Getting into the UX field with Heather | MadeFor's UX Graduate

Hi Heather! So nice you're up for doing this chat with us. Can you briefly introduce yourself?

I am Heather. I am 27. I'm working atVeriteer as an experience designer. I am from a branding and communicationsbackground, worked with design agencies, and now follow more of consultancyrole.

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You now work as an experience designer. What's the main thing you got out of the UX bootcamp?

I think being able to apply processes intomy actual day to day job. So I could take the things that we learned and,directly then start practicing them in my role, and with the client that wewere working with. I feel much more confident in my skills now. I can actuallylead conversations on UX with clients and colleagues and it boosted me as wellto keep on learning.

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I mean, I needed a little push, and now I'm really interested in a lot of topics that lie underneath UX, thanks to the bootcamp. Also another thing, communication, storytelling, I find very useful because it is one of the most important parts of my job at the moment: making sure that people are on board with the UX process and so they can see the value in it. So being able to communicate that and keep stakeholders on board.

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Awesome! What did you enjoy most about the bootcamp?

The collaborative approach. Working remotely and being able to work together, even though it was on a digitalwhiteboard, was really quite enjoyable. We split off into different groups andin smaller clusters. It's nice to get to know people and to learn moreindependently, but getting a real hands on approach and being able to practicein that kind of simulation approach to learning was good because then I could directly consider how that would work with the client.

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Great to hear that you are immediately applying your learning into the job. Speaking of - what does a daya t work look like as a UX designer?

Um, a day at work? [laughs] I could be doing anything as a UX designer! I could be creating surveys, I could be hosting some usability tests, I could have my hands into Adobe XD and just be doing wire frames or visuals. I could be creating a component library, a design system. I could be doing presentations with stakeholders.

I could be hosting workshops with stakeholders. So many possibilities! It's like, it's not just design, it's speaking to actual humans, it's going out and making sure that your product is accessible and inclusive to everyone, you're not cutting anyone out.

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Thanks for elaborating on that. We're curious - how was your overall experience with MadeFor?

My general experience with MadeFor? I think they're just lovely! It's like, it's a fun atmosphere. It's not something thatyou kind of dread going to each week. To be able to just be yourself and get toknow people with similar interests and actually apply your thinking to reallife situations was fun.

And to some take-home deliverables likedocuments and things you can download in a portal that you can log into wasuseful then to go back and think about later.

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What a nice compliment! Let's talk about aspirations. What impact on the world do you hope to have as a UX designer?

Impact on the world? As a UX designer we can hope to have? It's about making smaller changes. We all have to start thinking more ethically and more inclusive in our design practices, even when you're researching is to, to make sure that you've got all voices heard. To think about how this design might impact the future, not just this specific moment for profit.

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Spot on. What would you say to someone considering to join the UX bootcamp?

Go for it!

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