Author: oz
-
No One Cares How Much You’re Paid
I hear and learn interesting things from UX job coaching mentees all the time. “I have 3 projects to include in my portfolio, but only 1 of them was paid.” This assumes that unpaid projects are not as valuable as paid ones. And it makes some designers feel that unpaid projects aren’t worth including in their UX portfolios.…
-
Know Your UX Terms: Common Words and Acronyms in User Experience Design
This is a guest post by Amber Stechyshyn, UX Designer and Content Fellow at Springboard. When starting out in a new field, one of the first things to adjust to is all the new terminology. Job applications are full of them, networking event attendees use them casually, and many articles assume that you know exactly…
-
The Best UX Portfolio Building Tools
Creating a UX Portfolio is hard enough. Luckily, there are a handful of tools that make the portfolio-building process much easier. Some tools are the obvious, popular ones. But I’m excited to share some “hidden gems” with you as well. My favorite UX Portfolio tools are organized in 4 different sections: Working with Text Working with…
-
How to Get People to Fill Out Your Damn UX Surveys
Surveys are a staple of research work. If you’re a UX Designer working on a product (especially a new one), it’s likely at some point you’ll have to craft a survey. I think surveys are great – they can help you gain insights quickly from many people, often for cheap free. But surveys are only…
-
How to Read 10x More Books This Year
You’ve probably read at least one book that has changed your life. For many UX designers, there are certain books that helped them decide to enter this industry. Reading books has made my life better – it has helped me transition into UX, become a better communicator, improve my health, and countless other benefits I don’t have room…
-
The Ultimate List of UX Topics All Beginners Should Know
When entering a new field, there’s usually a standard curriculum to learn. Front-end developers learn HTML & CSS. Content producers learn the basics of copywriting. But… What are UX skills UX designers should learn? Since everything about a product is technically tied to the user’s experience, it can be confusing to determine the most important topics for beginners…
-
10 Useful Questions to Ask in UX Interviews
When it comes to UX interviews, it’s easy to feel like you’re the one getting grilled. But remember, you’re interviewing the company too. You may spend a third of your life (~8 hours) for years at a job. So you might as well determine if a company is right for you. You can figure this out with some of…
-
UX Beginner Case Study: Claire Campbell’s Journey into UX
Claire Campbell’s journey into a career in UX design is a far from conventional story. Claire had no previous experience of UX design before deciding to take an online, mentored course in the subject. Unlike many UX designers, Claire did not start out as a graphic designer, or a web developer, but had already established…
-
Design Avocados
dedicated to Terri, who told me this story when I was a young whippersnapper In a previous post, I talked about a particularly challenging job assignment I had. In my darkest hour, a seasoned co-worker pulled me aside. She told me a story that left an imprint on me to this day. Now, I don’t…
-
2 Pivotal Lessons on Identity for Designers
Like many of you, I took a circuitous route that landed me in UX design. After graduating, I started my career in a management rotation program. The program consisted of 6 rotations over 2 years, meaning I was changing jobs every 4 months. As an Econ major with no clue what I wanted to do,…