The Basics of User Experience Design

User Experience: How a person, the user, feels about interacting with, or experiencing a product. User experience is a user-centered approach to solving design problems. UX designers merge usability and craft to solve problems for all aspects of a product, service, community, or an individual person’s needs.
Product: a good (video game controller, app, website, etc), service or feature Good Experience: a product must be:

• Usable - making something easier to use. the design must be clear to everyone
• Equitable - need to consider everyone who might use a product; must consider the unique needs of different people
• Enjoyable - create a positive connection between the user and the product
• Useful - solve the users problems

Equitable: designs are useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities

Why UX?: When people like a product, they use the product a lot & the recommend it to thier friends. More use == better business. Businesses that focused on good usability and design performed better than their competitors.

Jobs in the Field of User Experience

What are UX designers like? free associating UX characteristics: have a ‘good eye’, creative, empathetic
Empathy: the ability to understand someone else’s feelings or thoughts in a situation. In order to desing equitably, we need to be able to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and imagine what that person might think or feel in a given situation.

What do UX designers do?
Interaction Designers: focus on designing the expereince of a product and how it functions. focus on how to make the product easy to navigate and simple for users to interact with
Visual Designers: focus on how the product or technology looks. focus on the layout of each page or screen and make all the design elements fit together in a visually appealing way
Motion Designers: focus on what it feels like for a user to move through a product and how to create smooth tansitions between pages
VR/AR Designers: how do we create user experience that leverages 3D space. how do we ensure that users are comfortable immersing in VR or AR experiences

Not considered UX:
Graphic Designers: create visuals that tell a story or message. focus on the physical appearance of a product whereas UX designers focus on how users interact with a product.

Common collegues for UX Designers:
UX Researcher: conduct the studies or interviews that help us learn how people use a product. explore usability of products, identify pain points that users are experiencing and make. understand how a product can provide a solution to a real problem that users face.
UX Writer: think about how to make the language within a product clearer to make use more intuitive.
Production Designers: make sure the first and final designs match in the finished project materials and that the assets are ready to be handed off to the engineering team.
UX Engineers: translate the design’s intent into a functioning experience
UX Program Managers: ensure clear and timely communication so that the process of building a useful product moves smoothly.

The Product Development Lifecycle

Product Life Cycle: how a new product moves from ideation to final product

• Brainstorm - thinking of the idea for a product. a diverse brainstorming team is key to effective brainstorming because it brings together a lot of different lived experiences. this is a great time to check out your competition and see what is close to your product idea…what can be improved on…
• Define - the goal is to figure out the specifications for the product. Who is the product for? what problem does it solve? User research will help determine the problems that need to be addressed by the product’s design.
  
• Design - UX designers may build out the ideas for the product: from wireframe to prototype. UX writers may decide labels. the goal is to try to include all the product specifications that were outlined during the define stage while keeping the user’s need in mind
  
• Test - a functional prototype is developed…now to test it..gathering and implementing feedback is critical. the design/test steps iterate until there is little to no friction between the product and the user
  1. beta testing - test the product internally
  2. test with stakeholders - does the product align with a company’s vision
  3. external testing with potential users - does the product provide a good user experience
• Launch - the product is released!

Design for a Good User Experience

Predicting user roadblocks and potential design mishaps is what good UX design is all about.
Poor UX can happen when the user’s experience is not considered in a product’s design.
For the user to have a good experience, the product must be usable, equitable, enjoyable and useful (among other things).
Good UX should create products that are intuitive and easy to use.

Is it Good Design? Well, yeah.

what Googlers say about good product design good design == as little design as possible
applying creativity that is considerate of others, in places where you don’t expect it.
it does the job it needs to do without trying to be anything else good design is when every element has a purpose. Nothing is for nothing.
good design is a partnership between a voice and the vehicle of expression.
good design is a healthy mix of the familiar and the future.
simple, accessible and infallible.
when something is expressed so simply and effortlessly that it passes for common sense.
good - even outstanding - design is mindful of matters concerning equity, the environment, the economy, and human development.

Explore Jobs in UX

Typical Responsibilities of entry-level UX Designers
Wireframing, prototyping. researching and creating information architecture are all common responsibilities of an entry-level UX designer, but communication is also very very key.

• Researching - understanding audiences and learning about their backgrounds, demographics, motivations, pain points, emotions, and life goals
• Wireframing - An outline or a sketch of a product or a screen
• Prototyping - An early model of a product that demonstrates functionality. Prototypes illustrate progressions.
• Creating Information Architecture - The framework of a website or how it’s organized, categorized and structured.
• Communicating Effectively

“…identifying the problems. What are the issues going on with this product?…and why are we even looking to improve or introduce this feature? ……You’re going to be interacting with everybody on your team…(how you) get the feedback that you really need to be able to push your project to success”

Specialists, generalists and T-shaped designers

• Generalist - A UX Designer with a broad number of responsibilities. A generalist might be responsible for a combination of user research, branding, user flows, UX writing, visual design, prototyping, production design, information architecture, and usability testing …etc.
  • expand your skills in many different types of UX work
  • trying a variety of responsibilities and finding areas of UX that you are particularly passionate about
  • keeping your job fresh feeling while doing a variety of tasks.
• Specialist - Expert in one thing. Dives deep into one particular UX design role, like interaction, visual or motion design.
  • focus on one type of design that you enjoy more than others
  • gain deep knowledge of one type of design
  • become well-known in the industry for your expertise in a particular type of design
• T-shaped Designer - An expert in one thing and capable in a lot of other things. Specializes in one kind of UX design and has a breadth of capabilities in other areas.

“…as a generalist designer you work on a bunch of different things from interaction design and visual design to user research…at bigger companies there are specialist designers. For instance, at Google, there are interaction designers, visual designers, UX engineers, UX writers and UX researchers.”

The Role of a Beginner UX Designer

• User Research - understanding the people who use your product
• Information Architecture - deciding how your product is organized and structured
• Wireframing - a sketch of a product or screen
• Prototyping - an early model of a product that demonstrates its functionality
• Visual Design - a focus on how the tech will appear.
• Effective Communication - communicate with colleagues in a highly collaborative field

Work in a cross-functional team

• Product lead - decides the scope of the project. in charge of ensuring the final product’s success and communicating with stakeholders
• UX Researcher - Tries to understand user trust. what do user need and expect from a product.
• Interaction Designer - figures out the flow of the product
• Visual Designer - thinks about how to visually facilitate user-product interaction
• Engineers - bring the prototypes to life. translate designs into functioning experience. Is a design technically feasible?
• Program Manager - ensures clear and timely communication across the team. supervise, support and keep track of the project as a whole.

Understand the Types of Companies that hire UX Designers

UX Design jobs at different types of companies

• Startups are new businesses that want to develop a unique product or service and bring it to market; likely be a generalist.
• Freelancers work for themselves and market their services to businesses to find customers.
• Advertising agencies are teams of creatives hired by clients to build marketing campaigns.
  
• Design Agencies are a one-stop shop for the ‘look’ of brands, products and services.

Start-ups & Small Businesses
- Advantanges: close-knit team w/ access to upper management, growth opportunities through exposure to different opportunities, more creative freedom and lots of impact on final products
- Disadvantages: fewer mentors around, not a large UX team so those responsibilities will all fall on you, must work fast
Big Companies
- Advantages: lots of mentorship, growth opportunities because UX gets stratified there, clear work guidelines, larger UX team size, more opportunities to specialize
- Disadvantages: might not feel like you have a lot of impact, guidelines can feel restrictive
Design Agencies
- Advantages: lots of impact, networking opportunities with exposure to clients, work that can look good in a design portfolio
- Disadvantages: lack of UX mentorship, work can be repetitive, might not work on project start to finish and if you finish it might not actually release
Advertising Agency
- Advantages: autonomy, ability to do multi-disciplinary work, variety of projects with networking opportunities
- Disadvantages: might not be able to buckle down and specialize, might not be able to focus on solely UX Design
Freelancers - Advantages: live your own damn life
- Disadvantages: lack of structure, instability, lack of mentorship, basically have to lead your own one person business.

Pursue a Career in UX Design

Common career paths for UX designers:

• Internships - a short term job with limited responsibility
• Apprenticeships - provide on-the-job training to help you develop real skills
• Freelancers - work for themselves and market their services to businesses to find customers
• Entry-level jobs - roles that do not require prior experience in the field

“Persistence was a lot of it; and also not being afraid to ask others or to look for other inputs and resources. You can’t do and solve everything by yourself”

Define the user, end user, and user experience

user: any person who uses a product
end user: the specific audience a UX designer creates something for
user experience: how a person, the user, feels about interacting with, or experiencing, a product

• Is the product easy to use?
• Is the product equitable?
• Does the product delight the user?
• Does it solve the user’s problem?

OUR GOAL: think about the problems and needs from the end user’s perspective and design an experience to meet those needs. KEEP THE END USER AS YOUR PRIORITY.

Prioritize the user

User-centered design: it’s important to solve problems that people actually experience, rather than trying to solve problems that you personally experience. User-centered design puts the user front and center.
“There is no substitute for personally watching and listening to real people” - Larry Page, Google
FOCUS ON THE USER AND ALL ELSE WILL FOLLOW

Steps in the user-centered design process:

• Understand - how does the user experience the product or similar product
• Specify - what are the end user’s needs
• Design - design solutions to the end user’s problem
• Evaluate - evaluate the product’s performance against the end-users needs

Iteration: doing something again, by building on previous versions and making tweaks

Key Frameworks in UX design

framework: creates the basic structure that focuses and supports the problem you’re trying to solve

Examples of frameworks:

• User centered design process - focus on the user and their needs in an iterative process. how does the experience of interacting with the product make the user feel

  Key Steps:

  • Understand how the user experiences the product - requires research to understand how and in what environment the user experiences the product
  • Specify the user’s needs - which problems are most important to solve
  • Design Solutions - come up with ideas/designs
  • Evaluate the solutions you designed and the user’s needs - does the design solve a user’s problem?

  Guiding Principles:

  • Design for the users and their needs - keep in mind that you are not the end user. rather, you are designing to help a diverse set of humans with specific needs
  • Make your copy conversational - text should be simple, friendly and easily accessible in tone
  • Present all information clearly - users should be able to navigate your product design easily
  • Acknowledge user actions - let users know when they have completed a task correctly
  • Offer support - make sure there is help for frustrated users

• five elements of UX design framework - steps a designer takes to turn an idea into a working product

  • Strategy - foundation step: define user’s needs and business objectives
  • Scope - determine what you are building. decide on features and content to be included in the product
  • Structure - how to organize your design and how the user will interact with it.
  • Skeleton - layout
  • Surface - top level: how the product looks to the user

• design thinking framework - a way to create solutions that address a real user problem and are functional and affordable

  • Empathize - think and feel like the user, what do the users need?
  • Define - define a clear problem statement, or, what user needs must be met.
  • Ideate - brainstorm as many solutions as you can. quantity, quantity, quantity
  • Prototype - build a scaled down version of the product
  • Test - test the prototypes with users

• Lean UX - focuses on reducing wasted time and resources and producing a workable product asap. Lean UX is all about following intuition, putting ideas out there and staying open to constant feedback Steps:

  • Think - research and form a clear idea of who the product is for and how it will help them
  • Make - start designing: sketches, wireframes, and prototypes
  • Check - find out how users respond to your design and make adjustments
  • (iterate?)

  Principles:

  • Move forward - focus on the necessities; dont get tied up in nice-to-haves
  • Stay curious - use feedback to improve design
  • Test ideas in the real world - use prototypes in the wild
  • Externalize your ideas - turn ideas in to physical, viewable & testable tools to test on users at early stages
  • Reframe deliverables as outcomes - focus on creating usable, enjoyable products that users actually wand and need
  • Embrace radical transparency - be honest with teammates

• Double Diamond: a more traditional UX process with 2 main phases: Research and Design
  Steps:

  • Discover the problem - gather info
  • Define the problem - filter data to see what the main issue is that your product will solve
  • Develop solutions for the problem - use wireframes and prototypes to build out your product
  • Deliver the product - review & test in preparation for release

  Principles:

  • Focus on the user
  • Communicate - text, imagery & design choices
  • Collaborate - Double Diamond is unique because it encourages creative collaboration and co-creation
  • Iterate - magic is in the revision. with every iteration, you give the user a new experience

Inclusivity: keeping users first in your design Universal Design: “One size fits all” The process of creating one product for users with the widest range of abilities and in the widest range of situations. Problem: even though universal design had the intention of being inclusive, it excluded a lot of people. Universal design does not meet the needs of every user.
Inclusive Design: “Solve for one, extend to many” Finding design solutions to meet different needs. take into personal identifiers like: Ability, Race, Economic Status, Language, Age, Gender. Back to the front mentality.
Accessibility: Designing products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities is called accessibility.
Equity-focused Design: Designing for groups that have been historically underrepresented or ignored when building products. providing different levels of support and opportunity for each person in order to achieve fair outcomes. seeks to build products that meet the needs of specific individuals in groups who have been excluded in the past.
Equality: Providing the same amount of opportunity and support. Equity (UNICEF): all children have an opportunity to survive, develop, and reach their full potential without discrimination, bias or

Equity is distinguished from equality. The aim or equity-focused policies is not to eliminate all differences so that everyone has the same level of income, health and education. Rather, the goal is to eliminate the unfair and avoidable circumstances that deprive children of their rights.

Importance of Accessibility

Accessibility: ‘a11y’ the design of products, devices, services or environments for people with disabilities.
A11y categories:

• Motor
• Deaf or hard of hearing
• Cognitive
• Vision When designers focus on accessibility considerations, cognitive, visual, motor, and hearing impairments are the four main categories. However, it is important to remember that these categories can be concurrent.
  As designers, we need to account for disabilities that are permanent, temporary or situational in our designs.

Key Takeaway: If we make the design of a product easier for people with disabilities, we also often make it a better experience for everyone else.

1. Design for Global Accessibility Part I

• Awareness is everything: increase awareness of accessibility issues and check your assumptions about users

2. Design for Global Accessibility Part II

• Consider logistics during the design process. build great UX for modest devices, intermittent networks, data costs

3. Design for Global Accessibility Part III

• Make tactical decisions to build inclusive apps.

Google’s Accessibility guidelines for Material Design

The importance of Equity-Focused Design

focus on race & gender

Equity-focused Design: Thinking through all the aspects of a designed product and making sure the product is both accessible and fair to all genders, races and abilities. Plus, the designs need to specifically consider underrepresented and excluded groups.
testing with a diverse set of users can truly improve a product.

Design for the Next Billion Users (NBU)

Issues facing the NBU:

1. Cost - might not be able to afford expensive phones with big screens and lots of storage.

• under the hood choices can be made to make an app more data efficient

2. Connectivity - might not have continuous internet connectivity.

• design choices should be made to make the offline content as close to the online as possible

3. Digital Literacy - users may be unfamiliar with the design patterns typical of digital devises. this may affect user confidence and willingness to explore a new technology

• keep things simple. consider optional how-to or FAQ

4. Literacy (general) - some users might not be able to read or communicate in the language the technology presents in.

• use universally understood icons. multilanguage keyboard options.

“The strange thing about UX design is that you won’t really notice it is it’s good design. You only really notice it when it’s bad design”

The advantages of UX design tools

• Tools allow designers to prototype ideas and iterate on them
• Tools make it easier for designers to test their prototypes
• Design tools make it possible for multiple teams to work on the same product

We will be using Figma and Adobe XD for wireframing and prototyping
Wireframe: is an outline or a sketch of a product or a screen. Wireframes help designers figure out how a page is arranged, where each piece of a product fits in with the others, and how users will likely interact with the product.
Prototype: is an early model or a product that demonstrates functionality

Presentation Tools: Google Slides, PowerPoint, Keynote, etc…..
Image creation / manipulation tools: Adobe Illustrator (vector drawings), Adobe Photoshop (raster images)
Animation Tools: Lottie, Adobe After Effects

Get to know platforms

Why do designer need to keep different platforms top of mind as they build user experiences.
Platform: the medium that users experience your platform on (desktop, laptop, mobile, tablet, wearables (smartwatch) TVs & other smart displays). It’s important to design with multiple platforms in mind, because users want a product to look and feel similar, no matter what platform they are using.
Brand Identity: The visual appearance and voice of a company.

Design for Different Platforms

learn how users engage with different devices.
People use different platforms different ways. Ex: the average mobile session is 72sec while the average desktop session is 150sec.
The design differences we need to consider based on the devices we are designing for.
Responsive web design: allows a website to change automatically depending on the size of the device.
Best practices for designing for mobile user experiences:

1. call-to-action buttons should be front and center
2. navigation menus should be short and simple
3. rely on gestures that users are already familiar with (tapping, swiping)
4. design for horizontal and vertical phone orientations
5. reduce visual clutter

Considerations for other platforms:

• Screen size - adjusting design elements to fit different screen sizes
• Interaction - ways users interact with each platform
• Content Layout - the way information is organized on the screen
• Functionality - different functional uses for for different platforms

The four Cs of designing for multiple platforms:

1. Consistency - companies may have specific design guidelines that need to be followed to stay consistent with brand identity
2. Continuity - users can maintain their content as they move from one platform to another
3. Context - when and how do users interact with different features on different platforms
4. Complementary - make sure that the design of each platform adds something new for the user

Main Takeaway: users behave differently depending on their device

Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology: any products, equipment and systems that enhance learning, working and daily living for people with disabilities.

• Color Modification - High-contest (light or dark) mode for people with low vision
• Voice Control - Alternative to tactile interactions (e.g. keyboard use)
  • Switch an assistive technology device that replaces the need to use a computer keyboard or a mouse
• Screen Readers - reads aloud any on screen text
• Alternative Text - translates a visual user interface to a text space user interface

“Diefference helps us think creatively and helps us see gaps in our products”

There are a lot of people who don’t identify as having a disability but still use assistive technologies

Understand Design Sprints

How does something go from a design challenge to an actual user-centered product?
Design Sprint: a time-bound process, with five phases typically spread out over five full 8hr days. The goal of design sprints is to solve a critical design challenge through designing, prototyping, and testing ideas with users. Design sprints can be used to answer questions, define product directions, figure out cross team strategies and even build team culture.
Design Sprint Phases:

1. Understand
2. Ideate
3. decide
4. Prototype
5. Test

Design Sprint Benefits:

• Save time
• Create a path to bring a product to market
• Prioritize the user
• Test product before launch

Do you need to do a design sprint?:

• Are there many potential solutions to the challenge?
• Are cross-functional teams needed to weigh in?
• Is the challenge wide enough in scope?

Design Sprint Phases:

Creative collaboration is at the core of every phase.

1. Understand - get a clear picture of the design challenge
2. Ideate - coming up with ideas and building off of them to create solutions
3. Decide - evaluate the options and chose the idea(s) most likely to achieve the goal
4. Prototype - build versions of the app
5. Test - put the prototype in front of users. Observe & gauge reactions.

Design Sprint Benefits:

• Save time
• Create a path to bring a product to market
• Prioritize the user - it’s all about the user. the users ultimately decide if your product works
• Lower risks - test product before launch on real users
• Value everyone in the room - every opinion no matter what seniority can contribute
• The best ideas will rise to the top - after careful consideration of all options
• Time to focus - design sprints are a distraction free time dedication to a problem
• Versatile scheduling - sprints can be scheduled at any point during a project

Learn about Design Sprints at Google

Planning Design Sprints

1. User Research User research is always the first step in any sprint planning process. Research should focus on the user problems you’re trying to solve during the sprint.
   
2. Call the Experts schedule short talks with colleagues or industry experts.
   
3. Find the right Space does the space allow employees equal opportunity to perform their job? important things: whiteboards, acoustics, accommodations & comfort.
   
4. Gather Supplies does everyone have what they need to participate? markers, sticky notes, snacks, water etc.
5. Establish Sprint Rules set the tone for the sprint and get everyone on the same page.
6. Plan Introductions sprints usually have cross-functional teams
7. Post-Sprint Planning followup & accountability! what will happen after the sprint wraps up?..

The Design Sprint Brief

Sprint Brief - a document that you share with all your attendees to help them prepare for the sprint. Design Sprint Brief Template

1. Sprint Objectives - introduce the team to the sprint objectives
2. Key Deliverables - what does the team actually want to create by the end of the sprint
3. Logistics - where, what, who & who is the sprint master
4. Approvers - the higher ups that will sign off on the project
5. Project Overview

• Current state of the project
• Roadblocks
• Early wins
• Estimated launch plan

6. Schedule - hour by hour breakdown of the sprint

An entry level designers role in a sprint

you won’t be running the show, but you’ll play an important role, contributing to every phase of the sprint.

1. Understand - get a clear picture of the design challenge and listen to the experts
2. Ideate - focus on coming up with as many ideas as possible and put them out there
3. Decide - get involved in the decision process. also, get ready for testing….(schedule testers, create surveys & interview questions, gather necessary equipment)
4. Prototype - get actively involved in creating a prototype for users to try out.
5. Test - collect user feedback by observing and collecting user feedback.

“Validating ideas with users is baked into the design sprint process”
“Getting started is more important than being right”
“Assumptions are OKay”
“You’re probably wrong the first time… often we need to fail to find the right way to go”
“Sprints at their core are about inclusivity”
“It’s always important to understand who your participants are and to make sure that this overall experience is thoughtful”

Design Sprint Retrospectives

Restrospective: A collaborative critique of the team’s design sprint. There is no particular agenda. The goal is for everyone who was involved in the design sprint to have a chance to give feedback. Retrospectives are all about empowering, not shaming. Any feedback that is given will be used to reflect on the experience and improve the process for the next sprint.

• What went well?
• Which tools saved the most time and effort?
• When did you feel the most satisfaction?
• What helped you make your best contribution to the team during this sprint?
• What can be improved? Annonymize feedback collection to shape the feedback so as to avoid groupthink. Groupthink occurs when one person shares an opinion and everyone immediately latches to this idea instead of sharing their own unique outlook.
  • What went wrong that caught you off guard?
  • Which problems came up the most?
  • when do you think we experienced the biggest challenge as a team?
  • Did the team overestimate or underestimate the work required to complete the design?
  • Did an external factor derail your productivity?
  • Most important: does the final design actually solve the user problem?
• Lessons Learned
  • What did you discover during the sprint that you’re still wondering about?
  • How could the current process be holding the team back from creating better solutions?

Takeaways - The only bad suggestion is the one not shared!

Introduction to website builders

WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get

• Wix
• Squarespace
• Webflow

Domain: Address of your own website

Elements to include for a portfolio site

1. Name and personal logo
2. Navigation Menu
3. Work Samples
4. ‘About Me’
5. Contact Information
6. Color Scheme

Introduction to Best Practices for UX Design Portfolios

Pro-tips:

1. Establish your Personal Brand your personal brand is the way in which your personality, unique skills, and values as a designer intersect with your public persona. Your personal brand is the first impression you make; it should clearly demonstrate who you are and what makes you interesting
   
2. Tell a Story of your design process from the beginning middle and end
3. Be Concise use minimal text to describe your work and highlight key insights that help inform your decisions.
   
4. Keep you Navigation Simple and Intuitive: where Navigation is the way users get from page to page on a website. there should always be an option to home, and projects should flow from one to the next, there should be an easy and obvious way to the contact page
5. Go beyond the Template - change any/all default text. get your own domain name.
6. Include a diversity of Projects - 3-6 projects that show the range of your skillset.
7. Feature Case Studies where a Case study leads the user through your design process from the beginning to the end.

• should ask: What was the problem you were trying to solve? What process did you follow? Where did you succeed or fail? What insights informed your design decisions along the way? What was the ultimate solution, and why do you feel that solution was the best?
  
• should include: the Projects name & duration, your role/contribution, project goal, research, intended audience, sketches or wireframes, user testing results, final design, conclusions about what you learned

8. Website is Responsive - compatible on many platforms
9. Test Your Website - make sure it functions properly

Non-disclosure agreement - a contract an employee might sign when working with a business, in which they agree not to share sensitive information.

If you add new pieces to your portfolio as you build them, you’ll be in much better shape when it’s time to apply for jobs

Collecting Portfolio Elements

• Scan anything on paper with a printer
• Sreenshot wireframes and prototypes
• Get Permission

Explore Personal Brands

Showcase the type of work you want to do

Figuring out your personal brand

• What am I naturally good at?
• What have I learned to do well?
• What do I enjoy?
• What do I value?
• How do other people describe me and my talents?
• What do I want people to recognize me for?

Think about how you can bring your self-perception and public perception closer together. Your brand should be consistent everywhere you have a presence online. When it comes to building your personal brand, consistency is key. Being consistent in how you present yourself personally and professionally communicates authenticity and builds trust among people in the design community.

Start to develop a personal brand

• Create a personal logo
  
• Make the most of Fonts and Colors
• Keep you voice consistent
• Use graphics, animations and photography. Imagery is a great way to cultivate your personal brand
• Be yourself

An effective way to present your brand is in the form of a personal statement—a one or two-sentence phrase that describes what you do and what you stand for. This template will help you focus on your personal brand statement. A personal statement is a great way to introduce yourself as a designer and can help you stand out from others. Think of your personal statement as your tagline or slogan and keep it one or two sentences in length. Your personal statement communicates your brand and can be an important element in your portfolio.

Personal Brand Statement Think of your personal statement as your tagline or slogan and keep it one or two sentences in length. Your personal statement communicates your brand and can be an important element in your portfolio.
MINE: Visual Neuroscientist with her eye on UX Research

‘About Me’ statement:

• What do you think your potential employers and recruiters want to know about you?
• What are you hoping for them to learn about you?
• What kind of work do you do?
• What you’re passionate about, or things you value
• What kind of work culture are you seeking?
• Where you work currently and if your job is in a related field
• What types of teams you have worked on in the past (remote, in-person, freelance)
• Your credentials (like this certificate) and additional education
• Any notable clients, projects or awards
• Contact Information: email links to relevant pages & profiles
• A picture or two of yourself that captures and communicates your personal brand

Choosing fonts and a color scheme:

• Choose fonts and colors that are aligned with your personal brand
• Stick to no more than two fonts
• Select a small set of colors. To start, choose one or two primary colors and a couple of accent colors

Start to build an online presence

How to build a cohesive and consistent presence online.
Personal Statement: A one or two-sentence phrase that describes what you do and what you stand for.
As a best practice, your photos should be consistent when posted across social media platforms.

Create or update social media profiles

Use LinkedIn to connect with recruiters in the UX design industry. Add a note to your connection request that you’re looking to learn more about the company and their job openings. Also connect with employees at a company you’d like to work for

Anything you post on social media is public facing.

Update existing online profiles: - do a google search and review the results
- make all profile pictures professional
- make personal profiles and/or albums private
- carefully review your content

Add to your portfolio:
- Include your resume
- Add links to social media profiles
- make contact information easy to find

template for connecting with someone you don’t know on LinkedIn
Hi [connection’s name],

My name is [your name.] I’m a UX designer in training, and I really like your company’s work. [It’s a good idea to reference specific projects the company’s done that you like, and why.]

I want to learn more about your role at [company name], and I was wondering if I could talk with you at some point?

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Getting involved in UX design communities

dribbble - a community of designers who want to share their work, ask for feedback, get inspiration and find jobs.
behance - very similar to dribbble
medium - designs are not the focus, rather, long-form writing about UX design, sometimes including visuals

Use writing best practices in a portfolio

Writing concisely and articulately in your portfolio.
The introduction to you and your portfolio should go above the fold on your homepage and include: name and what you do and some kinda blurb that establishes your personal brand.
Above the Fold - The content on a website that doesn’t require scrolling.
The about me section is a professional page about you tell a story about yourself (beginning, middle & end) and can include any all of these:

• kind of work you do
• Passions / values
• Current work
• Credentials / Education
• Notable Projects, Clients or Awards
• Contact Information (emails, social media, websites, address)

Include descriptions of your work in your portfolio: role in the project, your process & the final design

Network and find a Mentor

Networking - Interacting with other people to develop professional contacts and learn more about a job industry.
Think about the long term: a person you meet at a happy hour might not be able to advance your career right now, but if you keep in touch in the future, your new friend might know someone looking to hire…you never know where a connection might lead
Mentor - someone in your field who gives you advice about your career.
Most people like to help other people succeed, and experienced UX designers remember what it’s like to start their careers…don’t be afraid to seek out a mentor. You might be surprised how happy people are to help you.

Let’s have a conversation about Impostor Syndrome

Impostor Syndrome - the belief that you’re unskilled, inferior to others, or bad at your job, despite your successes.