Azamat Shamuzafarov is a designer with extensive experience. We talked to him about working in the field of user experience and found out why companies need such specialists.
Azamat Shamuzafarov, 40 flight, city — Tashkent, UX-Specialist in the Click, Telegram
How I came to the profession
I drew well at school. Over time, I became interested in design. Closer to entering the university, I took courses in Photoshop. Then I learned about the Internet and became interested in web design. I spent several years as an art director. I worked in the studio of Artem Lebedev.
Once I read a book by Jacob Nielsen Web design. It changed my life. Since then, I've been looking at things around me differently, especially design. From fans of creativity, I moved to the camp of supporters of usability — user-friendly design. This led me to the User Experience.
Today I work as a UX specialist at Click. It is the leading payment system in Uzbekistan with millions of consumers. My task is to fix the company's services so that people don't leave them halfway and get what they need without any problems.
Why do I need a UX designer
UX specialists come up with interfaces, which are then drawn by UI designers.
The task of the user experience designer is to create conditions in the interface that will make the time spent by a person on the site or in the application useful, understandable and enjoyable.
We study users and their needs, plan movement within the service. It's interesting to see how people use our app. There are discoveries that you would never have thought of.
Hiring a UX designer makes sense only for large companies with a large number of users. If something repels even 1% of the customers of such a large service, it will entail millions of losses.
About the work of a UX designer
In the work of a UX designer, I like that you can see how your work improves people's experience. There are almost always solutions that make the product better.
UX designers are needed in all areas where there are consumers
At the same time, the more diverse your consumers are, the more difficult it is to make everyone like the design. There is a gap between people with a lot of experience in applications and those who use them a little. It can also be difficult to explain to young designers that stylish, but small text will be difficult for people over 50 to read.
The most difficult thing today is to convince me of the importance of my work. In the pyramid of needs, UX is high, so it is often postponed for later. To solve this problem, you need to conduct research and testing, and this requires resources.
UX designers are needed in all areas where there are consumers. Design is often understood as creativity and visualization, but not construction. Specialists in my field are called upon to correct shortcomings in such works.
UX designers are rarely sought in Uzbekistan. Given the rare need, I would ask the employer for a salary of $ 1000-2500, depending on experience and skills.
Tips for beginners
There is a lot of information on the Internet both in Russian and in English. Search Google for topics of interest to you, read sites like littlebigdetails.com.
UX is at the intersection of design and psychology. You need to not only know how to make a cool interface, but also understand how people will interact with it. I think empathy is a good quality of a specialist — when you show interest and can listen and hear people. You need to remember what is important for others, not for you.
Books I recommend reading:
— Web Design, Jacob Nielsen
— Write, shorten, Maxim Ilyakhov, Lyudmila Sarycheva
— User Interface, Ilya Birman.
