User experience, sometimes simply called UX, is growing in significance within many organizations. Companies that previously had only developers and business analysts have realized that UX plays a significant role in the success of apps and websites. As companies look to hire UX professionals, it can leave professionals wondering if they need a UX certificate or UX degree to get a user experience job. Here we explore the impact of UX certificates and other training on the job market.

Making an effort to learn user experience brings with it a wide range of benefits for organization and individuals. Big business, small businesses, designers, developers, project managers, and business analysts – effectively any organization and anyone involved in app or website design and development benefits from UX training. Some of the many benefits of UX training include faster development, improving site and app design, enhanced profitability, and improved career opportunities.

The typical return on investment (ROI) of user experience (UX) design processes generally involves time saved, projects meeting business objectives and exceeding client expectations. Avoiding lawsuits can now be added as another benefit to increase the ROI of UX, as a failed web design project led to a $32 million lawsuit earlier this month that likely could have been avoided by following UX best practices and processes. A recently filed lawsuit presents a clear and devastating picture of what happens when UX design principles are not followed.

The importance of UX (user experience) extends beyond application and website development, and impacts the success entire organizations. The return on investment (ROI) of UX includes improved customer retention, more customer recommendations, additional repeat customers, and enhanced credibility. More than half of visitors to a website indicate that a poor experience on mobile devices makes them less likely to engage with a company in the future, and 75% determine the credibility of an organization based upon the website.

Graphic designers should learn UX because it benefits their career, provides professional growth opportunities, and expands their versatility while using the foundation they have built in graphic design. Whether wanting to expand beyond visual design or making a complete transition to user experience work, an experienced graphic designer has many skills that provide a solid foundation for working in user experience.

Human-Computer Interactions, or HCI, are part of daily life, and the field of  UX, or user experience, is focused on how users interact with technology to achieve their goals. Whether responding to a text message, visiting a website, using an app, or interacting with a touch-screen at an airport terminal, UX impacts anyone who interacts with technology. Learning UX is important for anyone designing, developing, or planning any technology project, and the options for learning UX can meet the needs of different learning styles, time constraints, job needs, and budget requirements.

A signal of the far reaching expansion of user experience comes from the role UX is playing in restaurant menu design. Many traditional graphic designers have found work helping restaurants update and revise menus. With more than 500,000 restaurants in the U.S. alone, even designers in the smallest of towns were likely to find at least one restaurant as a client. But many restaurants are finding they need a UX designer more than a graphic designer as menus move online.

All Boston-area UX classes as well as WordPress coures and Creative Cloud classes scheduled for February 13 at American Graphics Institute have been postponed due to the winter storm. These classes will start on February 14. Those registered for these training courses should plan to attend class on February 14 and will be provided with alternate dates to make-up the course date, or they can choose any future course date to complete the training.

While avoiding website accessibility lawsuits is a worthwhile endeavor, businesses, agencies, and organizations should also focus on the benefits of website accessibility and the reasons behind web accessibility laws. Just as all people are able to visit a business or store in-person that is open to the public, website accessibility laws advocate for disabled individuals to be able to use a website that offers goods, services, or information to the public.

The new Adobe UX app for prototyping and designing user experiences continues to receive updates. Adobe’s UX app is simply called Adobe XD, short for Experience Design. Designs can be created within the app, then previewed within the same app, or on iPhones, iPads, and Androids using a companion app that is available for the iOS and Android operating systems. The UX design and prototyping process using Adobe XD is initially only available for Mac computers, but a Windows version is planned. The recently announced Adobe CC 2017 updates also included a number of revisions for Adobe XD.