Day in the Life of a UX/UI Designer — General Assembly Panel

Night ran typically with questions graciously pre-sent to the panel, so we could form a halfway coherent thought + occasional audience questions requiring us to wing it and respond on the fly. Below are the top topics/Q’s consistently repeated (sadly my memory retains mainly what I said):

Intro: What makes good UX?

Overall the agreement was that an experience should be Seemless and Useful. Smooth where you don’t realize how good the UX is, and always allowing a user to complete their goal.

The Trifecta in my view is: A. Delightful: Google Now telling me what time to leave to make my flight. B. Subtle: Kindle will recommend the next book in the series. Both are Useful.

1. Fave UX experience currently:

Maureen: Lyft, cuz *fun fact* she used to be a driver! She enjoys the constant app updates to always improve the user’s experience.

Me (Christine): Anything with invisible predictability is high on my list. Airbnb knows I’m poking around for my trip Budapest for the Amuse UX conference, so recommends top places to stay, then Google is showing me (without googling) ‘Must Eat Places’ articles and Pinterest is giving me saving money with traveling tips. An full picture experience with relevant touch-points depending on the product I am using.

2. What is UX?

Favorite explanation yet, almost no discourse needed:

“You can’t paint a dilapidated house white and expect it to function and be appreciated like a new house — Brian”

I followed that up by continuing his cheeky house analogy saying: “UX is the foundation. Sometimes our job is breaking something apart to build it back together correctly, and then sometimes it’s a quick addition here or there. At the end of the day it’s the linchpin for everything: your design, information architecture, content….”

3. How to know when you’ve removed friction in an experience?

Using two quick examples from recent projects:

1. Working on an app for video conferencing with doctor’s, we needed to streamline the patient intake flow. Essentially like when you go to the doc’s office and fill a ton of paperwork, like allergies, insurance, etc… that info is still needed to talk with a doc virtually; we had to make the process feel quick and smooth.
2. Another app for discovering island lore and landmark facts while biking around Nantucket, we we able to make biking directions easier. Similar to telling your friend directions, the app reads out “Turn left at the red house, or the XX monument” — instead of “Turn left at X street — because in Nantucket many streets aren’t visible or don’t have a name.

A great summation of catching and knowing when to prevent friction is:

“Any place a user is aware the are interacting with a computer = friction.” — Brian

4. How do you get better ratings or convince a client of success?

1. “Teaching up” — training your clients what is relevant in the industry, how the interactions would work, what your idea means, everything they don’t already understand (and re-iterating) if they do, so they understand, agree and approve with less iteration or changes.

2. Transparent design — a simple , yet highly impactful concept we use at Intrepid: Working with the clients & the team as a whole from the outset. Involving them in every step of creation from initial ideation, to wireframes, to design, to animation, to development. Allowing work to be ‘in progress’ and always ‘able to improve’. This fosters faster buy-in across the team because there is clear cut communication, less iteration due to higher client approvals, and a decrease in shifting scope, because everyone is aligned.

5. Do I need to have a Master’s? Or where can I go to learn more if that wasn’t my undergrad major?

Easy answer: No. Ironically 3 of the 4 panelists had, and so it seemed biased. Being one, I will always promote the best career decision I ever made — the coveted & intensive VCU Brandcenter Experience Design Track.

But there are many outlets for learning: General Assembly right where we were sitting, Apprentice Programs (like the *cough* stellar one at Intrepid) or Fellowships at other companies and agencies. If you want to, the internet has a wealth of information to help you gain enough experience to land an entry level position.

Majority of our industry does not have a masters or even a degree close to their job title, and are very skilled or even experts in their arena. It’s definitely a hands on learning career path. I would also say that a different perspective is a value add.

“Show the breath of a few key projects and the deep thinking involved in every step. A larger quantity of projects in your portfolio is not always better.” — Mark

6. As a budding UX-er or a career switcher, how do I stand out in interviews?

From the 60+interviews, countless recruiter lectures, other advice and what I’ve found works:

Tell a story.

Roughly 1/4 of my grad school time was spent developing “My Story”. The inevitable, if not first Q in an interview is ALWAYS “Tell me about yourself”. If you fall back on beginning with undergrad, then your internships and jobs and so on…you’ve answered like every single person before you. If you begin with an personal, anecdotal, character defining story that exemplifies why you’re right for this gig…BOOM. You’ve hooked em; they will fundamentally understand you better, they will be able to empathize or respect your journey, and they will understand your core strengths in the first 2 minutes. Oh, and you’ll stand out in a sea of monotonous interviews.

Have some Fire.

People are generally sacred of showing too much Passion, and end up showing minimal to none. The nervousness makes them focus on answering Q’s right…and not showing their obsession or the dedication they truly feel. Remember, every interview is a conversation. Imagine it’s more casual than it is, and you will answer more like your genuine self.

Show a Point of View.

Your upbringing, your journey, your career interactions are all unique to you. Find a kernel in there that shows you have a different perspective. We’re in the business of thinking of an idea in a new or different way; if you can prove that from the outset, you’re invaluable.

FYI, having a POV doesn’t mean you need to be an SOB. It means realizing that sometimes the key thing we bring to the interview table is ourselves.- Me ;)