I’m super excited to be writing this as it’s the first official issue of Visual Q’s! If you don’t already know, this will be a monthly advice column for designers. If you join the newsletter, you’ll receive this before it goes out on Medium, and get some additional resources & inspiration!

我很高兴能写这篇文章，因为这是Visual Q的第一本正式发行！ 如果您还不知道，这将是设计师的每月建议专栏。 如果您加入时事通讯 ，则在Medium上发布之前，您会收到它，并获得一些其他资源和启发！

In honor of graduation month, I’m answering a great Q from a recent-grad looking for her first design job.

为了纪念毕业月，我正在回答应届毕业生的一个很好的问题，她正在寻找她的第一份设计工作。

Dear Maddy,

亲爱的妈妈，

[I have] a degree in graphic design and a minor in illustration. I am about to move to [a new city] and am in that job search hustle. It’s been a fun journey and I’ve been working so hard to decide what path in design I want to take. One of the paths I’m heavily considering is UX/UI design.

我拥有平面设计学位和插图辅修学位。 我即将搬到[新城市]，忙着找工作。 这是一个有趣的旅程，我一直在努力决定我要走的设计道路。 我正在认真考虑的方法之一是UX / UI设计。

How did you know UX/UI design was right for you and how do you think I can know it’s right for me? I am currently in the application process for a [job in print design.] I’m trying to decide if this is the best decision for me or not. I could see it as a great job that I could learn and refine my skills in. Then after work hours I can work on UX/UI on my own. Or if it’s best to stick it out and work to get into a UX/UI job first?

您怎么知道UX / UI设计适合您，您如何认为我知道它适合我？ 我目前正在[印刷设计工作]的申请过程中。我正在尝试确定这是否对我来说是最好的决定。 我可以认为这是一项很棒的工作，可以学习和完善自己的技能。然后下班后，我可以自己进行UX / UI的工作。 还是最好坚持下去，然后首先着手进行UX / UI工作？

— Soul-searching recent grad

－搜寻灵魂的应届毕业生

亲爱的灵魂搜寻， (Dear Soul-searching,)

First of all, HUGE congrats!! To you and everyone else who just graduated. Man, it must have been a weird senior year. But I hope you enjoyed it as much as possible.

首先，巨大的祝贺！ 对于您和刚刚毕业的其他所有人。 伙计，那一定是一个奇怪的高年级。 但我希望您尽可能喜欢它。

To answer your question, I first want to give some background on how I got started in UI/UX. Like you, I got my degree in Graphic Design. I didn’t learn UI/UX in school — I barely dipped my toes into digital design at all. A lot of my school projects were branding, print, editorial & packaging.

为了回答您的问题，我首先想对UI / UX的入门背景有所了解。 像您一样，我获得了平面设计学位。 我在学校没有学习过UI / UX，我几乎完全没有涉足数字设计。 我在学校的很多项目都是品牌，印刷，社论和包装。

I had a few internships at branding & marketing agencies before graduation, but none of them really felt like a good fit. During my job search, I came across a tech company in my hometown that works with some big brands on their e-commerce mobile apps. I loved the idea that something I designed would be used (not just seen) by thousands of people.

毕业之前，我曾在品牌和行销公司实习过，但没有一个真的很合适。 在求职期间，我遇到了家乡的一家科技公司，该公司与一些大品牌合作开发了他们的电子商务移动应用程序。 我喜欢这样的想法，即我设计的东西将被成千上万的人使用 (不仅仅是看到)。

I applied, interviewed, and ended up working there for about a year. Since I had no experience, I was kind of thrown right in to learn on the job. I learned SO much about UI/UX, mobile apps, design systems, working with clients, working with developers, etc. Way more than I could have learned in a course, reading books, or watching tutorials. And that brings me to my first piece of advice.

我申请，面试，最后在那里工作了大约一年。 由于我没有经验，所以我很想学习这份工作。 我从UI / UX，移动应用程序，设计系统，与客户合作，与开发人员合作等方面学到了很多东西。这比我在课程，阅读书籍或观看教程中学到的东西要多得多。 这使我有了第一条建议。

Don’t interview for the jobs you’re confident you can do perfectly. Interview for the jobs that scare & excite you. Prioritize learning, especially at your first job.

不要为您有信心可以完美完成的工作而面试。 面试让您感到恐惧和兴奋的工作。 优先学习 特别 在你的第一份工作。

So how did I know UI/UX was right for me? The honest answer is that UI/UX is not my only passion in design. In the past several years I’ve worked in branding, packaging, web design, and UI/UX. And I love them all! I think the reason that product design excites me so much though is because I’m crafting an experience that helps people accomplish a goal. I can use my knack for graphic design to make the screens look great, but also use my knowledge of cognitive psychology & best practices to make the product easy to use and fit seamlessly into users’ lives.

那么我怎么知道UI / UX适合我呢？ 诚实的答案是UI / UX并不是我对设计的唯一热情。 在过去的几年中，我从事品牌，包装，网页设计和UI / UX的工作。 我爱他们所有人！ 我认为产品设计之所以如此令我兴奋，是因为我正在设计一种可以帮助人们实现目标的体验。 我可以使用图形设计的诀窍来使屏幕看起来很棒，还可以使用我的认知心理学知识和最佳实践来使产品易于使用并无缝地融入用户的生活。

The best way to learn what you like and what you’re good at is by ‘doing.’

了解自己喜欢和擅长的最佳方法是“做事”。

So if you think this job in print that you’re applying for is something you want to learn more about, then I say absolutely go for it!

因此，如果您认为您要申请的这份印刷工作是您想了解的更多信息，那么我绝对赞成！

But if you’re super curious about UI/UX, then I’d recommend applying to a few companies that do product design. Even if you’re applying to a graphic design position for now, you want to surround yourself with the people and opportunities that can teach you what you’re interested in learning.

但是，如果您对UI / UX超级好奇，那么我建议您向一些从事产品设计的公司提出申请。 即使您现在正在申请平面设计职位，您也希望与能够教给您学习兴趣的人和机会相伴。

And, like I mentioned before, I got hired as a junior UI/UX designer right out of school without any relevant experience. It’s totally possible to find a team that’s looking for someone new to the field! So while that probably seems scary, don’t rule it out if it excites you.

而且，就像我之前提到的那样，我刚从学校出来就被聘为初级UI / UX设计师，没有任何相关经验。 完全有可能找到一支正在寻找该领域新手的团队！ 因此，尽管这似乎令人恐惧，但如果它激发您的话，请不要排除它。

The other thing you want to make sure you look out for is that you’re joining a collaborative team.

您要确保注意的另一件事是您正在加入协作团队。

For your first design job, you DO NOT want to feel like you’re totally on your own. Like I’ve said a million times, you want to learn! So when you’re interviewing, try to get a feel for the team you’ll be working on. Ask how often they meet during the week, see where people sit in relation to each other, make sure you meet your immediate boss and gauge whether they’d make a good mentor. I can’t stress enough how much you’ll learn from your team if you have a good one. So definitely keep that in mind when you’re going through the interview process.

对于您的第一个设计工作，您不想感到自己完全是一个人。 就像我说过一百万遍一样，您想学习！ 因此，在面试时，请尝试去熟悉您将要工作的团队。 询问他们一周内见面的频率，查看人们彼此之间坐在一起的位置，确保您与直属上司见面，并评估他们是否会成为一名好导师。 如果您拥有一支优秀的团队，我无法从团队中学到多少东西。 因此，在面试过程中一定要牢记这一点。

One more little tip/warning: You’ll realize when you enter your first job how little you really know about anything. Don’t let that freak you out! Everyone feels that way and it’s a good thing — it will make you open to learning and growing.

另一个小技巧/警告：当您开始第一份工作时，您会意识到您对任何事情一无所知。 不要让那吓到你了！ 每个人都有这种感觉，这是一件好事–它会让您开放学习和成长。

With love,Maddy

有了爱， 妈妈

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订阅Visual Q ，将每月建议专栏直接发送到您的收件箱。 每个电子邮件版本还包括一些奖励，例如精心设计的文章，资源和灵感：)