My 2022 work year in review
Inspired by Anton Sten and Hampus Jakobsson I wanted to do a review of the past year. Mostly to reflect and remind myself what has happened, but happy if anyone finds it useful. 🤷♀️
Using Linkedin and my camera roll to remind myself, this is what happened in my 2022 work year:
Q1
Dagrofa
I started my year working for Dagrofa, a large retail company controlling and distributing different franchise supermarkets. Dagrofa just started its digital transformation journey and I joined a small early-stage team just starting to define and explore their purpose within the organisation.
I love these kinds of setups, being the small fish within a massive tank and I really enjoyed working with the people there.
Some of the (most fun) things I did with the team:
- Facilitated ideation workshops
- Interviewed different user groups to identify needs and pains
- Developed Figma prototypes to test concepts with users
- In-store testing to learn how products are being used in real life
Q2
Kika Colors
I took most of April and May off from freelance work to focus on my side business, Kika Colors, which in general took a lot of my time in 2022. A business and brand I’ve been super proud of having built on the side, but it also deserved a lot more than we were capable of giving it and in October we decided to start the process of closing down the company.
Noa Ignite
In May I spent a week with Noa Ignite and DSB Digital Labs. The team from the Lab had prepared a sprint for us using Futures Thinking methodologies — A way to work towards a desired future instead of searching for a current problem.
We developed a concept to make workplaces more inclusive. Which we prototyped and tested with colleagues. This was such a fun week and project, loved the pace and the team!
Q3
EQL
From May till September, I worked with EQL, a healthcare startup focused on physiotherapy and different tools for patients and clinicians.
I joined their product team as the first and only UX designer and worked on various projects and products. The team is fully remote and I worked from a shared co-working space in Copenhagen. We did many different projects while I was there:
- UX audits of their products to identify low-hanging UX improvements
- Developed Figma prototypes to test concepts with users
- Implementing design improvements with developers and clinicians
My favorite part was being able to meet everyone in London to facilitate a design workshop with everyone in the room.
Q4
DAY21
The last three months of 2022 I spend with DAY21, a young digital design agency specialised in research, strategy and design. It was super refreshing to join a group of people working physically together after many months of remote work.
I joined a team working with a client of theirs, within insurance. A field I have never worked with before, so I enjoyed the steep learning curve and the complexity of the business and project. Together with the team I:
- Developed prototypes in Figma
- Tested prototypes with users
- Presented user needs and pains to product owners and the business
- Delivered designs to developers
And worked together on a daily basis with a young team finding their way within agile.
My biggest takeaway from 2022
Having closed down my side business, Kika Colors, 2023 will be with a clear focus on myself and my UX career. My biggest takeaway from 2022 is that being around people and feeling part of a team is the most important thing for my well-being and the quality of my work. Therefore this will be my guidance and priority for projects in 2023.
I don’t fully know what that means or what it will bring, but I’m excited and optimistic.
