Uncovering the importance of soft skills in user interface design-related fields

In this article, the authors interrogate what core competencies are expected of designers as they enter into user interface design-related fields. Using contextual interviews and an online survey of design practitioners as a basis for our analysis, we argue that soft skills need to be viewed as a tool in and of themselves, one that is critically important to transitioning students from academic to industrial contexts. Before analysing the results of our research, we offer a definition of skills, apply those skills to user interface designers, and suggest using the term ‘malleable skills’ to understand the murky distinction between hard and soft skills. We then offer some suggestions for more research related to shaping academic design programs.