In this really bad economy, if all you can do is design UI mockups, you’re probably going to have a hard time.
Later in this video, I’m going to show you what skills you actually need, but first.. Let’s talk about what has led to this shitty timeline…
In my estimation, there are 2 driving factors that have led to the current tech climate..
Macroeconomics
If we rewind to two or three years ago, many governments, including the US were printing money like insanely. Trillions upon trillions of dollars were introduced into the money supply, resulting in inflation. In other words, things now cost more. This has a very negative effect on cashflow for individuals and businesses-alike.
It is absolutely NO coincidence that we’ve seen so many thousands upon thousands of layoffs, especially in tech, right after the pandemic.
So, that’s factor #1, which has led to factor #2.
Less Employees, Means more Tasks
If you’re in business and you need to cut costs due to the terrible economy, you may end up with less employees. Less employees means those remaining employees need more skills. Specialization is less important than becoming a generalist.
So if your ONLY skill is “UI Design” in Figma, for instance.. You’re going to have a harder time landing jobs or clients. Now don’t get me wrong, there are always exceptions. If your UI design work is absolute TOP notch, you’ll always have a job.
But for most people, UI design alone is now, not enough. This means that you have to develop some other skills.
If you’re a UI designer and all you know how to do is design mockups in Figma, here are some other skills that YOU should be adding to your toolbelt..
UI Designer Roles you can add
- Motion prototyping
If you familiarze yourself with motion design principles, and you can implement them in Figma, Protopie, or even After Effects, this is another skillset that is hugely beneficial to employees. - Broader UX Abilities
UI design is just another category of UX, but UX includes more than just UI as most of you know. If you can tack on research and testing to your skillset, this will be a huge advantage. Understanding how to research the target audience to better direct the design decisions you make is paramount. Understanding how to run multivariate and split testing is paramount. This is design optimization, and it’s one of the areas that an internet business must address if they’re serious – and if you can handle that area, you’ve just increased the likelihood that you’ll be hired. - Low to No Code Frontend Development
Designers like to design, which is why most UI designers don’t code. But with tools like Webflow, Framer, Wix Studio, you don’t have to write a single line of code. It’s also very empowering being able to design a layout in Figma, and make it a working reality in the browser. These tools are perfect for landing pages and other simple projects. - Identity Design
While UI/UX design is an entirely separate field as compared to branding and identity design, the two skillsets complement each other. And chances are, if you’re a good UI designer, you’re probably a gifted artist anyhow. Being that basically every website and app has a visual identity, if you can become proficient at building identity designs, guess what – said company or client can fire their identity designer. - Indie Hacking
Indie hacking is the process of researching, designing and coding, launching, and marketing your own project on the net. I 100% believe that every designer and developer out there should have experience attempting to launch and market their own project.Why? Well, the answer is simple. You get to see exactly what it takes to either fail or succeed. You’ll become familiar with the entire process, which gives you perspective and will ultimately make you (a) more desirable and (b) a better UI/UX designer.
Now, do you really need to tackle all 5 of these things? No, add just one or two to start – and I guarantee you, that if you can show off these skillsets effectively in your portfolio, you will increase your chances of success, either as a freelancer, OR a job applicant.