7 Most Useful Tips For Evaluating UI/UX Designers
Do you want to hire a UI/UX designer? Are you familiar with the selection criteria? When recruiting a UX/UI expert, you need to know the skillset and qualifications required. The hiring process is quite challenging since it is time-consuming with stringent measures. Most organizations want to find and hire UX designers with the right skills and an impressive portfolio.
While it might be difficult to get a competent designer, having a guideline will help to ease the hiring process. It is essential to know the qualifications, skills, roles, and responsibilities of a UI/UX designer to help you get the perfect candidate. Experienced designers can create excellent user experiences and interfaces that are simple and appeal to the target audience.
This article offers insightful tips to help you evaluate the best UI/UX designer for the job.
#1 Establish Your Needs
If you want to evaluate a designer, the first step is to establish your needs as a recruiter or business owner. You need to have a point of basing your recruitment process. Going through the selection without a proper approach will leave you frustrated.
Thus, ensure you have specific criteria that meet the organization’s needs and culture. Avoid the general standards that might get you half-baked candidates. Craft specific qualifications and skillset that will draw in the UX/UI field experts. That is why it is vital to know the needs of your firm when it comes to hiring a competent designer. Sit down with the product development team and list down the important requirements. This will help you judge the designers based on the requisites, simplifying the selection process.
#2 Formulate the Skillset Sheet – Hard and Soft Skills
It is crucial to understand the skill set required for a UI/UX designer if you want to get a competent applicant. The skills are usually in two categories:
Hard skills: This type of skill mostly covers the technical aspect. Since web design projects are quite diverse, the skills might vary. For instance, prototyping, UX research, wireframing or graphic design.
Soft skills: Unlike the technical aspect, soft skills are based more on an individual’s personality. These include creativity, problem-solving skills, collaborative efforts, and passion.
The skillset sheet is vital since it helps you filter the experts from amateur designers.
#3 Evaluate the Hard Skills
It is important to assess the hard skills to know whether the designer is up for the task ahead. You need to evaluate if the designer understands the design tools and can articulate ideas effectively. Ensure they can carry out proper UX research to know the users’ needs.
You can do this by assessing the designer’s portfolio or issuing practical tasks to measure their competency. The tests will help you understand whether the designer is skilled and relevant for the job.
#4 Evaluate the Soft Skills
Soft skills are vital in assessing whether the designer is a perfect fit for your company. It helps you determine if the individual can collaborate with the design team, connect with the users, and develop creative designs. Furthermore, you will also judge if the designer is passionate about product design from conception until the launching phase.
#5 Measure Personal Skills
If you want to recruit an all-rounded person to your firm, make sure you also assess the personal skills. Check out the designer’s attitude, problem-solving skills, and collaborative spirit. In addition, you should also find out if the UX designer can adapt to different work situations.
#6 Verify The References
It is imperative to scrutinize the applicant’s references and portfolio. You will understand their work and previous clients. Verify their references by reaching out to the stated clients. Were they timely in their projects? How was product quality? The answers you get will help you make an informed selection decision.
#7 Organize a Thorough Interview Session
Finally, you must take your time to prepare the questions for the interview. Scrutinizing the resume is not enough to judge the best designer. It would be best if you had relevant questions to ask the designers during the interview. Not forgetting to offer the interview instructions to the interested parties to ensure a smooth interview process.
Make the Right Choice
UX/UI designers play a crucial role in web development. Apart from helping create an exceptional user experience, they also enhance brand identity. Thus, ensure you check the designers’ portfolios, verify references, and assess their skills. Not forgetting to measure their competence and experience through practical tasks. The above tips will help you select an experienced UX/UI designer to join your firm and take it to the next level.
