
Ask HN: How to self-learn UX? - osvelasquez
Hey, everyone, my name is Osmely I&#x27;m from Venezuela but I&#x27;m living in Colombia. I want to kickstart my career as a UX Designer, I&#x27;m a graphic designer, but my goal now is to find the job where I can work even if it&#x27;s for free at the beginning to get more experience, what would you recommend to self-learn UX?
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gt2
I would study the practical, and then practice and innovate.

That means, some theoretical stuff [0, 1], design some boring stuff according
to it, and then color outside the lines and try to push the field forward a
bit by finding a better way to do a common thing (according to you, a fresh
set of eyes in the UX world).

Look at example projects on codepen [2] for a ton of examples of each of
these. For instance, you're going to find really common ways of making input
boxes, but some wild new ways too. I think that's what a good UX person knows
-- a little of both. You don't need to know how to code them unless you get
interested in coding -- this is to learn what to design by getting inspired at
some other people's work. Soon enough, you are going to know what is good UX
and bad UX, even if it doesn't correspond to the official rules of UX.

Also read some about how the big dogs are doing UX (good and bad/dark) to get
a lay of the corporate land.

[0]: [http://thehipperelement.com/post/66097606120/10-ways-to-
pret...](http://thehipperelement.com/post/66097606120/10-ways-to-pretend-you-
know-ux-when-you-dont)

[1]: [https://trydesignlab.com/blog/where-ux-design-5-years-
predic...](https://trydesignlab.com/blog/where-ux-design-5-years-predictions/)

[2]: [https://codepen.io/pens/](https://codepen.io/pens/)

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osvelasquez
Thank you so much gt2! I've codepen and I love to watch the code and projects
here, is fascinating to me. I'm doing some websites on Wordpress for practice
in the web area.

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mitchbob
A great place to start is the book Design for the Digital Age by Kim Goodwin
[https://www.wiley.com/en-
us/Designing+for+the+Digital+Age%3A...](https://www.wiley.com/en-
us/Designing+for+the+Digital+Age%3A+How+to+Create+Human+Centered+Products+and+Services-p-9780470229101)
.

~~~
osvelasquez
Thanks, Mitchbob another extra advice for learn UX?

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dyeje
I highly recommend signing up for Nielsen Norman Group's weekly newsletter.

[https://www.nngroup.com/articles/subscribe/](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/subscribe/)

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osvelasquez
thank dyeje, I'm subscribing now

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uxcolumbo
Hi Osmely,

When you say UX, what exactly do you mean?

UX comprises many things.

What are your goals - what would you like to work on in the future?

There are many great resources and knowing what your goals are will help to
point you in the right direction.

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osvelasquez
I love aesthetic and creative inside the digital area. I have been working
with Web Design using cms. I want the next step in my career

~~~
uxcolumbo
Ok, so I'm guessing you're more interested in the UI / interaction design side
of things.

I recommend you start with these, some are books - some are videos - so have a
look and see which one suits you more.

[https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/the-user-experience-team-
of...](https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/the-user-experience-team-of-one/)

[https://designcode.io/](https://designcode.io/)

[https://www.coursera.org/learn/human-computer-
interaction](https://www.coursera.org/learn/human-computer-interaction)

[https://www.udemy.com/user-experience-design-
fundamentals/](https://www.udemy.com/user-experience-design-fundamentals/)

~~~
osvelasquez
Thanks for the info! I also love interface design, usability, empathy for the
client. can be possible to work on UX and UI or only UI?

