Designer’s Thanksgiving

A few thinks to be thankful for from our team at RocketReach

For the Thanksgiving break this year I wanted to put out some things that our design team is thankful for.

What apps that you use that have great UX/UI are you thankful for?

Christine Zoland (Junior UX Designer):
Recently, I’ve been trying to brush up on my Japanese and have been really enjoying the UX/UI of Duolingo. They do a great job of having fun branding and characters with a UI that encourages progress in learning. This positivity comes from many sources such as the confirmation noises being used and the encouragement from friends for completing lessons. All of this creates an experience that makes it easier to come back and continue daily.

Tyler Norton (Design Lead):
I used to love mint but it is shutting down (RIP). As I’ve been transitioning the budgeting over to Monarch I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with its UX and data visualization. Plus they have great outreach on reddit to customers to help them get started. 10/10 would recommend.

Charles Chen (Marketing Designer):
I’ve been really thankful for Finch, which allows me to gamify daily goals. It’s managed to make daily emotional checkins, task management, and active reflection time really easy and fun. I find myself considering how I spend my time with much more intentionality and a lot of that boils down to the fun interactions and cute animations, which create a ton of joy for me while I engage with the app.

Jordan Noeding (Senior UX Designer):
I’m grateful to any app that has a good icon. Seriously, I won’t download an app on my phone that has a terribly designed icon. Even a banking application. It’s a complex I’m sure a psychologist would be pleased to analyze.

What sites, blogs, or artists are you thankful for their inspiration they’ve provided you over the years?

Charles:
I spend a lot of time on Brand New by UnderConsideration. It’s my favorite place to see new rebrands and motion graphics. In terms of artists and companies there are a ton I look up to in their various ways, but I’ve always been inspired by Seb Lester, In House Intl., Stefan Sagmeister, Aaron Draplin, and Karin Rytter.

Jordan:
Of course I’m thankful for the sites that show good design and provide amazing inspiration (Awwwards, Brand New, etc.) But I learn a lot not only from other successes but from the not-sucesses as well. I learn a ton by dissecting what doesn’t work and realizing where they went wrong so that I can hopefully avoid it in the future. Pay attention to poor ux as well. It can also give amazing inspiration.

Christine:
Whenever I get stuck in a design, I like to head over to Dribbble to gain some inspiration. Although I know some of it is not realistic in actual execution, there’s something so satisfying about just being able to browse some good designs. I love having a community where we can celebrate design work together.

Who is a professor or mentor from your training and career that you’re thankful for and why?

Tyler:
Definitely my Graphic Design professor Erich Doubek. I was terrible at design in school. He continually tried to guide me in the right direction and coax any amount of taste and skill out of me that he could. When things eventually clicked years after graduation we continued to chat periodically as my career was taking off.

Jordan:
I’m thankful for this random guy who I met years ago at a company that had two, maybe three offices without any windows. He gave me a shot right out of college even though I had zero ux experience and taught me a ton through the years. Also turned out to be one hell of an ally on several occasions.

Also, that one professor who failed 50% of my Graphic Design II class. I learned so much from her critique and insight as a student even though I was terrified of her.

Charles:
I’m particularly thankful to Professors Patrick Hogan and Bethany Armstrong who taught me a lot of what I needed to know at SCAD. I learned very practical ideas about typography and UX design that I still employ to this day.

Christine Z:
When I was first starting to learn about UX/UI, I joined an online course and connected with my mentor Nicolas. He was instrumental in helping me learn the foundations of design and guided me to the career I have today. I am forever thankful for his support and mentorship as he has even continued to help me with career advice beyond the course.

What at RocketReach are you thankful for?

Christine:
Definitely the people. No matter who I collaborate with across the company, everyone is always so helpful and collaborative. I’m always excited to get the chance to work on new projects with different people across the company. There’s always so much positive energy that transfers to a productive environment.

Charles:
The culture is a huge plus. The fact that the company culture continues to be so collaborative and low-ego has made working here a real joy all these years. It’s also been a massive boon to have Tyler join the team and lead from a creative perspective. His insights and ability to level set have been massive for the design voice of the company.

Jordan:
The culture that is the foundation to having such an amazing group of co-workers to work with. When a company prides itself on supporting a great work environment, it tends to attract equally great people. It has been a pleasure this past year working for RocketReach.

Tyler:
I think my team summed it up pretty well. The people at RocketReach are all a joy to work with. There is a reason this place takes home a lot of culture based awards every year.

What food are you looking forward to most over the holidays?

Tyler:
I present my holiday food power rankings -

1. Stuffing
2. Biscuits
3. Gravy
4. Mashed potatoes
5. Turkey
6. Apple Pie
7. Green Bean Casserole
8. Eggnog
9. Honey Ham
10. Carrots

Christine:
The food I’m looking forward to most is stuffing that is made from Boudin sourdough bread. There’s something unique about having that sourdough flavor mixed in with the traditional spices. This mixed with the classic turkey and gravy is something that I always crave during the holidays! I’m already getting hungry thinking about it.

Charles:
I’ve never been a big turkey person, so every year my fiancee and I make coq au vin for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, this is the first year in about a decade we’re not spending Thanksgiving together, so I’m both excited and terrified to report that I’ll be attempting to make it alone for the first time this year for my family. I really hope it goes well.I’m also just excited for whatever magic my dad will manage to cook up. It’s all Xi’an food which may not fit the Thanksgiving mold, but eating my dad’s food is always a treat.

Jordan:
The only thing I can contribute to Thanksgiving dinner is my homemade cranberry sauce. I don’t even have a recipe (which drives my family crazy) so the spices remain a mystery. Humbly, it is one of the best cranberry sauces.

Anything or anyone else you’re thankful for that you’d like to give a special holiday shout out to?

Tyler:
My team! You all produce awesome work and I am very proud of what we have built here at RocketReach.

Christine:
I wanted to give a special shoutout to Tyler, Jordan, and Charles! I’ve learned so much from every single one of them this year and I’ve enjoyed every single minute of it. I couldn’t ask for a better team to help me learn and grow as a designer. Excited to see what the next year will bring us!

Charles:
While my coworkers this year have been such a joy to work with, I’d really like to take a moment to shout my mother out. She’s returning to America after along time away and her lack of presence has been very, very sorely missed. I’m so excited to have her stateside again I can hardly contain it.

Jordan:
Control+z, Command+Control+3, and auto-save.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. If you have questions or topics you’d like to see us tackle, let us know. ux@rocketreach.co.