Sacramento

How to Transition from a Senior Designer to a Visual Designer

Summary: Sara Jenner, Sara Jenner, is transitioning from graphic design to Figma and UX design. She seeks advice on breaking into the field and questions the value of costly online certificates for gaining practical experience. Paul Au, Paul Au, shares his unconventional path from biology to web development and design, emphasizing learning through hands-on experience. He indicates that sharing experiences through their Slack group may benefit Sara. Lia Fetterhoff, Lia Fetterhoff, recommends building a portfolio with real-world projects and suggests that joining Slack or Facebook groups can help Sara connect with peers in UX design. Lia also warns against high program costs, instead suggesting resourcefulness and community learning can be effective for skill development. Both respondents offer encouraging advice and practical steps for career growth in UX design.

AI Summary

Hi everyone, I’m Sara!

So glad I found this group. I’ve been a graphic designer and illustrator for 15+ years (Adobe Suite is my comfort zone), but I’ve been trying—unsuccessfully so far—to break into working in Figma. I can navigate it, but I know I need real-world projects to truly get fluent.

Last year, I took a few community college classes on human-centered design and loved them. Since then, I’ve looked into online certificates—but wow, the prices are steep! Are they really worth it? I even saw one here in Sacramento that’s $650 for two days.

What I really need is to work with a real team, build a legit portfolio, and stop feeling like I’m designing in a vacuum.

I’d love your advice:

How did you get started in the industry?
Do you know any companies (or teams) open to an intern or volunteer designer, even part-time, to help build skills and portfolio work?

Thanks in advance—I’m excited to learn from you all!

6 comments

Paul Au

3 weeks, 1 day ago

Hi Sara! I'm Paul, the welcome leader for FoF Sac. Thanks for sharing your story. I've added a link to this discussion thread to our slack and asked folks to share their experiences with you. I'm guessing you'll find a very wide range of experiences.

For myself, my path is not traditional by any means. My education is in Biology but I somehow found myself developing websites and web applications after a decade of doing research at UCSF. As a developer, I dipped my toes in the design world as well and eventually started doing more and more design.

I am also doing the Google Coursera course on Intro to UX Design. I know a lot of other folks have done that certificate program. I have found that a lot of the concepts I'm learning are things I was already doing as a Web Dev / Designer.

Sara Jenner

2 weeks, 5 days ago

Hi Paul
Thank you so much for responding!!!
How do I get onto the slack? What is the workspace URL?

Paul Au

2 weeks, 2 days ago

Hi Sara. You can find a link for Slack on our link tree. https://linktr.ee/fofsacramento

Lia Fetterhoff

3 weeks ago

When I was starting out the best thing I did was find real work -- built websites for friends, found local places to offer my services to, etc. so I could build out a portfolio to interview with and decide if I even wanted to do UX full-time. This was before UX was prevalent and bootcamps didn't really exist. I wouldn't say it's necessary to pay so much for a program if you’re resourceful and can pick up the frameworks and terminology to collaborate with other designers, product managers, and engineers through other means-- groups like this one, books, YouTube videos, etc. You might also find Slack or Facebook groups of folks willing to create study groups or critique sessions.

In contrast, a more formal program could be helpful to get the learning content in one place and support from instructors, and other students you can build a network with.

With the experience you have, you definitely wouldn't be starting from scratch, and you might even find a place where you can wear both hats if the company needs that specific role to fill.

Best of luck!

Sara Jenner

2 weeks, 5 days ago

Hi Lia!
Thanks for taking the time to reply!!
How do I find new slack groups of UX UI designers?

Lia Fetterhoff

2 weeks, 2 days ago

That's a great question! I would seek out local communities/meetups, groups on LinkedIn, etc. you're interested in and some will have a Slack on their website. I've gotten recommendations through these groups, too.

Mine are mostly UX Leadership or UX in Product since those are my areas of interest now, but you can find groups that focus on Women in UX, Design System groups, and more.