I still don’t know what I’m doing…
And that’s ok.
I’m a product designer at Fullscreen, and I thought I’d share the story of how I got here and a few of the lessons I’ve learned along the way.
I came to Fullscreen knowing nothing about what it takes to be a UI/UX designer. Previously, I worked at the Swedish company Stardoll, creating marketing collateral and clothing illustration for their dress up game. My crowning achievements were a Nicki Minaj avatar and background stores for Snow White and the Huntsmen. I had a lot of fun and worked with some extremely talented artists, and grew what I thought was a strong design portfolio.
Looking back, I realize I wasn’t designing anything interactive, and thought little about user experience. I had become a glorified pixel pusher, satisfying clients’ ridiculous revisions and requests and cramming clothing assets into tiny 600KB files. (BTW, that’s really hard to do.)
In my interview with Fullscreen, I was surprised when given a layout problem to solve — I hadn’t tackled anything like that before. My intuition must have been decent, because I passed the test: but now I can see how much of a leap of faith they really took in hiring me.
Starting at Fullscreen was like going back to school all over again. I tore through piles of reading, trying to figure out just how other designers did. I sat in a room filled with engineers, which forced me to learn HTML and CSS — a valuable skill in understanding how my designs translate into reality. Dribbble and Behance became my best friend. Even trying to understand the business and life in a startup was a challenge of its own.
I remember being frustrated quite frequently, always unsure whether I was doing “right”. I had to seriously battle against my self doubt and not drown in defeatism. I would look over my co-workers’s shoulder and thought how talented he was and if I would ever get to that level of expertise. It wasn’t until I realized that they had started to give me projects that would significantly impact thousands of our user for the new release. While giving me constructive feedback, my boss and colleagues had trusted me and I continued to improve.
Eventually, I began to float, all the hard work paying off. I got into the groove, and all the research I’d done had started to sink in. The 5 W’s were — and still are — my go to bible for design. Finally, I felt confident!
Well, at times.
Confidence is a sick giant roller coast. One minute you think you’ve got it, and another you’re back to square one, questioning whether you had anything in the first place. “This doesn’t make any sense.” “I look like a fool.” “Am I doing anything right?” What a mindfuck.
If you’re in the same boat as I was, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. I still doubt myself at times, but I’ve learned to take the good with the bad and appreciate how far I’ve come. Here’s some of the most important things I’ve learned.
1. Make mistakes into learning experiences. Don’t let them overwhelm or dissuade you.
2. Ask questions, constantly. Why are we doing this? Does it make sense to build vertical aligned tabs or horizontal ones? How the hell do I make a github repository??
3. Experiment with process. Although there is no “perfect process”, you’ll have to try, learn, and try again to find what works for your company and team.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback. Schedule weekly show-and-tells to give and gather critique from within your team and outside it.
5. BREAKING NEWS: Your designs will never be perfect, so don’t get too attached. Iterate, test, learn, and do it all again relentlessly and as quickly as possible. Take the time to explore multiple approaches, and never stop experimenting.
6. Seek out new perspectives. Sit with new teams and learn how they approach problems and think about your business.
You’re a researcher, collaborator, and problem solver — not just a machine that churns out spotless comps. If your goal as a designer is to improve lives and delight users, even on a small scale, then you’re headed in the right direction — and it’s a great feeling.
I still have a lot to learn and document, and I’d love any feedback you have to give. Looking forward to posting and learning more!
