Being a Product Designer: Chaebin Park
Earlier this year, the Bits of Good (BoG) Marketing wanted to sit down and talk with BoG members of from different departments and gain insight into their responsibilities and day-to-day life as a BoG member. We wanted to shed some light on different positions in the organization, so that people inside and outside of BoG could see what it’s like to work within our organization.
I spoke with Chaebin Park, a product designer, and the Associate Director of Design, to find out more about her story in BoG, as well as talk about her weekly duties, and how she sees BoG Product Design changing over time.
(The interview below is a compilation of multiple conversations I had with Chaebin about her role. Her answers have been edited and paraphrased for clarity and continuity.)
Question: What was your journey like in BoG? How did you become a Product Designer?
Answer: I started off in BoG as a Brand Marketer because product designer applications weren’t open yet. Even though I didn’t have a lot of marketing experience, I saw how creating graphics and marketing content for the club tied into design work.
Soon after I joined, the “Brand Designer” position was created to fill any gaps that the Product Designer role may not have filled. The position managed design aspects of the entire organization, rather than individual products for project teams.
After talking with executive members of the organization, I actually applied for Associate Director of Marketing. Making this switch made me realize that I wanted to transition more into Product Design. My career goals centered around user experience, and I already had a UX portfolio prepared to enter into a Product Designer role.
I started off as a designer on the “Design Solutions” team, where I worked with other designers to create in-house products that multiple non-profits could benefit from. I enjoyed this experience, but I wanted to take on more leadership and have more input on designs.
Then, [last] semester I became the lead designer on the “Healthy Families Healthy Futures” team, where I had a greater say in design decisions and mockups.
Q: Can you explain to me the process of designing a product and making those design decisions?
A: Yeah! First off, this process is for when your team is working from the ground up; you don’t have a working product yet. If you have an existing product that you’re refining, the process looks a little different.
Building out the Product: The first step is building out the product. Designers will flush out product specifications based on a list of needs the client gives to us.
User Flow and Design Process: The next step is user flow and design. Designers start creating user flows, information architecture, and user testing. Initially, low-fidelity sketches are created so that accompanying engineers can assess whether or not the design is feasible to create on a software level.
Client Check-in: Then, these beginning sketches are shown to the client for confirmation. From there, we reassess and make sure that the client approves of the initial designs.
High-Fidelity Mockup: Next, we build a wireframe of the application or webpage. We hold Design Critiques where other designers from other teams can contribute and give us feedback about the layout and UX of the design. After we get some feedback, we create a high-fidelity mockup; this is what the final product will generally look like. We send this to the Developer team to build out the product.
Ongoing Management: From here, the designers continue to work with the development team to address issues and rework the mockup as necessary, until the product is finalized.
Q: This is a lengthy process! What does your normal week look like? What kind of tasks are you doing in order to get to that final design stage?
A: There are a few tasks that we do weekly. We have combined meetings with Engineering Managers to make sure the designs we make are feasible to create. We also meet with Product Managers to ensure that our designs align with the client’s needs. We have weekly design critiques to get feedback, and sometimes we have extra meetings with other designers on the team to discuss our next steps.
Throughout the weeks, we’re also using Figma software to conduct user research, create application mockups, and communicate our overall direction and goals for design to other designers on the team.
Q: This seems like a really collaborative role; what do you feel sets Product Designers apart from other roles in the organization?
A: There are a few things that make us unique.
The first is that it’s rare to work in isolation when you’re a product designer; the job is inherently collaborative because of the overlapping of the design, the client’s goals and needs, and the software development. A key aspect of design is having multiple eyes or different perspectives looking at the design at every step; it ensures that you design intentionally, with your target audience in mind.
Another thing is that product designers act as a sort of glue between the other roles in BoG. Creating mockups and designs and discussing user experience and interface is an iterative process, so product designers are constantly working between various groups. We work with Project Managers to discuss product specifications so the app turns out exactly how the client wants it, and we work with Engineering Managers and developers to make sure that we can meet the client’s needs on a software level.
The last thing is that communication is a hidden skillset for product designers. Apart from Project Managers and Engineering Managers, your team also relies on you to communicate effectively throughout the timeline of the project. You have to be able to take the initiative to determine the product’s success. Important goals and decisions involving client specifications, audience needs, and design changes have to be communicated clearly and quickly to the rest of the design team, so that everyone is on the same page when flushing out the main design aspects of the app.
Q: I’m interested to know; how do you think the Product Designer role has changed or is currently changing within BoG?
A: I think the path to becoming a designer in BoG has changed in a lot of ways from when I started.
Design Bootcamp is a really big change. We have Design Bootcamp now so that people that are interested in being a designer in BoG can be further prepared for their potential roles.
I also think that the designer role is a lot more competitive than it used to be. It’s now essential to have some sort of design experience prior to applying for the role.
The best change is that design has become a super tight knit community because of our design critique meetings. The department spends a lot of time together because of these extra meetings, and that’s created close bonds within the BoG design community.
Q: It sounds like a supportive community! Speaking on design bootcamp and the competitive nature of this role, do you have any advice for upcoming designers in BoG, or those that want to apply, but don’t have design experience?
A: If you don’t have design experience yet, utilize design bootcamp! It provides someone with everything they might need to know before applying to be a product designer. Your application has a higher chance of being seriously considered if you go through design bootcamp.
I would also say its important to expose yourself to design as much as possible. Just design things! Make sure you understand the process of design and design software like Figma or Photoshop; you need to know more than just how to make things look nice.
It’s also crucial to have a portfolio with at least 1 or 2 examples of flushed out case study designs. You should show your entire design process from beginning research to end product. Final designs may look nice, but the journey of a product and your decision-making skills are more important to note here; be able to explain why you made certain decisions. This can go a long way when you’re getting into design.
If you want more info about product design in BoG, please check out the About Us page of our website here: https://bitsofgood.org/about/roles/
