How I became a UX designer: A love story
When the Global Pandemic started 10 months ago in March of 2020 I was at probably the lowest point in my life. I had just gone through a break up, given up on a Masters in Computer Science, and had to move back in with my parents. While my world crumbled in a humbling global lockdown I reevaluated my life and through hard work, discipline, self exploration, and sheer will power I reinvented myself as a UX Designer. This article is a programmers version of a Rocky Training montage. Here are the things I have learned while becoming a UX Designer that have changed my life, brought it meaning, and ultimately made me fall in love with UX Design.
Your Soul is an Algorithm
The most prolific advice I have learned since starting my UX journey is from a designer named Maceo Paisley saying, “Your soul is an algorithm.” It really is! It takes things from your environment in through your senses and mental processing and through some beautiful realm of subconscious outputs emotion, purpose, a sense of self, and a means of connection to other souls. Your soul was imported onto this planet and inherited from energy sources to input things and output things — soul.io.*;
Before I started designing I was studying Computer Science in Seattle. Although I liked being challenged and problem solving I couldn’t connect with my peers, I couldn’t focus, and ultimately I was bored. I was battling depression that had been crippling my life since I was seven years old. I knew I had a problem but I began questioning my ability to connect on Valentine’s Day when my boyfriend told me I had a beautiful soul and I responded with, “I don’t have one.” Oh boy.
I can now confidently say that I have a soul and I connect with it every day. Being able to connect to your soul through work is an invaluable thing. In UX Design you are able to take in research and inspiration from the market, users, and human psychology to output a world that is easier to live in, well connected, more beautiful, more fun, and just better. That whole process moves through you in a complex way that you own. Your algorithm is unique to you and as a UX Designer you get to own your work.
Learning and Unlearning — Design Like a Kid Again
My first UX position was doing UX Research at the University of Washington with kids aged 9–11. Learning a UX Research and Design foundation while designing with a vulnerable group made me realize just how much of an impact UX has on the world. In Don Norman’s Design of Everyday Things he mentions that designing for vulnerable groups can often benefit everyone and explains how OXO designed a potato peeler with a soft handle for people with arthritis which improved potato peeling for all. I take what I learned from designing with kids forward in my UX work every day.
In order to research with children we used a research process called Co-Design where both parties are considered equal design partners. Co-Design is successful while researching with kids because they like to be involved, understood, and have great ideas. I learned that Co-Design is a great way to conduct UX Research with vulnerable groups and make an impact. Moving forward, always viewing users as equals opens your mind to learning from users. There is something to learn from everyone. As a UX Designer you should always be learning about the world you are designing for.
College is really really hard. Being an adult is really really really hard. Working with kids reminded me that life should be fun! Kids also have a strong moral compass between what is right and wrong with no gray area, and if you want to design to make the world a better place its important to use your moral compass as well. Kids care about things like social justice and climate change now. Even while talking about how to connect with friends they bring up these problems in their design choices which taught me to always design with a bigger picture in mind. Life is short so we should do good things and sometimes we should just enjoy and watch YouTube videos on how to make slime.
Tell a Story — Tuning into Your Inner Artist
Designers are problem solvers, empathetic geniuses, visionaries, and artists. That is a lot of things! It is easy to get overwhelmed when you start learning how to be a UX Designer and the piece of advice that keeps me grounded is, “Your design should tell a story”. Your portfolio is a story, your research is a story, all of your designs reflect a long story.
Finding your UX voice is a lot like finding your story. In order to design with conviction you must take pride in that story. I recently finished this program called The Artists Way which is a 12-week program to help you develop your creativity and inner artist. In the program you have to write every day for 12 weeks in order to trust your inner voice. The best way to advocate for a design is to tell its story. Using your creativity is a pure form of connection with the world on every plane of your life. Whenever I design I think of the story I am telling and it brings me joy.
Finding Pride in Everything You Do
Recently I have been struggling with feeling accomplished. Looking back at where I was one year ago I have come so far and my work, emotions, health, and environment reflects the change. However, it is hard for me to feel accomplished. I recently got a new UX mentor and when I asked her what makes her feel accomplished and she said, “Your design will never be done! Each project is like a baby and even after you have the baby you need to teach the baby how to walk and eat. UX Design is never finished.”
UX Design is never finished. UX Design is literally changing the world and as long as you are working on it you have something to take pride in. This story is me finding pride in the beauty of UX and the wonderful purpose it has brought into my life. I love UX.
