Kimberly Portnoy

As designers, advocating for the user is still the number one priority. Knowing the business makes it easier to convince cross-functional partners to invest in your solutions.

During performance review time, everyone has to list one thing you do really well. One of my strengths is analyzing data to find patterns and organize ideas. I try to get data whenever I want to make an informed design decision. I’ve learned to focus on my strengths and to look for opportunities to use them in my career.

As the new designer on the team, take advantage of your status by asking lots of questions. You don’t know what you don’t know. There’s a lot of history and design decisions that went into a product that you’ll need to uncover. Don’t be afraid to show unfinished work to get early feedback. By the time I go into a design review…