Yay! I Completed My Master’s In HCI!
Here’s what I learned from the Human-Computer Interaction Design program at Indiana University
Gone are the days of the Cool Summer Intern as I move forward into my very first career experience as a full-time UX Designer. Surely, I learned a lot as a UX intern when it comes to the intersectionality of business and UX — Plus I received a pretty thorough case study for my portfolio along with a very reliable network after working for Aprimo! What more can I ask for?
Even with an internship, my previous industry experience cannot even hold a night light to the amount of life lessons and growth I gained through being a Master’s student in the Human-Computer Interaction Design program at IU. I spent the past two years bonding with my cohort, laughing, exploring new cultures and places (I went to France bro!), and gaining skills in the area of design and communication. On the contrary, I went through a lot of conflict with design teams, family, and administration along with many tears of frustration and moments where I wanted to give up. All in all, I wanted to take the time and reflect through sharing a few lessons I’ve learned from my HCI program:
Design is more than technology.
To be honest, this idea was actually beat into our brains more than I cared for it to. Constantly, our professors challenged us not to design an application or a website or anything technological in nature. More so, they challenged us to design experiences. This idea first clicked when we designed musuem experiences for our Experience Design course with Dr. Jeffrey Bardzell. We designed a venue, a service, and an exhibit all in one. Then were we able to enhance the experience with technology, but it does not solely depend on it. This experience stood out the most for me as I designed a Chance the Rapper exhibit with my teammates Sean Smith and Tian Song. The biggest lesson I have gained is that I have always been a UX Designer in my own right, all the way from the time I designed Myspace layouts in middle school or the times I planned organization events in college. User experience transcends far beyond a screen.
Design goes beyond the screen. It filters into your life.
I first heard this from my design professor, Marty Siegel. He taught us the importance of designing ourselves and iterating on our lives as we go through this program. This sounded cool in the moment, but I learned through my first semester that it was certainly true beyond what I could ever imagine. It was impossible for me to design without thinking about myself or how it would affect me. It was more impossible to learn about a new user group without seeing how my viewpoints were different. Constantly, my perpesctive was challenged, especially when working on a design team with individuals from complete different cultures. I could not always think of life as an American, as an artist, or as someone from a low-income background. I also could not always think through the lense of a black woman. I had to everyday put myself aside and embrace cultures that never even occured to me. How can I not change as a person as I’m having dinner with Chinese and Indian classmates? Never before did I have that experience. For me, being a designer took more than designing a new app experience — it took a lot of humbling and reflecting upon myself and my own views. Life changing!
Mental breaks. Take them…often.
I always learn this the hard way. I know from my psychological background that our brains can only handle so much. Every person has a breaking point. Just think, as a designer and/or researchers, we are constantly dealing with “pain points” and shortcomings of others. Something that I initially thought would be a fun and rewarding project can actually turn into an emotionally draining experience as I dig deep into the heart of others. If you are as empathetic as me, it is easy to take on others emotions over time, even if it is that of your own teammates. I had to quickly learn that it is alright to take a moment to just let go of everything and take a break. Many indidivuals in my cohort used meditation as a way to relax, which could be an awesome strategy for designers. Me, I mindlessly watch Netflix and YouTube. Lol.
I could really go on forever about what I learned as a student for in the HCI/d program, but article length rules force me to make that a future article 😁 (haha!). All in all, I learned that design is not one-dimensional and it is something that we all benefit from. As I start my new experiences as a full-time designer for Costello, I cannot help but take all the amazing experiences and the tough ones along on this new journey. Many thanks to all my professors and cohort-mates for the many lessons and “pain points” that were touched on during these past two years.
Ashley
