Hi! I am Barbara (most people call me Babsi), a User Experience Designer at MING Labs in Munich.
If I had to explain what a typical day of a UX designer looks like, I’d say that there is no such thing as a “typical” day. It highly depends on the project and which phase we are in. Currently, I’m working on a quite complex (but super exciting) data visualization tool for risk management.
7:00 am: Good Morning! 🐣
I am a coffee addict. So this is obviously my first routine of the day. There seems to be something typical in my everyday life after all.
7:30 am: Early Morning Swim 🏊♀️
Around twice a week, I start my day swimming at a nearby indoor pool in Munich’s city center. It’s quite old and posh, and it’s perfect for a swim, especially because it’s almost empty in the early morning. I am not a super sporty person, but I try getting a yoga and swimming routine going. It’s a good way for me to come down and clear my mind.
8:30 am: Sightseeing On My Way To Work ⛲
Sometimes I take the bike to the client’s office, sometimes I walk to the MING studio. Depending on where I work that day, I pass by the famous Eisbach river, where people surf already in the early morning (even during winter…brrr). When I walk to the office, I cross the Viktualienmarkt food market, which is pretty peaceful at this time of day. I love to sit down and watch people sometimes, and I like to walk through the city, taking pictures of inspiring posters or buildings.
9:15 am: Monday Morning Meeting 🤝
Today I am in the MING office, and the day starts with our MoMoMe with all the people from the local team. We come together and talk about the upcoming week, what meetings we’ll have, if there will be a release or if a cool design-related event is happening.
At 9:30, I join the daily standup with the client and project team, where we talk about today’s tasks and what everyone worked on the week before. Since I’m in the MING studio, I join via Skype.
10:00 am: Inspiration 📚
Even though I’m a UX Designer, I have a strong interest in graphic and visual design. I am constantly trying to improve my skills regarding colors, forms and grids. So almost every morning (if I have time), I’ll check out my favorite websites to gather some inspiration. And I love books about design! I found my current favorite book in a “for free” box next to the street. It’s about mostly Japanese corporate design from the early 90s.
10:30 am: Work, Work, Work 💻
Then I start working on my current project: a data visualization tool based on maps. It’s very complex and UX-heavy, but the best part is that I have a lot of responsibility. Since we often have several meetings a day and we’re two designers working in a big team very close with the devs, I am currently learning a lot about communication and organization. I’m very grateful for this because honestly, so far, talking and keeping everything organized were not my strongest skills. There’s going to be a release soon, so I am quite busy.
1:00 pm: Lunch With The MING Fam 🍜
When our schedules allow, we always sit together for lunch. Some colleagues bring their own lunch and others buy their food at places nearby (which is actually always the same restaurant because it’s sooo good).
2:00 pm: Aligning With The Team ⚙️
I have to align with the project team basically every day. We talk a lot about the current status and complexities, come together to give feedback, draw on walls, stick post-its and evaluate user feedback, but today we mostly talk about the upcoming release. I am mainly in contact with the dev team to discuss the technical possibilities and align the design, which happens in a loop until the project is ready to be released.
4:00 pm: Post-It Session…But Not Today 📝
In general, people think our walls are filled with post-its and imagine a UX designer’s typical day to be just about putting post-its on the wall. I mean, yes, we often do it, and yes, I love post-its, and our walls are normally covered with them. BUT we don’t work with them on a daily basis.
6:00 pm: Heading Home 🐱
When I come home, I’m greeted by my roommate’s cat. Next thing: dinner! After that, I spend some time chatting with my roommates about random things, mostly food. Since, in my opinion, understanding code is very important for a UX designer (at least it’s been very helpful to me), I often spend my evenings at home experimenting with data or simply coding my website; it’s always in beta.
Barbara Schussmann is UX Designer at MING Labs.
MING Labs is a leading digital business builder located in Berlin, Munich, New York City, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Singapore. We guide clients in designing their businesses for the future, ensuring they are leaders in the field of innovation.
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