UI/UX designers and creators are popularly known for their distinctive uniqueness and creative approach to creating user-friendly interfaces that enable users to understand how to use complex technical products. Even so, there are instances where they end up following one another in terms of ideas and style, which give rise to similarities in approaches and solutions offered by the designers. The primary reason behind this is the fact that you have failed to realize the kinds of projects you are more imaginative and innovative about.
Finding one’s way into a successful career as a UI/UX designer becomes a lot easier if you are aware and confident about the industry or projects you enjoy working on. Enrolling in a UI/UX design course helps the candidate learn, research, perceive and acknowledge the industry that will offer them the greatest excitement and satisfaction in their future day-to-day tasks.
Following this line of thought, let us look into the importance of niching down as a UI/UX or product designer and how it can influence or prosper your career.
But before that let us unravel the questions about how one finds one’s niche.
How to find your niche?
A niche is defined as a “specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or services”. In simpler terms, the niche is accounted for as one area of specific expertise. Therefore, to find one’s niche, it is important to know what you are best at, and what you enjoy doing.
Let us look into different ways to evaluate and find one’s niche:
1) Role Positioning
As a designer, you will have the option of working in different job roles with different tasks, responsibilities, requirements, etc. However, at the same time, you will also have the option of performing multiple design roles. Doing so will guide you into positioning yourself based on a certain role that satisfies your career needs.
Some very prominent UI/UX job roles include UI designer, Motion designer, Information architect, UX writer, etc.
2) Platform Positioning
Platform positioning refers to gaining experience from one platform. As this article maintains and suggests, as designers it is important to master one platform instead of being the jack of all trades.
3) Horizontal Positioning
As a UI/UX designer, you are competent enough to offer specialized solutions, help different companies, and creators solve specific types of problems.
4) Vertical Positioning
Unlike horizontal positioning, vertical positioning refers to the situation where your design thinking suits one particular industry and you prepare designs for that vertical alone. This requires time and experience to become specialized in a particular industry.
Ways and importance of niching down as a UI/UX designer ..
1) Know your Interests
Before anything, it is extremely important to understand what exactly a certain job role demands. Beginners in the field are suggested to take ideas and guidance from their seniors and other professionals in the field. This will give you a clear picture of what interest you and what doesn’t. In addition, this will also polish and enhance your skills and knowledge, opening doors to new and better opportunities.
2) Job Satisfaction
The industry that you end up choosing will dictate your efficiency and expertise in the workplace. Therefore, it is important to choose a job which brings in opportunities and challenges that compels you to explore your creative skills. To achieve this, one needs to be certain about what domain, platform, technology, etc will serve as the basis of discovering which niche suits best you.
3) Save Time and Energy
Being sure from the very beginning about the industry you want to work in helps in saving time and energy otherwise spent on research. Instead of having to explore different job roles and encountering various dissatisfactory experiences, it is always better to come to terms with one’s interests in the very beginning itself. Achieving this becomes simpler by enrolling in the top UI/UX design courses, where the expertise, experience, and knowledge of the trainer will guide you in choosing the right career path.
4) You are Different
Finally, always remember that every individual UI/UX designer is different in approach and style. Therefore, do not get influenced by the monetary and other benefits offered to designers in a particular industry. As maintained throughout the article, your interests may differ from that of others and so what worked for someone else might not work for you. Therefore, do not let certain factors divert your niche, as with experience you are bound to succeed in the things you love to do.
As established, it is important for any UI/UX designer to know their interest and capabilities, and join a sector that promotes and brings out their strengths. Keeping this in mind, this article is written to help UI/UX designers find a niche that is long-lasting and productive.
