5 Things That Helped Me Become a Better UX Designer

Amanda Palomino
4 min readDec 9, 2019

Things I did and still do as a UX Designer.

Don’t get me wrong, I am still very new to the UX world but I’m not going to let that slow me down. Let’s get started.

1. My Experience

My past experiences are what brought me to the UX field. My background in graphic design and my experience in the hospitality industry are the stepping stones into what later became a wake-up call to look into UX design. While working in the restaurant industry I always strived to make a customer’s experience so fantastic that they would have to come back. Whether it was designing the menu or redesigning the website- I was always thinking about the customer. What do they want to see? What important information do they need? I learned to empathize with my users and this was key to making their experience unique and pleasant.

Photo by Shawn Ang on Unsplash

As new designers, we all tend to have one thing in common. What’s that? Imposter Syndrome. I’ve heard from senior-level designers that it doesn’t go away but that it gets easier to manage (phew!). So instead of thinking, “I can’t bring much to the table since I just started UX design.” Think about your past experiences and how they brought you to this new field. Use those past work experiences to your advantage. It’s what makes you unique and only helps you be a better UX designer. Whether it’s experience in hospitality, research, architecture, finance, visual design, or just talking to people-it’s only going to help you.

2. Side Projects

Side projects are great for gaining experience and money $$. Side projects are also great because you get to work on projects in different industries. So you’re a new UX designer looking for your first gig. But they want a Junior UX Designer with a minimum of 5 years experience?

This is where side projects come in! Helping smaller businesses with their UX design is a win-win. You can add a ton of experience and help out the little guys who are looking for affordable design. This also helps you learn how to negotiate your pricing and gives you practice working with real clients. You can try reaching directly to local businesses or checking out sites like Upwork or Fiverr.

3. Reading!

Ugh, I know. I never was one to read for fun but it’s crazy how much you can read when it’s something you actually care about. UX design is always changing and new awesome designs are being created every day. So scroll through medium articles or pick up some UX design books. It’s only going to help you learn more and become a better designer.

Photo by Startaê Team on Unsplash

4. Networking & Meetups

You have heard it 100 times and I’m here to tell you again-networking is very important! Why? Because you can meet other designers and talk about all the design things! No, but seriously attending meetups is a great way to learn about cool topics and meet other designers and expand that network. You never know what it can lead to. People love to help and talk about their experiences. As a new UX designer, I can honestly tell you that 90% of the people I have reached out to on LinkedIn or through mutual connections have responded. Most of them gladly met up with me to talk about their experience and have even gone over and reviewed my portfolio!

Photo by Jakob Dalbjörn on Unsplash

5. Patience

Nothing you force is going to have a good outcome. Whether it’s a design, a usability test or a job opportunity. So patience is key to becoming a good UX designer. I personally am a very impatient person, so I am still learning how to enjoy the process no matter what. It’s important that in the fast world we live in that we take the time to focus on what we are doing and do it well.

Photo by Jose Luis Sanchez Pereyra on Unsplash

Thanks for reading my first blog post!

Thanks for reading up to the very end! I really appreciate it. Feel free to follow me on Medium and connect with me on LinkedIn!

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