A day in the life of a product designer

What it’s really like working on an in-house design team

Image courtesy of STIL

7:30am

I wake up to the sound of my alarm and roll out of bed. I try not to hit the snooze button to avoid any grogginess. I find that working out in the morning sets me up for a productive day. So, I grab my running shoes and head out the door for a quick 20–30 minute jog around the neighborhood. This helps get my mind going in the morning.

8:30am

Time for some coffee and breakfast. And don’t forget a big glass of water. While I’m eating, I check my calendar and emails on my phone. I want to make sure I am up to speed with my schedule before I start my day. Looks like my first meeting today is a sync up with the team so I need to be ready in 30 minutes.

Image courtesy of Jakub Dziubak

9:00am

First meeting of the day is a design sync with entire team. We have syncs once or twice a week depending on how busy we are during our design sprints. I work closely with 4 designers but our entire product design team consists of about 20. It’s nice to get together with the whole group.

During the sync up, we share what we are working on, what priorities we have for the week, and any blocks we have. This helps get everyone on the same page.

10:00am

Time for a design review. I have design reviews every other week with a few other designers. These reviews are informal presentations of my designs where I ask for feedback and get critiques from fellow designers.

I always look forward to design reviews. They are low pressure meetings that help me get past any blocks. The best part is that I get to choose how I run the reviews and how they will most benefit me.

11:15am

Next up is QA (quality assurance) with the development team. I meet a few times a month with dev to ensure designs from previous sprints are working properly. This is where we look for bugs and ensure UI standards were met.

I always have a growing list of items that need to be addressed. Luckily, these meetings are very productive and help move the product forward towards excellence.

Image courtesy of Mimi Thian

12:30pm

It’s time to eat. This is where I get outside, go for a walk, and give my mind a break. And most importantly, fuel my body. There is nothing worse then getting hangry at 3pm.

1:30 pm

I start the afternoon with a 1:1 meeting with my manager. These meetings are usually informal check-ins to see how I am doing. However, a lot of the discussion we have is about development. Whether it’s reading a book or going to a design conference, this is an opportunity for me to map out a plan and continue my growth as a designer.

2:30pm

The rest of the afternoon is free. This is a great opportunity to block the rest of the day for some design work. When I find chunks of time in my schedule, I like to block off time with no distractions. Depending on where I am at in the sprint, I am ideating, exploring concepts, tweaking designs based on feedback, or prepping for concept validations with prototypes. This is where I get my best work done. Most days are filled with meetings, so finding time to do design work is crucial.

Image courtesy of Balázs Kétyi

5:00pm

Some days end earlier than others. Regardless of how busy I am, I try and sign off at a reasonable hour to avoid burn out. Being a creative, it’s best to step away from your work. This is why I try not to check emails or Teams messages during the night. This allows me to be better at my job and more productive the next day.