Life @ MadHive: UX Designer Edition

MadHivers are a diverse breed — from data-loving number crunchers to aesthetic-obsessed creatives. In this edition of “Life @ MadHive,” we’ll be following a member of our UX team — Shuting Jiang. Since joining MadHive as a UX designer in March 2020, Shuting has played a huge role in ensuring the MadHive platform is intuitive and easy to use. When she isn’t building new UX designs, she’s typically honing her photography skills, cuddling with her cat Ollie, and attending Broadway shows.

First, a little about Shuting:

• She grew up in Hangzhou, China but now lives in Downtown Brooklyn.
• In her free time, she enjoys traveling, attending theatrical productions, and finding unique settings for photo shoots. She’s particularly fascinated by astrophotography.
• She loves working with friends to set up exhibitions and shows. Recently, she helped establish “Happy-Go-Lucky,” an immersive art exhibit in SoHo.

9:30am
Shuting jumps out of bed and begins her day with a cup of coffee. UX design requires her to be attentive and alert, meaning her daily jolt of caffeine is non-negotiable. Her usual go-to is espresso.

10:00am
Shuting checks her Slack messages and emails to start her work day. Her cat, Ollie, sleeps across the room as she organizes her to-do list.

10:15am
Ollie becomes a staple in Shuting’s day as soon as he wakes from his slumber. He typically lounges either above or next to her desk, soaking in as much of her attention as possible.

Shuting joins her daily call with the Product team, where they discuss open tickets and new requests. Once they’ve briefed her on the day’s high priority items, she gets to work.

1:00pm
Breaking for lunch, Shuting assembles a plate of fried rice and duck. She loves cooking the authentic Chinese meals she grew up eating with friends and family.

2:00pm
Shuting finishes her lunch and gets back to designing. She throws on Spotify’s “Global Groove” playlist to help her focus as she jumps between projects.

Today one of her more pressing tasks is wireframing a new campaign measurement feature that will soon be rolled out to clients.

4:00pm
Shuting joins her team’s daily Design Sync. This regroup serves as an open forum for sharing designs and discussing long-term initiatives. Since design can be subjective, it’s important to take in multiple points of view. And Shuting finds getting feedback from her coworkers — Jacob Koesterich, UX Design Manager, and Chris Chin, UX Designer — ensures the team delivers the best possible product.

6:30pm
As Shuting’s day winds down, she seizes the opportunity to take a timelapse video of the sunset along with a few posed shots with Ollie. Her apartment’s striking view is one of her favorite parts of living in NYC.

7:30pm
With the workday in her rearview, Shuting ventures out to a new Broadway show, Pass Over. She’s ecstatic to return to seeing the live performances she’s missed dearly during Broadway’s long hiatus. She hopes to soon check out Company, Girl From The North Country, and Jagged Little Pill.

11:00pm
Shuting recently bought a new, multifunctional flashlight, so on the way home she tests it out by snapping a few pictures of her roommate and neighbors. She loves the aesthetic that the flashlight’s red filter and long exposure renders in her photos.

12:00am
Shuting decides it’s time to start her Squid Game binge after hearing a ton of buzz. She gets in bed with Ollie, turns on episode one, and relaxes before another full day ahead.

At MadHive, we know that while our adtech is powered by unrivaled engineering, our efforts would be wasted without a human-readable platform. We want to ensure that our platform is easy-to-use and intuitive for each and every client. We’re grateful to have talented UX designers like Shuting working tirelessly to ensure our platform lives up to this goal. Stay tuned for more “Day in the Life’’ posts, and check out our Careers page if you’re interested in learning more about our company.