How to become a Digital Designer?
The Digital Designer is a professional expert in interactive tools and technologies who designs quality User Interfaces and Experiences. Discover how to pursue this career with Domus Academy courses.
As technology has become an inescapable presence in our lives and the Internet has established itself as one of the most important channels for attracting and winning customers, companies have been confronted with the growing need to appear and communicate effectively on all digital channels through paid advertising campaigns, SEO strategies, and social media. To respond to this need, new professional figures have arisen, including that of the Digital Designer: a professional expert in interactive tools and state-of-the-art technologies who designs quality User Interfaces and Experiences, conceiving real digital works that speak to the public through the screen of a computer, a mobile phone or a tablet.
The Digital Designer is a professional figure who develops and optimises corporate image and visual communication on all media and digital tools, dealing with
- Optimised websites: develops layouts, interactive graphics and other visual elements of corporate web pages so that they are aesthetically pleasing, compatible with all devices and above all easy for users to navigate;
- Social media content: create banners, images, videos and infographics that grab attention from the first seconds of use;
- User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX): design user interfaces for mobile applications and desktop software that are not only visually appealing, but also intuitive and easy to use for the end user;
- Digital advertising: optimises digital marketing campaigns by handling the design of ads, popups and banners;
- 2D and 3D animations and motion graphics: produces animations and videos for use in all digital contexts, from websites to social media and mobile apps;
- Branding and visual identity: develops visual elements consistent with corporate identity, using carefully selected fonts, logos and colour palettes;
- Web images: verifies that the images used by a company on its digital channels are optimised in terms of size, resolution and loading speed;
- E-mails and newsletters: builds ad hoc layouts for newsletters and transactional e-mails to make them more attractive and effective.
Often, the Digital Designer also works on physical products that include digital components such as wearable devices, digital toys and games, smart appliances, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences, interactive kiosks and more.
To enter the field of Digital Design, it is advisable to undertake a targeted training path by selecting University courses and Academic Masters that guarantee a solid foundation in Graphic Design, UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience) Design, as well as in Digital Communication and Marketing. The next step is to identify internships or Junior Digital Designer roles in companies or communication and graphic design agencies to gain practical experience and contacts with figures working in the same field, useful for creating a solid professional base.
Continuous training is a plus: specialisation programs, six-month courses, Master courses, or short courses dedicated to new trends in the digital design sector help you acquire specific skills and certifications aimed at enriching your cultural background and, naturally, your curriculum vitae.
Specific skills are required of the Digital Designer, including:
- creativity in devising Digital Design solutions that are always innovative and in step with industry trends;
- ability to communicate clearly and effectively with the target audience through the use of digital visual elements;
- predisposition for advanced problem-solving and teamwork with reference figures such as UX designers, marketing specialists and developers;
- knowledge of the most important principles of Graphic Design, such as composition, typography, colour theory and branding;
- dexterity in the use of the software needed to perform the wide range of tasks involved;
- ability to create intuitive and attractive user interfaces for websites and mobile apps, able to adapt to different screen sizes, and to design optimised user experiences;
- experience in creating 2D and 3D animations, motion graphics and interactive prototypes;
- propensity for continuous professional development to stay abreast of industry developments.
As there are so many tasks to be completed on a daily basis, the Digital Designer must make use of numerous specific tools and software – starting with those for professional image editing such as Photoshop and those for creating vector graphics such as Illustrator. Also indispensable are tools such as InDesign for the correct layout of images and text, and tools such as Sketch, Figma and Adobe XD for designing User Interfaces and User Experience elements. In addition, software such as Adobe After Effects enables the creation of complex animations and visual effects, while solutions such as InVision and Marvel help simplify interactive prototyping.
Increasingly in demand, the figure of the Digital Designer is extremely versatile and can work in a variety of fields, including:
- large and small companies, where they will combine imagination and technology to bring the brand message to a wide audience in the digital world;
- technology start-ups, where they will be responsible for creating interfaces and user experiences of the highest standard;
- non-profit, museums and institutions, where they will develop information materials, interactive panels and online learning platforms;
- media and digital publishing, for which they will create visual content and layouts for online publications;
- fashion, film and video games, where they will design innovative and engaging designs to capture the audience’s attention.