UX in NYC

And just like that, two weeks in New York have somehow flown by. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks interning at LiveTiles as part of Monash University’s Global Internship Program, along with fellow Monash Interns Emily, Alexia and Daniel. You can read about what we’ve been up to so far here: (Part 1 -Part 2 - Part 3)

These last few days in New York have been split between putting the finishing touches on the LiveTiles template designs we have been working on, and cramming in all the New York tourist things on our never-ending list (read: museums, parks, ice-cream sandwiches, ramen and more).

As a group we’ve worked on finalising the look of our LiveTiles Designs, with a couple of us being pushed out of our comfort zones (myself included) to do some front-end development. Looking at our final products, and the design process we went through, I’d like to share a couple of my top UX learnings:

Design is just as much about visuals as it is about communication.

A good design is nothing without justification or the ability to express “why”. You need to be prepared to defend every design decision you make, bringing it all back to how it is solving the problem you’re looking at. In our regular reviews with our mentor David, he encouraged us to clearly articulate our choices and to simplify where possible.

Empathise with your user, but don’t forget about the business.

It can be easy to look past business objectives, or the core values of a product as you immerse yourself in the world and needs of a user. We were often reminded that what we were creating wasn’t just beautiful designs — it was our role, through the templates, to show customers what could easily be achieved through LiveTiles and Sharepoint. Be this through exhibiting the power of the technology sitting behind the interface, or the availability and integration of new Microsoft products and platforms.


Emily, Me, Karl, Daniel and Alexia

Finally, we were able to present our work to Karl, the CEO of LiveTiles and a Monash alumni himself. It was great to get his feedback and understand the value our work will bring to the business going forward.

Karl also made time in his busy schedule to chat to us all individually. He shared his learnings as a business owner, thoughts on living and working overseas, as well as the future of the tech industry. He was incredibly humble and supportive, encouraging us all to work hard and still have fun.

In a fitting end to our time in this incredible city, we watched the sunset over Manhattan from Top of the Rock Observation Deck. It’s been an unbelievable two weeks with an amazing group of talented individuals, that have all become great friends. As much as I’m dreading coming back to winter in Melbourne, I can’t wait to bring back all the learnings and refreshed motivation for a career in UX design from my time at LiveTiles.

See you soon NYC, it’s been real.

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