Being a designer means you bring things to life, from a thought, into a concept that will actually be used by people you've never met. In this year alone I've seen more designers, most self-taught, confess that this is the best career choice they've made because they enjoy what they are doing.

I have a developer background, precisely frontend development and in my time, I got introduced to Dribbble. What an inspirational site! I could see all the trends in design implemented. This is where every designer should start, from inspiration and beyond!. In line with this, here are a few easy steps on how to start off as a UX/UI Designer today.

1.GROW YOUR PASSION WITH INSPIRATION

You need somewhere to conduct a study and view trends in the design world. You need motivation to start and competitors to match up to. Find all these on:

• Dribble
• Pinterest
• Behance

2.ENROLL IN A DESIGN COURSE

There are a number of sites/online institutions that offer Design courses at a fee or even for free. My personal favorite and recommendation is Uxcel. They have a great interface, easy to learn with, which means they teach and implement.

3.START OFF WITH A DESIGN TOOL

Every designer has to choose their preferred design tool where they can implement their prototypes.Try Figma, Sketchand Adobe XD. These are the main tools, try each and find your favorite, as for me I love Figma(Very good in collaboration).

4.LEARN, PRACTICE, POST

With the above tools and courses, visit dailyUI, signup, and you will receive daily design challenges to keep you on toes. Post your designs on Behance and Dribbble as much as you can to keep perfecting skills and concepts you've learnt.

5.CREATE A PORTFOLIO

A portfolio is like an online resume. Its a webpage that showcases who you are, what tools you have used, processes, experience and previous designs that you have worked on. You can create your portfolio in two ways. One, code it all in HTML, CSS & Javascript or use sites like Webflow,Quest ai and Uxfolio to do it with no code.

With that, I believe you are on the right path to getting a role as a Designer, either in interface, experience or even product. Remember, keep on practicing and learning. To making more users happy🥂.

Oh, some bonus sites for stuff you might need in between your journey:Evernote, ui8, lsgraphics

Cheers friends!