TheLearningQuest

Skills Matrix

Priority: Must-have Important Optional

— Margin calls ... skill shared across those roles exactly

Skill

Motion Graphics

UX/UI FinTech

Digital Product

Shared by all three roles

Visual design fundamentals

Must-have
Color theory, composition, visual hierarchy. Deep mastery for Motion + UI/UX; working knowledge (enough to critique and direct) for Digital Product.

Shared — Motion Graphics + UX/UI FinTech

Typography

Must-have
Same foundations, different application. Kinetic and expressive type for Motion; hierarchy, scale, and readability for UX/UI.

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Shared — UX/UI FinTech + Digital Product

Figma

—

Must-have
Advanced components, auto layout, design systems (UI); Wireframing and prototyping to communicate ideas to engineering teams (DP).

User research

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Must-have
Interviews and usability testing to inform design decisions (UI/UX) vs. discovery research to validate product bets and prioritize roadmap (DP).

Motion Graphics — Unique Skills

Adobe After Effects

Must-have
The primary production tool. Keyframing, graph editor, shape layers, expressions. No substitute.

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Motion design principles

Must-have
Timing, anticipation, follow through, squash and stretch. Separates animators from people who push keyframes.

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Adobe Illustrator

Must-have
Vector asset preparation before animation. Every Motion project starts here.

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Adobe Premiere Pro

Important
Final assembly, audio sync, export. Most BD agency and client briefs expect this alongside AE.

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Lottie / Bodymovin

Important
AE to web/app animation export. High-value bridge to UX/UI work. Almost no BD designers have this — strong differentiator.

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3D — Cinema 4D / Blender

Optional
Significant global salary premium. Long learning curve. Pure envy after 2D mastery is solid.

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UX/UI FinTech — Unique Skills

Information architecture

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Must-have
Flow mapping, card sorting, navigation hierarchy. FinTech specific: onboarding, KYC, payment flows.

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Design systems

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Must-have
Component libraries, tokens, documentation. Expected at senior level to structure vs. just build UI elements.

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FinTech domain knowledge

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Must-have
MFS, mobile banking, loan flows, transaction UX. Without this, you are a generic UI designer competing on price.

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WCAG accessibility

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Important
Contrast ratios, screen reader compatibility, touch target size. Low bar locally, high-value differentiator for international clients.

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Basic HTML / CSS

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Important
Not coding — enough to produce clean dev handoffs and understand what is hard vs. easy to build.

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Digital Product Builder — Unique Skills

Product strategy & roadmapping

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Must-have
Outcome-based thinking, RICE/Kano prioritization, roadmap communication to stakeholders.

Data analytics / SQL

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Must-have
Funnel analysis, cohort data, A/B test interpretation. PMs who pull their own data in BD are rare and well-paid.

Technical fluency

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Must-have
APIs, architecture trade-offs, engineering effort estimation. You don't code... but you must understand why things are hard to build.

Stakeholder management

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Must-have
Managing engineers, designers, sales, and customers simultaneously. The most underrated PM skill.

Business model literacy

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Must-have
Unit economics, LTV/CAC, monetization strategy. Separates a "waiter" from a product project coordinator.

Agile / Scrum

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Important
Sprint planning, backlog grooming, velocity tracking. Table stakes at BD tech startups — not a differentiator.

Digital Career Skills Matrix © 2024