A prototype is an early model of a product that demonstrates functionality like a
wireframe, but a lot more advanced. While a wireframe gives you a general idea of where things go and
how the product will function, a prototype illustrates a progression from one screen to the next. We can
draw prototypes on paper, create a physical prototype, or build a digital prototype.

The purpose of wireframes and prototypes is to figure out the best design for a product,
inexpensively and quickly. Another responsibility of an entry level UX designer might include creating the
information architecture, which is the framework of a website or how it's organized, categorized, and
structured. For example, when you click the file menu on a word processing application like Google Docs,
you expect certain options like new or print to appear in the drop down menu. Or when you click on the
company's homepage, you expect to find a link to an about page.

Play video starting at :3:9 and follow transcript3:09

That structure is the website's information architecture. Finally, an entry level UX design job, like many jobs,
also requires a lot of communication, like meetings with colleagues, writing emails, creating proposals, or
pitching clients. So in short, entry level UX designers should know how to research, wireframe, prototype,
create information architecture, and communicate effectively. Your exact responsibilities will vary depending
on where you work and how specialized you need to be for your particular job.
Specialists, generalists, and T-shaped designers:
A generalist is a UX designer with a broad number of responsibilities. Most UX designers begin their careers
this way, doing various tasks. For example, you might do a bit of interaction design work, a bit of visual
design work, and more. One benefit of being a generalist is that you get to try out roles and find a specialty
that you're passionate about.

Play video starting at ::45 and follow transcript0:45

Generalist UX designers are common at smaller companies with fewer employees, as these companies don't
have big design departments. You might have to wear many hats. A generalist might be responsible for a
combination of user research, branding, user flows, UX writing, visual design, prototyping, production
design, information architecture, and usability testing, among other things. Most generalists start their roles
knowing about one or two of these topics. They learn about other areas on the job from their colleagues or
mentors. UX generalists can also continue their education through professional development, doing their
own research to keep up with industry trends, and participating in online UX communities to learn from
other designers.

Play video starting at :1:36 and follow transcript1:36

On the other hand, if you become really interested in one part of UX design, you might find your niche as a
specialist. A specialist dives deep into one particular UX design role, like interaction, visual, or motion design.
While a generalist has a breadth of knowledge, a specialist has more depth of knowledge in one kind of UX
design. Specialists usually work at large companies where the organization can afford to have a big team of
UX designers.

Play video starting at :2:4 and follow transcript2:04

At Google, we have thousands of specialized UX designers. Take me, for example. I specialize in interaction
design. We covered some specialist tracks earlier in the course. If you need a refresher, check out the
glossary.

Play video starting at :2:19 and follow transcript2:19

As you advance in your career, you may become a T-shaped designer. A T-shaped designer specializes in one
kind of UX design and has a breadth of knowledge in other areas. This is called a T-shaped designer because
your skills look like an uppercase T. The vertical line of the T is the kind of UX design you specialize in, like
visual design. The horizontal line across the top of the T includes your complementary skills. These skills
might come from other fields, like interaction design, that cross over with your specialties or soft skills that
help you work more effectively. Becoming a specialist or generalist isn't always a conscious choice. It might
be based entirely on where you work and what skills are needed. When I started in UX design, I was a
motion graphics designer. Then I worked on video games, apps for businesses, and apps about financial
technology.
Play video starting at :3:17 and follow transcript3:17

Now that I work at Google, I focus on privacy as an interaction designer. The more experience you get in the
industry, the broader your perspective. You'll be exposed to a lot of different companies, design principles,
and work styles, and you'll learn how each one can better inform your designs. As a UX designer, there's
always room to grow and opportunities for change. Whether you become a generalist or specialist, there are
plenty of options.

The role of a beginner UX designer

As you start out on your path to becoming a UX designer, you’re probably curious about the actual work
your new career might involve. In this reading, you can explore the different responsibilities that entry-level
UX designers commonly take on during a project. You'll also review the differences between generalist,
specialist, and T-shaped UX designers.

But first, a quick call out: You’ll probably notice a lot of new vocabulary and unfamiliar terms in this reading.
Don’t worry! You’ll learn about each of these concepts in more depth throughout the certificate program.
We’ll also provide a glossary of important terms and their definitions at the end of each week of content.

Responsibilities of an entry-level UX designer

As an entry-level UX designer, you’ll have a lot of exciting opportunities to gain experience. When you first
start out, you’ll probably take on a lot of different roles and responsibilities.
User research: User research is about understanding the people who use your product. Through research,
you’ll learn about users’ backgrounds, demographics, motivations, pain points, emotions, and goals. Your
research methods might include surveys, observations, and interviews. We’ll explore user research in much
more detail in an upcoming course.

Information architecture: Information architecture, or IA for short, involves deciding how your
product is organized and structured. Think of IA as a skeleton that outlines how users interact with your
product. Everything in your product should be organized in ways that make sense to the user and meets
their expectations.

Wireframing: A wireframe is a basic outline or sketch of a product or a screen, like an app or website. As
the name suggests, wireframes look like they were created with wires. They’re mostly lines and shapes, with
some text. Wireframes can be drawn by hand or created digitally using software. Wireframing helps you
bring your design ideas to life, so other people on your team can provide input and feedback.

Prototyping: A prototype is an early model of a product that demonstrates its functionality. Prototypes
can be in physical or digital formats and can vary in complexity. Sometimes a prototype is made to
demonstrate one specific feature of a product, like the transition between screens or the way the product
physically looks and feels. You’ll make multiple prototypes for any given product throughout the design
process.

Visual design: Visual design focuses on how the product or technology looks. As a UX designer, you need
to understand the foundations of visual design in order to communicate the connection between a product’s
functionality and its appearance to users. You’ll learn some of the most important principles of visual design
throughout this certificate program.
Effective communication: Effective communication as a UX designer means connecting with your
colleagues through emails, meetings, presentations, and design software. UX design is a very collaborative
field, so being able to communicate both digitally and face-to-face with teammates is important. You need
to be a good listener, be receptive to feedback, and share your ideas in a clear way.

Specialist and generalist designers

As you get further along in your career, you can choose to specialize in a certain area of UX design or keep
your skill set more broad. What exactly are the differences between specialist and generalist UX designers?
Read on to learn more.

Specialist: A specialist dives deep into one type of UX design, like interaction, visual, or motion design, and
becomes an expert. Specialist UX designers are more common at large companies that have a lot of
designers, like here at Google. Some of the benefits of becoming a specialist include:

Focusing on one type of design that you enjoy more than others.

Gaining deep knowledge of one type of design.

Becoming well-known in the industry for your expertise in a particular type of design.

Generalist: A generalist has a broad number of responsibilities. A majority of UX design jobs are generalist
positions, especially at companies with fewer UX designers. Typically, entry-level UX designers work in
generalist roles, and some people choose to stay in generalist design roles for their entire careers. There are
a lot of benefits to being a generalist UX designer, like:

Expanding your skills in many different types of UX work.

Trying a variety of responsibilities and finding an area of UX that you’re especially passionate about.

Keeping your job feeling fresh and new, while doing a variety of tasks.

T-shaped: A T-shaped designer is a specialist who also has a lot of capabilities in other areas. T-shaped
designers get their name because the stem (or vertical line) of a T represents their expertise in one area,
while the top (or horizontal line) symbolizes their related skills in a broad number of areas. T-shaped
designers are great to have on your team, since they come with the benefits of both specialists and
generalists. The image below highlights some of the skills a T-shaped UX designer might have. In this
example, the person is a visual design specialist but also has knowledge in other areas, like coding and
prototyping.
Each designer tends to naturally have a little T-shape in their abilities, even at the beginning of their career.
As you start to work on projects, you’ll probably notice where your strengths and interests lie. As you get
better at one area of design, you’ll likely find yourself working on that part of design projects more often,
which helps you continue to improve in one area.

You can also decide to direct your T-shape by developing specific skills that will open up future job
opportunities. For example, you might work extra hard on your prototyping skills, in addition to your general
UX design skills, which can lead to new experiences and professional growth.

Your future as a UX designer

There are so many different paths you can take within the field of UX design. After you land your first entry-
level job and start working in the field, you’ll get a better idea of whether you want to be a UX design
generalist or specialize in one specific type of design. There are plenty of benefits to being a generalist,
specialist, or T-shaped designer, so it’s all about finding what works best for you!

Interact with cross-functional teammates:

UX design is a highly collaborative field, where designers typically work in cross-functional teams. Your
future teammates might include engineers, UX researchers, program managers, product leads, fellow
designers, and others. Working with a diverse group of people across functions helps you learn from their
areas of expertise and explore other domains within the field of UX. In this reading, you’ll learn about cross-
functional team members you’re likely to work with as a new UX designer.

Teams that UX designers work with

Cross-functional teams come in lots of shapes and sizes, depending on the organization you work for and
the project you’re working on. In general, though, there are a handful of key team members that you’ll get
to work with as a UX designer.
Engineers: Engineers translate designs into a functioning experience, like an app or a website. They help UX
teams figure out if designs are feasible from a technical standpoint and bring that idea to life. Working
closely with engineers and involving them early in the design process is critical to ensure your project is set
up for success.

UX researchers: UX research is all about understanding what users need and expect from your product. UX
researchers use methods like observations, interviews, and surveys to understand users' unique
perspectives. Findings from research can inform your design decisions each step of the way. If you work at a
startup or small business, there’s a good chance you’ll get to do your own UX research. At larger companies
though, you’ll likely work with designated UX researchers who will provide research findings to inform your
design work.
Program managers: Program managers ensure clear and timely communication across the team, so that
the process of building a useful product moves smoothly from start to finish. Program managers supervise,
support, and keep track of the project as a whole. They assign tasks to team members, monitor the project
budget, and manage timelines, among other things. Think of your team’s program manager as your go-to
source of support when facing any setbacks or issues with your work.

Product leads: Product leads are in charge of ensuring the final product’s success and communicating with
stakeholders. Your product lead will define the project’s core goals and deliverables, so you can focus on
creating innovative design solutions. At some companies, product leads are known as product managers.

Other UX designers: In many cases, you won’t be the sole designer working on a given project, especially if
you work at a larger company and when you're a new designer. For example, as an entry-level UX designer,
you might collaborate with a more experienced visual designer who can ensure that your designs adhere to
the company’s brand standards for things like color and font. Working with other designers is a great chance
to learn and ask questions!

Working together

Creating a strong product requires working with a cross-functional team of brilliant minds, all contributing
their unique skills. As a UX designer, you’ll play a vital role that contributes to the team’s success!

UX design jobs at different types of companies:

The influence of company size and industry

Have you always dreamed of working with a close-knit group at a startup? Or landing a job at your
favorite company? Depending on where you end up working, your job as a UX designer could be
quite different! In this reading, you’ll explore how UX design roles can vary depending on the
company’s size and industry.

Startups and small businesses

Startups are new businesses that want to develop a unique product or service and bring it to
market. Small businesses are privately owned businesses with few employees. A lot of UX designers
are excited to start work at startups or small businesses because they can see the impact of their
work more quickly and develop a broader range of skills.

Team size: Close-knit team and able to work directly with upper management.

Growth: Opportunity for growth due to taking on many responsibilities (visual design, interaction
design, user research, and more).
Creativity: Usually more creative freedom with fewer guidelines and processes.

Impact: Lots of impact on final products, with few people working on a project.

Mentorship: Fewer mentors to choose from within a smaller company.

Responsibility: Most of the responsibility for a UX project falls solely on you, which can be stressful
if you have little UX experience.

Speed: Have to be comfortable working quickly and launching work that isn’t perfect, with little
oversight.

Big companies
At a big company, like Google, you’re likely to work in teams on a specific project. Lots of UX
designers want to work at big companies with the people who developed some of the most well-
known products in the world. UX teams at larger companies tend to be more compartmentalized by
specialization, making it easier for you to become an expert in one particular area of UX.

Mentorship: A variety of experienced designers and other UXers to learn from.

Growth: Lots of opportunity for growth because there are many levels of designers and
management.
Guidelines: Clearer guidelines to keep products uniform and on brand.

Team size: More people working on one project, which means you’re better able to focus on your
specific responsibilities.

Specialization: Opportunity to focus on one particular area of design.

Team size: May feel less impactful or important as a contributor with lots of other designers on the
project.

Impact: May feel small at a company with so many features and products.

Guidelines: Defined guidelines can be restrictive to creativity.

Design agencies
A design agency is a one-stop-shop for visual brands, products, and services. Working at a design
agency can be similar in some ways to working at a small business or startup, except you have
multiple companies as your clients. Many agencies tend to work on a broad range of products, so
you can explore many kinds of styles and approaches to UX design.

Impact: Lots of impact on projects, if you’re the only UX designer on the team.

Networking: Opportunity to work with senior stakeholders, different teams, and diverse clients.
Exposure: Exposure to lots of companies and industries with different clients.

Resume: Potential to work with large brands and display that work in your portfolio.

Mentorship: Lack of mentorship if you are the only UX designer on a project.

Monotony: Depending on the agency, you could work only on the same type of projects.

Ownership: Might not be able to work on a project from start to finish.

Finished product: Products you work on might not launch, depending on client priorities.

Advertising agencies
A lot of UX designers work at advertising agencies, which are teams of creatives hired by clients to
build marketing campaigns. Sometimes called “creative technologists,” these designers work to
create ads for brands using UX principles. This is a great option if you’re open to learning some
interesting skills outside of a core UX design role.

Autonomy: Little to no middle management means more autonomy over your work.

Learning: Opportunity to learn about other disciplines, like branding, marketing, and graphic
design.
Variety: Every project is different based on the client.

Networking: Work with a bunch of different brands, clients, and teams.

Specialization: Wide variation in projects, so you might not be able to hone in on specific skills
easily.

Relevance: Work may often involve branding and marketing, and might not focus on UX design.

Freelancers
Freelancers are self-employed UX designers who are hired by clients for their independent services.
Being a freelancer gives you a lot of freedom, and it’s a great way for new UX designers to gain
experience in the field and add work to their portfolio.

Schedule: Set your own hours since you’re self-employed.

Flexibility: Can freelance while working another job or balancing competing priorities.

Autonomy: Choose the work that you want to do.

Experience: Build your portfolio, especially if you don’t have a full-time UX job.
Structure: No one to report to, which means you have to be responsible for getting work done on
time.

Stability: Less stable than working for a company or agency, since work is not always guaranteed.

Business: Manage the logistics of your own business, such as filing taxes, billing clients, and more.

Mentorship: Lack of readily available mentors since you’re working by yourself.

Deciding where to work

Everyone’s goals as a UX designer are different, so think about what’s most important to you when
choosing a place to work. Consider questions like:

Do you enjoy a lot of structure and processes, or do you like to define your own work and schedule?

Do you value working on a big team, or are you more comfortable working alone?

Do you want to focus mainly on UX design, or are you interested in broadening your skill set?

Considering your career goals and how you work best will help you start to figure out the kind of
company that might be the best fit for you. Good luck!