You might be having some skills already within you when you transitioned from your previous profession. But finding your uniqueness, honesty & specialty is what everyone strives to explore.

Disclaimer: It is your choice, do you want to be a Generalist or a Generalist+Specialist or a Specialist. This blog’s intent is to help you understand the different professions and the diverse skills which can be used to become a Generalist+Specialist combo if you approach it smartly.

Let’s get in then 🤸‍♀️

4 professions(will share the next 4 in next blog) from which I feel, we, as UX Designers, can see some commonalities & can deep dive into specialities, according to your interests. Some explorations into analogies too, so that you can use it to simplify & explain to others what you do, in the process of protégé effect. Also, let’s see if we can know about the skills or activities which are common and unique, too, from different professions.

UX Design is one such profession, where diversity is motivated and welcomed more enough than any other profession. There are definitely some qualities that we can take from other professions too, to hone our craft more in-depth, as UX Design is one of the top 5 in-demand professions.

As many professionals are transitioning or pivoting to UX, they can bring in their unique set of skills or find commonalities in the two professions, to leverage as a uniqueness here. As initially, a Generalist UXer is good, but it’s always better to bring a unique skill to the table as a Specialist UXer. Industries in general now looking forward to the Specialists bringing some uniqueness to their brand and experiences too.

The uniqueness in you, can be anything like a skill, people management, research, perspectives, pedagogy, ethics and many more…Find your uniqueness & be honest with it

So, let me share with you some professions, which I feel, we can learn a lot and dive into detail. This blog is for making you aware of diverse professionals who possess some skillset which when explored in detail, can become your uniqueness in the long run. BUT, only if you genuinely love that skill set, try to work into this. As to sustain, you need to enjoy your niche too.

Introspection & self-talk is crucial for Designers, to find their inner calling which eventually creates your unique story. And definitely there is no deadline to it.

The intent of knowing about this is to figure out which areas are you genuinely passionate about to explore or improve more into, for the long run, eventually aiming to become a T-shaped designer(Generalist + Specialist combination). So, let’s get into it folks.

1. A UX Designer can be like a Crime Investigator

Obviously, observation, attentiveness, and an analytical mindset are something that we as designers possess, but getting into the depth is key, if you want to improve your research skills. Attention to detail & thinking like the culprit is something that puts empathy in the forefront. One of the things as empathy brings in which sometimes does not benefit a designer is getting too attached to what people say. But what we can learn from crime investigators' life is that they try to read between the lines and critically analyze from different possible perspectives, what is being told by the witnesses.

So, here are some of the skills which we can learn from Crime Investigators:

• Thinking like the culprit — Be in their shoes
• Observing each and every detail, and it's not just for crime scenes, but also becomes their daily habit
• Interviewing witnesses, where the conversations are mostly not scripted. Better presence of mind
• Want to get to the root cause, by asking & following the WHYs intensely
• Using your analytical skills
• Mindmaps & Sitemaps to identify and establish connections, by connecting the dots
• Gives testimonies based on evidence in courtrooms. Very well prepared with data at its core. The presentation is very data-centric.
• Continuously on the lookout for insights. They are curious & also have sleepless nights till they figure out the mystery.
• Are really good at reports and writing case study documentations
• While most think that their work is reactive(they react after the crime is committed), but it also has a pro-active approach where the goal is to prevent more crimes to happen by finding patterns(which is not talked about much).
• Finally, they try to make the world a better place. Isn’t that the greater purpose of each person on this planet?

Key takeaway

The unique skill from the lot I feel is intense Empathy & Critical thinking, as this is something we need to deep dive to read between the lines, & not just listen what our users are just saying.

One of the fictional detective character from Indian land, named, Byomkesh Bakshi, had a knack for observing every fine detail, even while he used to converse with his friends or family members(as people tend to be relaxed around them, & don’t consciously notice other things). He also had the charm to talk to the toughest people with natural ease, to get the intended information.

To understand more in detail here are some Crime Series on Netflix which deep dives into stories and insights of uncovering complicated criminal cases & the process. You can enjoy series like Manhunt, Bodyguard, Mindhunter, and any of your favorites too to understand and become conscious about the commonalities between these two professions, and eventually to find your unique space to dive into detail while practicing UX Design 🍿🍿🍿

2. A UX Designer can be like an Artist

Artists can bring some sense of emotions into digital solutions or to any experiences for that matter. Art evokes emotions & memories that sometimes might have a purpose but not necessarily should have a purpose, as some would say. It should be left to the perceptions of people.

But, as in customer-facing digital solutions, we are still figuring out as a majority how well Art can be merged with Design & Technology. Some players are understanding it and going ahead with it.

Need not say that Art has a very little say in Enterprise solutions, because everything in Enterprise boils down to prioritizing efficiency & time.

Enterprise solutions are also trying to improve the productivity of users too. Art has a big opportunity here, as productivity can be enhanced with emotions like motivation & inspiration.

A small example, a crowd-sourced Artwork is shown when you open any Adobe software. While it takes time to load the application, users tend to get inspired and also get to know the team or individual who has worked on it.

Recently when I listened to Stefan Sagmeister at the DesignUp conference this year, it was thought-provoking where he talked about how functionality is not only the aspect of Design solutions, which most designers are told to target.

A Blend of Art, Design & Technology has to happen, to strike the right emotional cords with users. It sets a relationship of the users with the brand even before they start using the product or service.

Let’s know some of the skills which we can learn from Artists:

• Always able to find inspiration in almost everything
• Spends time looking into oneself to find different ways to express
• Introspection is the active approach for them, as to how they want to express how they feel
• Always on the journey to find a unique style of their own
• Deep down want to make products that look good & make users feel wow, but sometimes due to different reasons get limited to functionality
• Creative approaches are what they thrive on
• Love to show off or showcase their work every now and then
• Can fake a story so convincingly, that you as an audience are bound to believe it. Jokes apart 😅, storytelling is what sets them apart from the crowd.

Key takeaway

One of the in-depth learning we can take from Artists is their constant inspiration-seeking, consistent introspection & always striving to express themselves. I won’t say they don’t fear but they do master the skill of overcoming it quickly. It’s a human quality, to always keep expressing ourselves, in whichever possible way, as it always leads to what’s within you. Obviously other skills like Digital Art & Storytelling can also be seen as a speciality for a UX Designer, if you are seeking an inspiration to deep dive in it.

3. A UX Designer can be like a Lawyer

I would like to quote from a Lawyer turned UX Designer’s statement about what he has to say about the commonalities he saw in both professions which helped him to transition easily.

The quote goes “As a former attorney, I was required to understand what drove my clients to do what they did. As a UI/UX designer, I use that critical thinking to be cognizant of my user’s feelings, thoughts, and needs. In both professions, there’s a hypothesis to prove, a commitment to research, and a carefully painted story containing facts that support the solution”, said by Thomas Lei in an interview

So let’s get to the skills of Lawyers:

• Logical debates with backed-up data & facts
• Knowledge of standards & laws of which to follow and which one we can tweak/break for their client’s benefit
• Good at analyzing very crucial data/news/clues/findings in the large noise and come up with a convincing story. In the course of time, they develop a unique skill of swiftly filtering data relevantly.
• Telling the story in a concise form & a short time. This is known as Brevity. There are 15,006,458 cases pending in India, as of May 2021. One of the major reasons is, there are not enough judges (only around 21,000). The current Judge to Population ratio is 10 to 1 million. So, lawyers have to be well prepared for their sessions which are always time-bounded. Interviews show that Late Ram Jethmalani, a celebrated Indian lawyer and politician, took 14-15 hours a day to prepare for cross-examinations in court. Woah! That tells something about his confidence in the courtroom.

Key takeaway

The unique skill from the lot I feel is definitely Brevity & Intense Preparation. This explains a lot about how well you respect other people’s time.

4. A UX Designer can be like an Architect

My Personal story

As from my personal transition experience, I used to spend a considerable amount of time in the conceptual phases of my academic Architecture projects at the University. I liked researching about the site, maintaining my journal of sketches, capturing stories in my camera, representations of findings(Data visualization intrigued me, it still gives me a kick now also seeing good data representation), site zoning & mapping, rendering & jury meetings. The thing I hated/was not interested in the whole project phase was, Structural Mechanics, which I failed in my 4th & 5th semester. And I don’t feel bad about that, as that helped me to introspect more about what is that thing which I am really getting intrigued and most importantly, happy doing it 😇

Then inclination towards design, attracted me to areas like graphic arts, t-shirt designs, Art competitions in national Architecture(NASA) events. I was trying always to express my creative side more & more, which attracted me eventually towards design. Then around 2012, most people did not consider Design to be a career option in India. It took a lot of convincing for me but ya, I did get transitioned to UX, after my Masters in Product Design, with some design sensibilities which I definitely brought from Architecture.

So, some of the skills of Architects are:

• Macro to micro-level of understanding the ecosystem of user’s world is something which many Architect-turned UX Designers have shared
• System-level thinking is what we can learn from Architects, as the neighborhood & communities are something they do consider as a whole fabric of their work
• Community-based thinking is something which Architects understand & consider while specializing in Urban Design
• Navigating through physical spaces is a key aspect while designing spaces.
• Zoning & Planning on Sites is something that helps us segregate information, content & flows according to the navigation
• Site analysis in Architecture, is the process of researching and analyzing the social, historical, climatic, geographical, legal, and infrastructural characteristics of a given site. Kind of similar to design audits of existing solutions or the analysis of the current scenario.
• Well-versed with or understand the fundamental process of 3D Design. As 3D Illustrations & Experiences are one of the hottest UI trends of 2021, it is a skill that can be honed and acquired in-depth. The easy-to-use tools like Spline & Blender are making it simple for creative people to start exploring and mastering it too.
• Visual note-taking is one thing Architects do while on-site visits and also maintain a journal for capturing on the go experiences

The terminologies like Sitemap, Information Architecture, Site Infrastructure, Task flow, Navigation, etc, are some things that tell us how the initial pioneers of the UX field, took reference from this field, like analogies, to layout the processes.

Key takeaway

From the lot, the unique skills I feel is Immersive experiences, Visual Note taking & 3D Design.

If you are interested to start designing for AR, I have explained step by step how to Design an AR concept with Adobe Aero.

Remember, do not hurry

Explore at your own pace and know what unique skill set you can bring to the table for your team and the organization. This does not mean you keep chasing and competing in finding your niche with others. Obviously at your own pace, keeping your mental health the topmost priority, know how to approach your speciality, self-talk & keep enjoying it while you practice.

Always ask yourself this question, if you want to get that unique skill from your previous profession, “Do I really enjoy doing this?”, “Do I really resonate some positive moments when I used to do this?” If the answer is YES, do explore it more to peel off more layers of your enjoyment & happiness with it.

There are people who transitioned to UX Design at the age of 40+ and have brought in some special experienced skills from their past professions too. So, we can see possibilities whenever possible. I don't think age & numbers should be deadlines for explorations.

COVID has taught us…

To reflect back on what are our priorities and how to follow those.

Talking with yourself helps us explore our true selves. If this helped do share it with people who might be a little skeptical about their specialties and approach it.

Always have a positive open mind

Having an open mind is the key here to observe qualities around you and imbibe the ones which you truly believe will make you feel happy. Again I would say to choose your qualities wisely and not just get into something because most of them are doing it. Cut off the noise and encourage self-talk.

If you liked this, do show your love folks. Hope this helped.

Also, mention your unique skills & other professions or domains, which you consider to learn from, as a UX Designer.

And if you think you have brought some unique skills to the UX from your previous profession, do share your insights here in this survey. Would love to hear your story too.

Thanks for your time.