[Command + C] New Graphic Designers: Don't Forget UX Design!


OMG. It’s pretty isn’t it? – but focusing only on the visual aesthetics is a click in the wrong direction. User Experience Designer, Blanca Navarro, shares her journey working as a graphic designer for Vans while still in college, and promotes the information she wishes she had known at the start of her art career. In an online zoom event at her alma mater CSUF, Navarro remarks the importance of dipping your toes into all fields of graphic design early on. These include: Visual Design, User Interface (UI) Design, and User Experience (UX) Design. They look strikingly similar, but the tactics and strategies used to tackle each of their creative problems is what sets them apart. Visual Designers are what most people are familiar with and typically learn about this specialization in school: they handle layout, typography, hierarchy, and color. Navarro notes that companies are now seeking people knowledgeable in both Visual Design and UX Design.



Navarro unknowingly stepped into UX Design while working at Vans, which focuses on product design, strategy, research, and human behavior. She started off using her skills with Visual Design by creating banner ads and emails, but after being hungry for more work, she moved onto bigger projects. Consumers were unaware of the different types of backpacks Vans sold. She solved this problem by creating a tool guide on the website that categorized the function and uses of each backpack under different sections. Presto! She was into the UX World and loved it--but still unaware of it.



Navarro gave graduate school a try, but immediately dropped out after realizing she was being taught what she had been doing all this time. During the event, I asked what her younger self would have done differently to prepare for today. She stated she would not have ignored UX design in college and would have negotiated her salary. Moral of the story: never settle for something if you can take advantage of bigger opportunities.


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