Cita-citaku Menjadi UI/UX Designer
1) Jalur kuliah & kampus yang oke (Indonesia + opsi luar)
- Jalur kuliah (S1):
- Desain Komunikasi Visual (DKV)/Desain Produk/Desain Interaksi/HCI → kuat di visual & metodologi desain.
- Informatika/Ilmu Komputer (track HCI) → kuat di teknis & kolaborasi dengan engineering.
- Psikologi/Komunikasi (minor ke UX) → kuat di riset pengguna & copy/messaging.
- Contoh kampus (acak urut, masih banyak yang bagus): ITB (FSRD/DKV), UI (Fasilkom—HCI track, FISIP/DFD), UGM (Desain, TI—HCI), ITS (Desain Produk/IF), BINUS (School of Design/Interaction), Telkom University (DKV/IF—UI/UX track), UMN (DKV), UPH/Trisakti/UK Petra (DKV).
- Opsi luar (beasiswa/target tinggi): NUS/NTU (SG), KAIST (KR), TU Delft (NL), UAL/Goldsmiths/Imperial (UK).
- Alternatif non-kuliah: bootcamp (UI/UX), micro-course (Coursera/IDCamp), self-taught + proyek sungguhan.
Tips: kalau kamu kuat gambar & estetika → DKV/Desain; kalau suka sistem & produk digital → HCI/IF; kalau suka riset & manusia → Psikologi + UX.
2) Cocoknya buat introvert atau ekstrovert?
- Introvert: mendalam di UX Research (analisis), IA (information architecture), UI Design detail, design system, dokumentasi. Fokus deep work, kualitas craft.
- Ekstrovert: kuat di workshop/kolaborasi lintas tim, usability testing moderasi, stakeholder management, product discovery. Banyak fasilitasi & presentasi.
Banyak role hybrid—kuncinya bisa kerja fokus, tapi juga nyaman diskusi saat perlu.
3) Pelajaran/kompetensi yang harus paham
- Dasar desain & HCI: design thinking, double diamond, heuristics (Nielsen), mental model.
- UX Research: problem framing, metode (interview, survey, usability test, card sorting, tree test), analisis (affinity map).
- Interaction Design: user flow, wireframe, prototyping (low→high-fi), micro-interaction.
- UI/Visual: layout, grid, typography, warna/kontras, iconography, visual hierarchy.
- Information Architecture: sitemap, navigasi, label/microcopy.
- Accessibility: WCAG dasar, ukuran font, kontras, fokus, ARIA (awareness).
- Product & Data: KPI/OKR, funnel/retention, A/B testing, analitik (event, heatmap), eksperimen.
- Kolaborasi & delivery: design system, token, component library, handoff ke dev, dokumentasi rapi.
4) Tools yang perlu disiapkan (minimal → menengah)
- Perangkat: laptop 8–16GB RAM, layar nyaman.
- Desain & prototyping: Figma (utama) + FigJam (ideation). (Opsional: Sketch/macOS, Framer/ProtoPie/Principle).
- Riset & testing: Google Forms/Sheets, Maze/Useberry/Lookback, Hotjar/Clarity (analitik perilaku).
- Aset pendukung: Illustrator/Photoshop (opsional), Iconify, Unsplash/Freepik (cek lisensi), Google Fonts.
- Handoff/Dev: Figma Inspect, (opsional: Zeplin), Storybook awareness, Notion/Confluence.
- Manajemen kerja: Jira/Linear, Trello/Notion.
- Aksesibilitas: Stark/Contrast plugin, Figma a11y plugins.
5) Peta role & jalan mulai cepat
- UI Designer: kuat visual & sistem komponen → mulai dari style guide, grid, responsif, desain 2–3 layar nyata.
- UX Designer (Product Designer): end-to-end problem → riset ringan, flow, prototipe, validasi, metrik.
- UX Researcher: metodologi riset, skrip interview, moderasi, analisis & insight.
- UX Writer/Content Designer: microcopy, tone & voice, arsitektur informasi, A/B copy.
- DesignOps/Design System: token, komponen, dokumentasi, kolaborasi dev.
6) Tabel perbandingan peran (ringkas)
| Peran | Fokus Utama | Hard Skill Kunci | Output | Cocok Introvert/Ekstrovert |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UI Designer | Visual & konsistensi | Layout, typography, warna, komponen | High-fi UI, style guide | Cenderung introvert (craft) |
| UX Designer / Product Designer | End-to-end solusi | Research lite, flow, prototyping, metrics | Wireframe→proto→handoff | Hybrid |
| UX Researcher | Insight pengguna | Metode riset, analisis, sintesis | Research plan, report, rekomendasi | Cenderung introvert |
| UX Writer/Content | Bahasa produk | Microcopy, IA labeling, tone/voice | Copy UI, guideline | Hybrid |
| Design System | Skala & standard | Tokens, komponen, dokumentasi | Lib komponen, docs | Cenderung introvert |
| Service Designer | Lintas channel | Journey map, blueprint | Service blueprint, roadmap | Cenderung ekstrovert |
7) Checklist & roadmap portofolio (biar “job-ready”)
- Kuasi Figma (auto layout, constraints, variants, prototyping, component props).
- 2 studi kasus end-to-end: (1) redesign aplikasi populer (problem → solusi → hasil), (2) produk baru niche (research → flow → UI).
- 1 usability testing (mini): rancang tugas, 5 pengguna, catat temuan → iterasi.
- Dokumentasi rapih: problem statement, persona ringan, journey, flow, wireframe, UI final, impact (mis. efisiensi klik, time-to-task).
- Aksesibilitas: cek kontras, fokus state, ukuran font, label jelas.
- Handoff simulasi: anotasi, specs, states, edge cases; diskusikan “apa yang terjadi kalau…”.
- Portfolio online: Notion/Webflow/Framer + PDF ringkas; GitHub/Drive untuk file aset.
Bonus: starter tugas 2 minggu (opsional, cepat dipraktikkan)
- Minggu 1: Audit & redesign ringan aplikasi sekolah/kantin digital (riset singkat, flow, wireframe, UI 3–5 layar).
- Minggu 2: Buat mini design system (tokens warna/typo/spacing), 10 komponen, 2 pola (form & list), lalu uji 3 tugas dengan 3 teman.