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The Possibilities within UX Design with Thiveya Muthu
24:39 with TreehouseSr. UX Designer Thiveya Muthu discusses their journey in UX Design, the possibilities within the field, and the fundamentals every UX professional should have.
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[MUSIC]
0:00
Hello everyone.
0:03
Our next speaker Thiveya, is a senior user
experience designer at TELUS Digital,
0:06
where she oversees the user experience for
billing and payments application.
0:10
Where she focuses on aligning product
strategy with user needs to meet
0:15
business outcomes.
0:20
She is passionate about
uncovering insights,
0:22
defining problem statements and
creating a framework for design execution.
0:25
She strongly believes in designing
environments that allow good solutions to
0:30
emerge.
0:34
Please welcome Thiveya.
0:35
>> All right, so thank you very much for
the introduction guys.
0:38
Thank you very much.
0:40
So today's topic we're
gonna be discussing for
0:43
the next few minutes is
the possibilities within UX design.
0:45
So, I'm Thiveya Muthu.
0:53
I am based Toronto, Canada.
0:55
And I have to tell you that I'm so honored
to be here with you all and want to
0:58
give a shout out to the Treehouse team for
organizing this virtual conference.
1:02
I work as a senior UX designer for
1:06
TELUS, one of the largest
telecommunications provider in Canada.
1:08
Before I became a senior UX designer,
1:12
I played various roles leading
up to my current role.
1:14
I want to take this time
to share my learnings and
1:17
observations working in different setups.
1:20
And hope this will help you all whether
you're student learning to code or
1:22
you are a UX designer IN training,
wherever you might be at your journey.
1:27
A little bit about myself, so
I moved from India at the age
1:32
of 17 to study graphic
design just by myself.
1:37
And ever since I call Canada my home and
UX and
1:41
digital industry has been my bread and
butter.
1:45
I studied graphic design program
which is a three year design program.
1:49
During my time in the design school, I
really learned to embrace design process.
1:53
I find the methods and
1:58
techniques taught during the design
discovery such as researching,
2:00
thumbnailing are still so applicable and
so relevant in the industry till date.
2:05
I learned to the fundamentals of designs
and moreover discovered my love for
2:12
finding pain points and
solving them through design.
2:15
So just like Olivia,
I do have this very similar background.
2:20
So as a graphic design student,
2:25
I landed my first job as a web
designer in a small B2B company.
2:27
And which is when I got
introduced to development.
2:32
I took on an online program which is
a three years online coaching and
2:35
I was purely a self taught person
just through online courses.
2:41
And I landed my next role which is
a front-end development role and
2:46
sash designer almost as a unicorn goal.
2:50
So yeah, so if you're a student
who is learning to code,
2:53
I can totally empathize with you.
2:57
I can totally empathize with
the Olivia where you're coding day and
3:00
night and learning new things and
new skills, but it's totally worth it.
3:03
Where I am at as the UX designer, one of
the steps that I took in my journey is
3:08
being a designer,
being a front-end developer.
3:13
And really having my hands on
everything as much as I can at
3:16
the early stage of my career.
3:21
And after that,
I took on a UX role in an agency.
3:24
As you may know, working in agency is
very different from working in house.
3:29
You'll tend to work with a lot of
different companies and you'll be exposed
3:32
to working on so many different problems
in a very, very short period of time.
3:36
I grew myself as a senior UX designer
within the same agency where again,
3:40
I was learning all
the business aspect of design,
3:46
going to purchase and
really selling the actual service.
3:50
And after that, I decided I want to
move into a product environment and
3:55
learn about those industries and
working in those type of setup.
3:59
And I moved on to be a senior UX designer
in a big corporate within a product team
4:03
in a product in which is a very much
different type of experience that I could
4:08
get So with that saying,
I was hoping we can cover
4:13
a few things to help out the new people
who are trying to research about UX.
4:20
So what are the different
roles that are out there?
4:26
So you might all know that there are tons
and tons of roles related to UX,
4:29
UX research, UX designer, UX analyst,
product designer, service designer.
4:33
We certainly don't have the time to
talk about every single one of them.
4:39
So I thought I can talk about
the idea of fitting the UX role in
4:42
the top three categories.
4:47
So the first category in
the UX industry is researcher,
4:51
the most simplest and
easy to define category.
4:55
The next is the strategist.
4:59
Strategist, again a big picture
thinking kind of group.
5:02
The next is the creators.
5:06
So this could fall pretty much like print
and developers copywriter UI designers.
5:09
And we'll talk about
each of these in a bit.
5:13
If you want to be a researcher,
the researcher usually really thinks about
5:16
uncovering, finding some
about the actual real user.
5:21
And translates those into Informed and
actionable insight which
5:25
will then the strategist and creator
will take and incorporate in their work.
5:29
They do this by combining user research
methods such as usability testing,
5:35
surveys, running tests and
analyzing the data.
5:40
They typically understand the key
concept of interaction design,
5:45
usability, feasibility,
information architecture, so
5:48
that they can collaborate effectively
with a strategist and the creators.
5:51
If you wanna become a researcher,
some of the backgrounds we want to try and
5:55
get is human computer interaction,
usability, market research,
6:00
psychology, data analytics.
6:05
I'm not telling you that go study all
of these, but obviously try to get like
6:07
knowledge in each of these backgrounds for
you to be a good researcher.
6:12
The tools that you might be using as
a researcher in your day to day life
6:18
in a research tool is usability testing,
ethnographic study,
6:24
user event interviews, focus groups,
AB testing, heatmapping,
6:28
eye tracking, analytics,
card sorting, tree testing.
6:33
There's so many tools out there.
6:38
You just have to pick and
6:40
choose what type of tool you want to, or
what type of method you want to use for
6:41
the problem you're trying to solve or
what are you trying to research on.
6:45
Again if you talk about this whole
research category, there are so
6:50
many titles out there that they're so
relevant which are researcher,
6:54
qualitative researcher,
design researcher, UX researcher.
6:59
So these are some of the title that
you might see out in the job market.
7:04
The next group is the strategist.
7:08
So these guys have a broad scope of
the work with a big picture attitude and
7:11
more often but
not always higher up in seniority.
7:16
On one hand, strategists may work as
more of an architect in charge of
7:19
producing information architecture,
7:24
creating content strategy and
mapping out task flows and user journeys.
7:27
They often create blueprints and
7:32
low fidelity wireframe to visualize
the architecture of the content and flow.
7:34
Sometimes though, the strategist can
be more of a manager and coordinator,
7:40
someone who defines
the overall strategy and
7:44
orchestrates a team in order to
deliver a positive user experience.
7:46
If you wanna become a strategist,
you wanna try and
7:51
get some background and
knowledge and user experience,
7:54
information architecture, strategy,
product management, service design.
7:57
Some of the tools that you will be end
up using our information architecture
8:03
sitemaps, task flow, user flows,
stakeholder workshops, service blueprints,
8:08
customer journey mapping,
low to high fidelity wireframes.
8:13
And again, the roles that fit into this
whole strategy category or UX design,
8:18
service designer and more recently,
the product designers.
8:23
Okay, so the next one is the creators.
8:29
So who are the creators?
8:33
So, the creators are literally
the designer of the interface's graphics
8:34
content that the user will encounter.
8:39
These styles play a distinct role and
clear capital.
8:42
Until the UX prefix comes along and
confuses everyone,
8:48
many UI designer have felt compelled
to change the title to UX UI designer
8:51
which implies they also take user's
experience in account when designing.
8:55
In my opinion,
9:00
that is just the definition of a good
designer regardless of the UX hype.
9:01
So if you wanna become a creator which is
basically being the graph UI designer,
9:06
copywriter, front-end developer,
9:11
the kind of background you wanna try and
get into graphic design.
9:14
If you're a copywriter,
just writing really good user experience,
9:19
easy to understand copy.
9:23
And if you're going to be
a front-end developer again,
9:25
like get the front-end
development background.
9:28
Some of the tools that you'll be using
on your day to day is design softwares,
9:31
creating wire frames, prototypes and
creating copy obviously.
9:35
The roles that you will see that fit into
this whole creator group is UI designer,
9:41
IXD, interaction designer,
visual designer, motion designer,
9:47
front-end developer,
content writer, UX writer and
9:52
many more Okay, so we saw the three groups
9:56
where most of all the titles can fit in or
roles can fit in.
10:01
The next thing I want to talk
about is where you practice has
10:06
defines through type
of experience you get.
10:10
So that it's as much as as
important as your role itself.
10:15
So when you're thinking about selecting
a company or places you wanna work.
10:19
Or you're thinking about a career change,
you wanna think about these criterias to
10:24
get the right type of experience
you deserve in your career.
10:28
The first thing is the work type.
10:33
Do you wanna work as a consultant or
an in-house?
10:35
If you work as a consultant,
you will work for many companies and
10:39
products in a short period of time.
10:42
The problem you will solve will
differ with every single engagement.
10:45
On the other hand, in-house, you often
work for one product and service for
10:49
a long period of time.
10:53
The second is you want to consider the
size of the company you want to work for.
10:56
If you work for a big company, your
role often will be about navigating and
11:00
collaborating with your peers and
your team.
11:03
If you work in a small company like a
startup, you often work in a very nimble,
11:06
fast paced environment and
you will be creating a lot.
11:11
You will be creating a lot of products and
new experiences.
11:15
Also, you'll end up having a very hands
on experience in areas outside your core
11:19
responsibilities, which you will again
explore with in a small scale companies.
11:25
For example, you're a designer you might
end up doing research, or sometimes you
11:31
might end up working in as data analyst,
or analyzing data in a smaller company.
11:36
The third is a project type.
11:42
You wanna think about what type of
project or product you wanna work for.
11:44
For example, some experience are in
marketing campaigns related,
11:48
which are usually a short-term
campaign focus product.
11:52
However, if you work on
a product in Weinman,
11:56
you will work on changes which
you may not the short term.
12:00
It's much of a long term experience
that you will leave the people with.
12:04
That saying, wherever we move on to
the next slide, which is like the how,
12:12
we saw about the where, and
what the user experience.
12:18
Now, it's like the how.
12:22
No matter like where you work at, what
type of role you work at, there are some
12:24
fundamentals things that you wanna hone on
as a good UX designer, or UX professional.
12:29
The first thing is the empathy.
12:36
As a UX designer, you need to get in
contact with your user as many times as
12:38
possible, and
really empathize for your user.
12:43
This includes a customer with
accessibility needs as well.
12:47
More importantly,
want to take empathy to your team,
12:50
your stakeholders, your double appointee,
help them understand that as well.
12:54
Creating a good experience,
it's a team work and
12:58
make sure you're being the voice of
the customer every step of the way.
13:02
Second thing is being curious.
13:07
As a UX designer or professional,
you want to be curious about your user.
13:09
You want to be curious about your
back end, front end technology,
13:13
as well as the business aspect of things.
13:17
Whatever you create usually is an outcome
of all of these things and having
13:20
the understanding will help you advocate
to create the best experience possible.
13:24
The next thing is self education.
13:31
Self-education is a key thing for
UX designer.
13:33
I don't mean to say that go,
take note of every single book here and
13:37
go read overnight, and
you can become a UX designer.
13:41
Definitely not.
13:45
Instead, based on where you are and
your role,
13:46
identify the gaps within your work
environment and try to pick up.
13:49
And gather knowledge in that area by
picking up a book or an online course,
13:54
or whatever,
13:58
and try to implement into practice
right away in your working environment.
13:58
Theoretical, taking
theoretical knowledge and
14:03
actually practicing it,
it has much more reward and experience.
14:07
The experience that you get
is much more rewarding.
14:12
The next thing is feedback.
14:17
As UX designer, you wan to be ready in
a subjective feedback from everyone.
14:20
You will receive feedback from your
stakeholders, your product owners,
14:25
your leaders, developers, and everyone.
14:29
Try not to take everything to your heart.
14:32
As if you need to like really develop
a patient to receive all the feedbacks and
14:34
triage them.
14:40
And get back to the people who have
the feedback, and provide them with
14:40
the rationale for your design decision,
or acknowledge them for the feedback.
14:44
That will come a long way in building
relationship and trust with your peers.
14:48
And the last thing and
14:53
final thing is you wanna be passionate
about what you're creating.
14:55
What you're creating has changed and
experience you bring in people's life.
14:59
You need to see this role more than a job
and be proud of what you're creating.
15:04
And that will have a lot of
radiant in your work, and
15:08
it help you go and build on your career,
and climb up the ladder.
15:13
With that,
we are at the end of the presentation.
15:19
We'll move on to taking some Q&A.
15:23
Let's change our slide, okay, one second.
15:36
Okay, from Justin, to consult,
what should the ideal portfolio and
15:41
job explore like to get someone that is
completely new to the field in the door?
15:48
If you're new in the industry, people
want to really see your thinking and
15:56
your ability to solve a problem
from the start and the beginning.
16:02
And do you have the idea
of what are the methods
16:07
available to you to do the research work.
16:11
Do you have the idea of
creating multiple solution and
16:15
testing it with the real audience.
16:19
And essentially showing your capabilities,
and in fact that you can think and
16:22
drive a project.
16:26
And what is very, very important for
being a consultant?
16:27
Often as a consultant, you have to think
on your feet, you're often working
16:31
with another organization and
you're representing a company.
16:36
And you need to assess your surroundings,
the stage in the project, and
16:40
you need to be able to advise people
on what needs to be done for a project.
16:45
So definitely, you're thinking,
exhibiting your thinking, and
16:49
your portfolio is key to
getting a consultant role.
16:53
How much of learning was done on the job?
16:58
[LAUGH] There is so
much learning done on the job.
17:01
As a UX designer, you will understand
that you cannot have everything upfront.
17:06
On the job you will be learning tons and
tons, and
17:11
you will be learning new methods.
17:14
You will be practicing.
17:16
You will be experimenting.
17:17
So, learning on job is like the most and
17:19
key thing as a UX designer
you'll experience.
17:22
And you'll get used to it after a point.
17:26
From Raul,
what resume projects do you recommend?
17:31
I would recommend taking on
anything that you think is relevant
17:38
in the current circumstances around you or
where you see yourself empathizing.
17:43
It could be even like as small as creating
an app for roommate's or creating an app
17:50
for, or any kind of problem you might
see around you in your own life.
17:56
And start from there, and
18:01
start to create examples from actually
being observant with your own world.
18:03
From Anna, what are some of your
suggestions in applying to jobs when so
18:11
many people apply?
18:16
How do you stand out in the application?
18:18
Okay, so
this is a very interesting question.
18:21
Just like Olivia said,
18:24
branding is a very important aspect
of standing out in the crowd.
18:26
Yes, there are so many UX designers and
professionals out there.
18:30
Brand yourself like have,
begin to get some resume help maybe,
18:35
or when it comes to your own portfolio,
see how you can make it more professional.
18:40
And get a second eyes, and
thoughts on from people around you, or
18:47
designers around you.
18:51
And see how you can brand yourself
in a way that you can stand out.
18:53
Your social presence is also a key
important aspect of finding the job.
18:57
So work on your LinkedIn presence like,
try to be active and
19:02
posting a couple of screen
postings once in a while.
19:07
Try to like, get people's attention.
19:11
And again, social media is key
part to it if you're a starter.
19:15
From Andrea, how do you get past writer's
block or anxiety when it comes to writing?
19:21
I love coding, but
I also want to dabble into designing.
19:27
I'm taking UX, UI course and
19:31
it's a lot more difficult than I thought.
19:34
The anxiety is something that
you will get used to, and
19:39
do not give up is what I would say.
19:42
As you gain experience in your industry,
as you start doing,
19:45
your anxiety will start.
19:50
Going down and down.
19:53
And you will learn to embrace
the ambiguity that you live in.
19:54
Having the patience and
learning to deal with ambiguity,
19:59
not knowing what the end result,
is totally fine.
20:03
That is a process and
part of being a UX designer.
20:06
And you will learn to do it.
20:10
And just give it a shot and
try to get like hands-on experience, and
20:12
try to get your feet into
the industry as quick as possible.
20:16
And do not worry about the anxiety.
20:20
Like you can do it.
20:23
Take a deep breath, and
you will find solutions somehow.
20:24
Okay, from Ed, what's a typical
workflow like as a UX designer?
20:32
So UX designers workflow, a typical
workflow is very hard to describe.
20:39
Because based on what type
of company you work with,
20:45
what type of setup you work with,
it will completely change.
20:49
If you're in a consultant environment,
you often are introduced to a new company,
20:54
you understand what the project is,
you understand the brief.
21:01
And you try to plan out your
UX activity on your own,
21:05
with help of the product managers or
account managers.
21:09
And you will conduct it
in secure timelines and
21:14
present it back to your clients and stuff.
21:17
But if you work in house, it's much more
easier or much more, I will not say easy.
21:21
If you work in an in house,
21:27
it's much more you're part of a team
who's trying to solve a problem.
21:29
So often it's a lot about discussions and
keeping everybody in loop on
21:35
the type of activities that you're trying
to do for that particular project.
21:40
So yeah, so it's very free flow.
21:46
You have to, based on what problem or
what project it is,
21:47
you have to pick and
choose what is right for you.
21:52
Does knowing how to code
help with UX design?
21:57
Okay, that's a very interesting question.
22:02
So knowing how to code really helped me
to think from a more developers aspect.
22:03
And really understand what is to design
something which is scalable when
22:11
it comes to coding and designing.
22:16
The scalability and responsive design,
those are the things I really
22:18
thought learning how to code came
along with and helped me out.
22:23
I would not say it's a mandatory, but
if you have the opportunity to learn or
22:28
pick up a couple of coding skills,
go for it.
22:33
Cuz it will come in handy and help you
in a later stage in your UX carrier,
22:35
where you have to have conversation with
your developers, with the backend people.
22:40
You'll have be able to have much more
fluent conversation about the calls,
22:45
about how certain things functions.
22:50
And you can challenge them too,
if you want.
22:52
So yeah, it will come a long
way if you know how to code.
22:55
And if you are interested in learning
code, pick up a couple of courses.
22:59
You don't have to get like hands-on
experience in the industry, but
23:04
having the fundamental
idea will help you a lot.
23:08
What's your typical workflow?
23:14
Okay, we covered that.
23:16
The last question.
23:19
What softwares do you recommend for
someone looking to practice UX design?
23:20
Yeah, so
there are a lot of tools out there.
23:27
The one thing that you
really wanna think about is,
23:31
more than the tools, it's about
the mindset for being a UX designer.
23:35
So from a tool aspect of things,
Figma, Sketch, InVision,
23:40
learning to use usability softwares
where you can test your designs,
23:44
those are some of the tools
that will come in handy.
23:49
But more than the tools,
it's about uncovering insights.
23:53
It's about your soft skills.
23:57
It's about not being afraid.
23:59
And looking at methods out
there which you can take and
24:01
utilize within your own carrier.
24:05
And yes, software is part of the job role.
24:08
I don't deny that at all.
24:10
But having the mindset of being a UX
designer, and not just about the software.
24:12
It's also about collaborating with people,
24:18
uncovering insight,
uncovering the pain points, and
24:22
really using the tools as a way
to validate these things.
24:26
Yeah, okay, that's it for the questions.
24:31
Thank you very much, guys.
24:34
I really appreciate your time,
and enjoy your talk today.
24:36
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