My journey as designer
“Don’t settle for what life gives you; make life better and build something.” — this was a quote that brought me into tech
Hello mate!
My name Adeleke Azeez Balogun, a junior UI/UX designer based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Here’s a little story on my break into the design space.
I transitioned into UI/UX design about six months ago, right when the pandemic struck, I was always the kid that loves coding but do not have a full view of the advantages, I’ve always heard the people saying “solve problems with your code” but I was not a js person, I felt like I could never do that, I continued writing my HTML, CSS and little js I could lay my hands on. I develop pretty basic websites and while some were trash, so were nice. I like what I was doing but I didn’t love it until I started UI designs this was when I was able to solve problems with my designs.
My breakthrough came through when I joined tech twitter. I came across a design by David Ntekim-Rex I saw his works and I was, “wow I could do something like this” although I already knew my way around Figma tho I didn’t have a real reason to use or practice. I went through his twitter page and saw he was participating in a 30DaysofDesign challenge ( i love challenges tho), I joined and started my full design journey. I remember I was 10days behind in the 30 days challenge but surprisingly from now where I got the urge to keep design and with a dedicated mind, I came out 2nd position in the UI/UX category and 10th overall (frontend, backend, python, UI/UX, engineering design).
I didn’t end it there, with my new found love I started applying for internships, worked on little projects, I kept practicing, got my first gig from AKINJOBI Sodiq, that was where I learned how to work in teams.
These are few Inspiring quotes that have inspired me these past months
- “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.” — Charles Kettering, Inventor, and Engineer — which talks more about understanding the problem you’re trying to solve before picking up the mouse. learn to communicate with people
- “If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.” — Dr. Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover — Here is to employers that feel our cost is somewhat expensive compared to the value we bring to the table.
- “Practice safe design: Use a concept.” — Petrula Vrontikis, Graphic Designer and Lynda Author — to every newbie designer like myself
- “Keep things simple stupid!” — Clarence Leonard “Kelly” Johnson, Aeronautical and Systems Engineer — I don’t think I need to scream this louder, or do I?
I came across an internship opportunity offered by wejapa and applied, luckily for me I was accepted. Reasons for joining Wejapa includes being at a place where I could learn, communicate, and build my design skills. I hope during and after this internship, I would have become a better designer and possibly get my first UI/UX job offer. I’m open for gigs and projects.
Till i write again, i’m leaving you with this quote
“Design is the beauty of turning constraints into advantages.”
― Aza Raskin
