Laurence Moreton Burt seeks UX opportunities and advice

In my hunt for my first UX role, I am particularly drawn to the many design agencies. I rarely see ads for junior roles at agencies is there a reason for this?

I’m not sure what the reason for this might be, when I was working at agencies I saw a lot of junior designers as agencies seemed to welcome talent from all backgrounds regardless of experience. When applying for roles, always have more than your CV, showcase fun ideas or personal projects to show them your potential. In your examples try to show the problem you’re solving with the desired results.

And would you recommend agencies for a first role?

I would recommend going to a design agency when starting out as they offer a wide range of projects to work on which will really give you lots of experience. Design agencies can offer more creative challenges which might be a good fit if that’s what you’re looking for.

Are there other types of companies/ industries which you might recommend for someone just starting out?

If you have a specific preference there are lots of different industry types to choose from e.g. Finance, Logistics, Sports. I’ve worked as a contractor client side at First Direct, Jet2.com and Sky, they all have requirements to work specifically in developing their own products which from a UX point of view may benefit you when building up your exposure to processes and how bigger teams work together.

What did your first UX role look like? What was the nature of the company it was for?

When I went for my first role the term UX didn’t really exist, it was more web designer at an agency. The difference then was that the expectation of that role encompassed Graphic design, UX, Illustration, Animation and development all wrapped together. User experience was overlooked, and the depth of a website was diluted after the home page. Things have moved on a hell of a lot in recent times and the focus for UX has become an important part for any new online business.

I find myself somewhat overwhelmed at times when looking for roles with all the things people expect UX professionals to be – from graphic designer, logo designer, product developer, what would you advise?

My main core skill was Art, which then moved on to Graphic design, Web design, UI and UX. The point I’m trying to make is find what you love to do most, explore and expand on it – do what you love and the rest will follow.

Is there one area you have found to be more beneficial to your success as a UX designer that might be worthwhile focusing on?

The good thing about UI is that it’s creative, visual and subjective, but can be meaningless unless it’s trying to help make the user’s life easier and that has to be thought through logically, which is where the UX is needed, one doesn’t sit well without the other. I focussed on design as I loved art and am a visual person. Try to become better at understanding problems and finding ways to help improve products, make the complicated ‘simple’ and enjoy the challenges it may bring.

Do you find you have to use any code in your day to day as a UX designer?

That is a different career path, so I don’t touch code, UX designers aren’t really expected to.

How important is having an understanding of code to creating good UX/UI design work?

Being a developer is a slightly different mindset. I’m a visual person so being a developer just isn’t for me, but you do interact with them a lot as a designer on projects.

Are there any specific design resources you have found indispensable in your career?

Here’s a list I’m currently putting together:

Illustrations

• https://www.reshot.com/
• https://www.getillustrations.com/

Icons

• https://thenounproject.com/
• Animated – https://lordicon.com/
• https://thenounproject.com/

Vector mockups

• https://angle.sh/

Mobile apps

• https://screenlane.com/

Images

• https://picjumbo.com/
• https://www.pexels.com/
• https://www.rawpixel.com/
• https://shotstash.com/
• https://unsplash.com/

Colour palettes

• https://huemint.com/

Figma

• https://www.figcomponents.com/

Are there any tools you highly recommend or have found particularly useful?

I love to use Figma, a very powerful collaborative design tool with features such as Auto layout, variants for components, prototyping with animation and commenting for client feedback. However with Adobe recently acquiring  Figma – we’ll see how things pan out in the coming months.

I find most the jobs I apply for are on LinkedIn, are there any other perhaps tech/design focused places I might not have heard of where I might look?

I’ve used Upwork in the past, but I’d get your portfolio up to date and continue to use LinkedIn, sign up with recruitment agencies to start with and build up your experience in that way. Try and make opportunities come to you and post work either on your website, Dribble or Behance.

In you video linked below you mention twitter as being indispensable, how does it aide you as a UX designer?

I use Twitter just to keep an eye on other designers and trends, I like to post on there regularly to keep my social feed active.