If you’re serious about becoming a Digital Designer, you’ll need to do more than just get an education in digital design. To effectively compete with other candidates in the job market, you’ll need to use your portfolio, cover letter, and resume to show hiring managers you have the right skills. In addition to demonstrating technical skills such as Figma, be prepared to prove your knowledge of applied design theory, graphic design, and other niche design topics. If you want to give yourself more space in your application to focus on these other design skills, earning certifications can prove your mastery of technical skills like Photoshop. Because knowing how to use design software isn’t enough, the important thing is taking every opportunity you can to show off your creative expertise. 

Hiring managers will also look for evidence of soft skills like creative problem-solving, communication, and time management. While technical skills can be easily represented in your portfolio and resume, you may only have the opportunity to prove other skills during an interview or job test. For instance, many interviewers include questions designed to test for soft skills. 

What is a Digital Designer?

The simplest way to describe a Digital Designer is as a visual media creator who emphasizes interactivity. These designers are distinguished from other classes of designers by their focus on how people experience their designs. Rather than focusing solely on what their designs communicate visually, Digital Designers spend considerable time perfecting components like information architecture and accessibility. To improve user-friendliness even more, digital design projects often include prototyping and preparatory phases that include demographic research. 

Digital Designers are best known for their digitally generated graphics, animations, and visual effects, but many Digital Designers also create full-scale websites and apps. If one type of project piques their interest more than others, a Digital Designer can specialize in a unique aspect of digital design. Some Digital Designers highlight primarily digital projects, while others work exclusively on preparing interactive print designs for marketing. 

Because digital design is an umbrella term that includes many different design niches, most digital design professionals collaborate with a team. Their team may consist of fellow Designers, Project Managers, Product Designers, and IT professionals. 

Hard Skills

Design Software Proficiency

Rather than looking to physical mediums to create designs, Digital Designers rely on a combination of software tools to generate digital projects. Because there are so many different directions a project can go, Digital Designers typically need to be familiar with many tools. The most commonly used tools are graphic design apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, along with prototyping software such as Sketch and Figma. 

Other popular digital design software include: 

To learn more about digital design software, check out Noble Desktop’s Learn Design blog or sign up for one of their upcoming classes.

Digital Design Certificate: Live & Hands-on, In NYC or Online, 0% Financing, 1-on-1 Mentoring, Free Retake, Job Prep. Named a Top Bootcamp by Forbes, Fortune, & Time Out. Noble Desktop. Learn More.

User Experience and User Interface Design

Focused on how users interact with and experience designs, UX and UI design can help you create more effective digital designs by providing you with additional tools. While unique in their own ways, these skill sets both focus on creating a positive interactive experience for users of websites and apps. As you learn UX/UI design, you’ll get comfortable conducting research that can help you identify the needs of your user demographic. From there, you’ll generate and test interactive prototypes, giving you a chance to improve your designs before finalizing anything. To help you create easily navigable layouts, you’ll utilize principles from information architecture and design accessibility. 

Niche Design Skills

When it comes to projects, digital design is incredibly diverse and as a result, Digital Designers often learn multiple specialty skills. These may include:

Rather than learning the same skills as their colleagues, most Digital Designers select specialty skills according to the projects they’re most likely to take on regularly. Additionally, a designer may select niche skills to fit the industry they work in. For instance, one Digital Designer might learn graphic design, web design, coding, and product design to fulfill their interest in web and app design. Meanwhile, another Digital Designer may choose to focus on motion graphics design and digital marketing because they work for an advertising agency. 

Soft Skills

Applied Design Theory

It takes more than just learning how to use a tool (like Photoshop) to create a banger design (you may be familiar with this challenge if you’ve ever attempted sewing without a pattern as a beginner). If you want better design results, take the time to learn the principles of design, including when to apply them appropriately. 

Examples of common principles used in digital design include:

  • Typography
  • Color
  • Composition (and related concepts such as white space, line, shape, and movement).
  • Unity, and other relevant concepts, including balance, contrast, and pattern.
  • Texture

Creative Problem-Solving

While some design fields focus mainly on aesthetics, digital design requires a significant amount of creative problem-solving. During the beginning stages of the design process, Digital Designers take time to pinpoint problems that users are experiencing. From there, it’s time to consider creative ways to address their needs. While creating an interactive design intended to solve a problem, designers also need to think creatively about how different individuals may experience their design. By thinking like a stranger, designers may identify early issues with their design that need additional troubleshooting. 

Communication and Emotional Literacy

Creativity seems like an obvious prerequisite to becoming a Designer, but communication skills are just as essential. By gaining professional communication skills, you’ll increase your capacity to draw in clients and connect with like-minded professionals. Meanwhile, developing your emotional literacy will improve the quality of your designs by increasing your capacity to understand different people’s experiences. In addition, having a greater emotional IQ will help you accept feedback on your designs with the grace you need to apply it effectively. 

Time Management and Planning

Whether you’re working on something for a client or yourself, digital design projects almost always involve deadlines. Because the majority of digital design projects include several phases that can’t be completed at the last minute, learning to plan and abide by a schedule is key. It should come as little surprise that Digital Designers who regularly finish projects on time have good rapport with clients. For the same reason, these designers also build stronger reputations in their professional communities. 

What Other Jobs Require These Skills?

Although digital design is unique, it isn’t the only design field that involves skills like applied design theory, UX/UI design, web design, product design, and communication. 

UX and UI Design

While UX and UI design skills are a necessary part of digital design, you can also choose to pursue them as a career completely separate from digital design. UX and UI Designers both play important roles in the creation of digital interfaces such as websites, apps, games, and software. UX Designers focus on ensuring these dynamic interfaces are user-friendly and fully functional, planning the initial layout for the platform and sticking around to troubleshoot as needed. Meanwhile, UI Designers add visual and interactive content to the layout, emphasizing mood and aesthetics to give users an enjoyable experience. 

Web Design

Web Designers rely on a mix of graphic design, UX design, and design theory to create websites. In addition, some Web Designers also utilize coding languages and content management systems (such as WordPress) to customize their creations even further. Digital marketing skills such as SEO are also vital to making sure that the websites they create remain visible on the Internet. Like many other design fields, web design also depends on numerous soft skills, including communication and time management. 

Product Design

A sister trade to UX/UI design, product design is all about creating products that are both functional and visually appealing. The main difference between these two fields is that while UX/UI design primarily focuses on digital interfaces, product design explores a wide variety of products, including industrial and physical products. Unlike UX/UI Designers, Product Designers may prioritize the goals of a business over user experience. In other regards, however, these roles are remarkably similar, even sharing skills like user research, sketching, and prototyping. 

Learn the Skills to Become a Digital Designer at Noble Desktop

Want to learn design in a supportive environment? Noble Desktop offers highly-rated design classes covering a range of digital design topics for students at all levels. In addition to shorter classes, you’ll find a variety of career certificates that provide comprehensive training, complete with one-on-one mentorship and professional experience opportunities. Start your journey now by signing up for training live online or participating in face-to-face classes at the school’s NYC campus. 

With the hands-on training you’ll get in the Digital Design Certificate, preparing for a digital design career isn’t hard. Even if you start with no experience, you can learn the UI design and graphic design skills you need to launch your career in a matter of weeks. Instead of sitting through dull lectures, this program will teach you practical skills through activities and projects. In addition to mastering tools like InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Figma, you’ll gain the expertise necessary to apply design principles for truly stunning results. 

Learn the skills to make websites and apps that are truly user-friendly in UX & UI Design Certificate. Working with a team, you’ll create your own interactive digital interfaces from start to finish, resulting in work you can proudly display in your portfolio. Rather than focusing only on aesthetics, you’ll learn how to research your target users and prototype to improve accessibility. This course also includes a job preparation segment designed to help you workshop your resume and create the perfect portfolio website. 

If websites are your jam, you can make it into a career by joining Noble Desktop’s Web Design Certificate program. Work toward an impressive portfolio with hands-on assignments that will help you learn a combination of design, coding, and software skills. Quicker than you know, you’ll acquire a versatile skill set that includes UI design theory, Figma, WordPress, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Before you’re through, you’ll also have the chance to build a high-quality portfolio website with help from your expert mentor.