If you’re a creative person who enjoys exciting, fast-paced roles, then product design could be for you. Product design is an incredibly interesting and rewarding role. It combines elements of graphic design, project management, engineering, and more. If you’re a creative person who loves problem-solving, this could be the career for you.
Are you wondering how to become a product designer? See if you’ve got what it takes in this guide for aspiring designers. We’ll cover what product design is, what the role entails, and how to become a digital product designer.
What Is Product Design?
First of all, what is product design? Product design is about identifying the needs of real people and creating valuable solutions to their problems. The process begins by identifying a pain point and then using your skills to create something that addresses the problem.
Nowadays, most product design concerns digital products like apps and software. As a result, visual design is a huge part of the modern product design role.
What Does a Product Designer Do?
The answer to the question “What does a product designer do?” might seem obvious. In actuality, there are many facets of this role.
A product designer is involved in:
- Coming up with innovative ideas
- Creating wireframes and prototypes
- Developing user journey maps
- A/B testing features
- Collaborating with engineers and other teams to bring products to market
- Researching new products and tools
Essentially, product designers design products and collaborate with various departments. Depending on the seniority of the role, designers may also take charge of project management.
Ultimately, their role revolves around the needs of the user. As a result, it’s a complex position with a lot of things to consider.
Becoming a Product Designer: What You Need to Know
If you’re thinking of becoming a product designer, there are some things you need to consider first. For example, there are different types of product design–which appeal most to you? For example, industrial design refers to creating industrial products like machinery. Meanwhile, an interaction designer focuses on interactive products and user behavior.
As someone considering a career in digital product design, these are the things you need to know.
What You’ll Do
A product designer has many day-to-day roles. The job involves carefully analyzing and considering your target audience to understand their pain points. You can do this through qualitative and quantitive research, including surveys, interviews, and so on.
Following that, you can start to design the product. Designers aspire to make practical and functional products as attractive to the end consumer as possible. So, designing the user interface (UI) takes a lot of creativity.
Following the wireframing and prototyping phase, a product designer collaborates with engineers and developers to produce the final product. They are also responsible for testing each design element and mapping user journeys to find a solution that’s truly effective.
With so many parts of the job, a product designer needs a special set of skills and tools.
Product Designer Salary
Product designing can be difficult and time-consuming. If you’re considering a career in product design, it’s important to understand the salary.
The average product designer salary is $102,033, according to the latest data from Zippia. However, this can vary between product design roles, including the company you work for. A startup pays less than a multinational, for example. Your experience can also affect this, with a senior product designer earning much more than a newcomer to the industry.
The outlook for the industry is positive, with the number of roles set to increase in the coming years.
How To Become a Product Designer
If you’re still interested in the design process and think this career is for you, here’s how. These are the skills, qualifications, and courses you need to excel.
Remember, there are different ways to get into the field. Your exact path may depend on whether you want to work freelance or join a company. If you have a role in mind, it’s best to research the requirements.
What Skills Does a Product Designer Need?
The diverse aspects of product design mean that designers have a wide range of skills. This includes soft skills like:
- Communication
- Presentation
- Organization and time management
- Collaboration and teamwork skills
In addition, there are some useful hard skills like:
- Typography
- User experience (UX) research
- Design thinking skills
- Graphic design
- Computer literacy and computer-aided design (CAD)
Most product designers are highly proficient in UX/UI, along with visual design tools. Job descriptions will often specify the tools you need a good knowledge of. Alongside this, having project management or leadership experience is highly valuable in this field.
Qualifications and Tools for Product Designers
Most product designers have a Bachelor’s degree, but not all of them do. Your degree can be in design, graphic design, product development, or a related field. You may also have certifications for specific tools, highlighting your design proficiency.
Common tools for product designers include:
- Sketch
- Canva
- Figma
- InVision
- HotJar
- Miro
- Maze
- Marvel
It can be useful to have access to these tools yourself. However, if you land a role with a company, they may provide these tools for you. At the very least, you should be able to show your proficiency with these tools.
Courses To Become a Product Designer
If you’re just launching your product design career, there are plenty of courses you can take. A great place to start is by reading The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman. It’s the go-to book for beginners in this field.
Following that, you can check out these courses:
- Google UX Design Professional Certificate
- Product Ideation, Design, and Management Specialization
- Noble UI Design Certificate
There are also plenty of other UX courses and drawing programs to check out. Aspiring product designers should look to strengthen their skills in these areas. Even if you have some experience already, it never hurts to hone your skills before seeking a job.
How To Become a Product Designer Without a Degree
Not all product designers have a degree. Want to know how to become a product designer without a degree? You’ll be glad to know it’s possible. Even with no experience, design jobs are open to you, but it’s harder to get your foot in the door.
The first step is to work on your technical skills through courses such as those listed above. Then, you need to build a portfolio. Typically, a portfolio includes your past projects, but as a newbie, you can come up with some inventive ideas. It’s a good idea to build a portfolio on a website like Wix or Squarespace. Include an ‘About Me’ section and designs that point to your aesthetic.
You may also want to start in related roles. Instead of becoming a product designer right away, familiarize yourself with the industry. Start working in UX design, graphic design, copywriting, or other similar roles.
Another tip is to network with people in the field. Some of your major duties will involve client meetings, so it’s time to get familiar with those you’re working with. Try to network within the field to start and maintain relationships with potential clients. Networking with other designers is also a great way to stay up-to-date with the industry.
The path to becoming a product designer is not always straightforward. If you’re determined, then you can forge your own path. Above all else, make sure you work on your skills and find a way to showcase what you can do.
Learn Everything There Is To Know About Product Design
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Get started today to access our growing library of user flow recordings and stay up-to-date with current product design trends.
