1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,875 [MUSIC] 2 00:00:03,875 --> 00:00:08,741 Well, we have a wonderful Festival day to get to and we're so excited. 3 00:00:08,741 --> 00:00:14,460 We're going to kick things off right now with our first speaker Sharon Onyinye. 4 00:00:14,460 --> 00:00:19,131 She is a UX designer and illustrator who is very passionate about 5 00:00:19,131 --> 00:00:23,730 knowledge sharing, data driven design and technology. 6 00:00:23,730 --> 00:00:28,610 She is based in Berlin Germany, but is originally from Lagos, Nigeria. 7 00:00:28,610 --> 00:00:30,160 Please welcome Sharon. 8 00:00:32,090 --> 00:00:35,320 >> So as Tony mentioned, my name is Sharon Onyinye. 9 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:37,830 I am a UX designer and illustrator. 10 00:00:37,830 --> 00:00:41,470 I have about five years of experience not working in tech. 11 00:00:41,470 --> 00:00:46,610 So when I say working in tech, I mean basically from design to code. 12 00:00:46,610 --> 00:00:49,345 I started out as a graphic designer and 13 00:00:49,345 --> 00:00:54,911 now I'm working full time in a company called HelloFresh as the UX designer. 14 00:00:54,911 --> 00:00:58,560 I live in Germany, but I'm originally from Nigeria. 15 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,950 So I was thinking we could start from the basics. 16 00:01:02,950 --> 00:01:05,390 What is UX Design? 17 00:01:05,390 --> 00:01:07,565 Some of us already have a fair idea, 18 00:01:07,565 --> 00:01:11,490 but I'm thinking it might be great to just go back to the basics. 19 00:01:13,050 --> 00:01:17,494 So essentially UX design focuses on the interaction between real human 20 00:01:17,494 --> 00:01:22,320 users obviously like yourself and me, and everyday products and services. 21 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:25,912 This ranges from websites, apps, coffee machines, 22 00:01:25,912 --> 00:01:31,530 your remote control, your TV, your radio, your phone, everything. 23 00:01:31,530 --> 00:01:36,033 It's an extremely varied disciplined and it combines various aspects of everything 24 00:01:36,033 --> 00:01:40,484 from psychology, business, market research design, and of course technology. 25 00:01:40,484 --> 00:01:45,703 This definition I quite love because it covers quite a lot of what 26 00:01:45,703 --> 00:01:50,840 UX design is which is a really amazing mix of different things. 27 00:01:53,010 --> 00:01:55,948 Now for us to know how to get better at something, 28 00:01:55,948 --> 00:01:59,380 I think it's important that we know what exactly we do. 29 00:01:59,380 --> 00:02:03,370 So how do we get better at those things that UI UX designers actually do? 30 00:02:05,420 --> 00:02:10,450 So just like this cute little guy, we wear many hats, we do a lot of things. 31 00:02:11,580 --> 00:02:16,550 So the core of it really is being an advocate for the users. 32 00:02:16,550 --> 00:02:22,120 But as we know, beyond just user needs, we also have business needs. 33 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:26,292 So as a UX designer, it is going to be your duty to find the ability to 34 00:02:26,292 --> 00:02:29,110 strike the balance between those two. 35 00:02:29,110 --> 00:02:32,643 So meeting user needs ensuring that your users are happy, 36 00:02:32,643 --> 00:02:37,558 your users are able to achieve their goals with a particular product or service. 37 00:02:37,558 --> 00:02:41,547 And of course being able to meet your business needs and 38 00:02:41,547 --> 00:02:46,760 requirements for whatever products or service that you are offering. 39 00:02:48,650 --> 00:02:51,620 Now what are some tasks and responsibilities? 40 00:02:51,620 --> 00:02:55,448 Of course, you would do the common things that I think everyone's more or 41 00:02:55,448 --> 00:02:59,670 less aware of which would be designing the wireframes and prototypes. 42 00:02:59,670 --> 00:03:02,620 Setting up design systems and style guides. 43 00:03:02,620 --> 00:03:07,100 Design systems is like a foundation building blocks that you can use to build 44 00:03:07,100 --> 00:03:12,630 new things designwise, so components that come together to form patterns and so on. 45 00:03:12,630 --> 00:03:15,172 Then of course doing usability tests and research. 46 00:03:15,172 --> 00:03:19,507 In some cases some companies have like designated people to do these but 47 00:03:19,507 --> 00:03:21,468 in a lot of cases, it may not be. 48 00:03:21,468 --> 00:03:25,834 And you might find yourself having to do these and even if there are designated 49 00:03:25,834 --> 00:03:29,394 people, it's an amazing thing to know how these things work so 50 00:03:29,394 --> 00:03:32,130 you would definitely be a part of it. 51 00:03:32,130 --> 00:03:35,186 Organizing UX workshops and design sprints, so 52 00:03:35,186 --> 00:03:39,733 like facilitating workshops, getting people to talk and share ideas, 53 00:03:39,733 --> 00:03:44,280 going or working with stakeholders and of course UX writing. 54 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,203 So these are some really important tasks and 55 00:03:47,203 --> 00:03:52,022 responsibilities that you would probably be involved in on a day to day. 56 00:03:52,022 --> 00:03:54,576 Now how can you become a UX Pro? 57 00:03:54,576 --> 00:04:00,720 Going from zero to hero, from nothing to something, how do we start? 58 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:07,126 So I have listed out a couple of really practical steps that I personally 59 00:04:07,126 --> 00:04:13,840 have taken that I would encourage you to take the time out and get into. 60 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:15,190 So let's get started with that. 61 00:04:16,470 --> 00:04:18,868 So the first thing is to copy others. 62 00:04:18,868 --> 00:04:23,516 I know that this topic can be or this concept rather can be a bit tricky for 63 00:04:23,516 --> 00:04:27,470 people sometimes because it's like whoa, copying. 64 00:04:27,470 --> 00:04:28,860 Aren't you supposed to be original? 65 00:04:28,860 --> 00:04:31,400 Aren't you supposed to always come up with your own things? 66 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:33,500 Well the truth is when you're starting, 67 00:04:33,500 --> 00:04:36,900 coming up with new themes is going to be very hard. 68 00:04:36,900 --> 00:04:38,465 And especially with visual design, 69 00:04:38,465 --> 00:04:40,639 your eyes are not necessarily going to be trained. 70 00:04:40,639 --> 00:04:44,510 So if you don't have a visual design background, it's gonna be hard for 71 00:04:44,510 --> 00:04:48,810 you to kind of really know the elements that make up a good design. 72 00:04:48,810 --> 00:04:52,514 So I would always advise you to go online, look for products that interests you, 73 00:04:52,514 --> 00:04:54,430 look for designs that you think are cool. 74 00:04:54,430 --> 00:05:00,125 You can check out anything from Dribble to the your favorite app on your phone and 75 00:05:00,125 --> 00:05:01,410 take a look at it. 76 00:05:01,410 --> 00:05:05,430 So don't just like blindly try to recreate it but pick it apart. 77 00:05:05,430 --> 00:05:08,960 Look at the parts of it that you think that make sense to you and 78 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:12,647 the parts of it that don't make sense to you and ask questions. 79 00:05:12,647 --> 00:05:16,289 When you're in the process of intentionally and thoughtfully trying to 80 00:05:16,289 --> 00:05:20,167 recreate this thing maybe in Figma or Sketch, whatever design tool it is that 81 00:05:20,167 --> 00:05:23,945 you're using, you're going to find yourself asking a lot of questions. 82 00:05:23,945 --> 00:05:25,135 Why did they use this font? 83 00:05:25,135 --> 00:05:26,975 Why did they take this approach? 84 00:05:26,975 --> 00:05:28,320 And just by that, 85 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:34,072 you are tuning your mind into the whole process of thinking like a designer. 86 00:05:34,072 --> 00:05:37,630 So the next thing is practice often. 87 00:05:37,630 --> 00:05:40,344 Start with small milestones, studying for 88 00:05:40,344 --> 00:05:44,250 as little as 15 minutes a day will go a long, long way. 89 00:05:44,250 --> 00:05:49,058 So as Dr. Tony even mentioned, 30 minutes a day can go such a long way and 90 00:05:49,058 --> 00:05:54,450 you commit to it for a while, like three months or you can start with a week. 91 00:05:54,450 --> 00:05:58,840 Just promise yourself you're gonna do 15 minutes every day for about a week. 92 00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:00,490 That will go a long way. 93 00:06:00,490 --> 00:06:07,054 So it doesn't always have to be something like maybe redesign or something complex. 94 00:06:07,054 --> 00:06:10,001 Sometimes just picking up something and looking at it and writing notes, 95 00:06:10,001 --> 00:06:11,530 doing like an informal app critique. 96 00:06:11,530 --> 00:06:15,590 So you can look at an app that you use of maybe you use Uber, 97 00:06:15,590 --> 00:06:20,835 maybe you use Instagram and just pick it apart and think to yourself, what 98 00:06:20,835 --> 00:06:26,442 are some patterns here that are important for me to be aware of as a UX designer? 99 00:06:26,442 --> 00:06:32,986 And constantly getting yourself into that mindset of thinking as a designer. 100 00:06:32,986 --> 00:06:38,630 The next thing, the next step, rather that you would take is networking. 101 00:06:39,820 --> 00:06:42,140 Expand your network to include people with similar goals. 102 00:06:42,140 --> 00:06:46,933 So these are not just gonna be designers, so developers, young developers, 103 00:06:46,933 --> 00:06:51,670 young product managers, people who are doing startups, things like that. 104 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:57,455 Join these groups and communities like this one, attend the meet-ups, hopefully 105 00:06:57,455 --> 00:07:02,230 virtually for now and then when everything is over, in person, go for these things. 106 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,080 Join groups like Facebook groups, and put yourself out there and 107 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:10,480 surround yourself with this. 108 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,668 One thing I noticed especially when I was starting out was following a bunch of 109 00:07:14,668 --> 00:07:17,891 people on social media helped because anytime I opened up my 110 00:07:17,891 --> 00:07:21,005 social media accounts and I would see them doing things. 111 00:07:21,005 --> 00:07:22,970 It would be inspiring to me. 112 00:07:22,970 --> 00:07:27,304 It would be so great to see people doing things that I was interested in and 113 00:07:27,304 --> 00:07:30,740 sometimes, it would really pick my interest. 114 00:07:30,740 --> 00:07:34,841 And it kept me very motivated and I was able to keep going and 115 00:07:34,841 --> 00:07:37,320 keep asking questions. 116 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,920 That mindset would always help me to keep doing what I was doing at the time. 117 00:07:44,010 --> 00:07:46,760 And next is to seek feedback. 118 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,100 Feedback is your best friend as a designer. 119 00:07:49,100 --> 00:07:54,750 And the best time to get comfortable with seeking feedback is now. 120 00:07:54,750 --> 00:07:59,150 So ask for actionable feedback. 121 00:07:59,150 --> 00:08:04,430 So when you design something, you want to ask, does this make sense? 122 00:08:04,430 --> 00:08:06,040 Would you use something like this? 123 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:08,110 Do you understand what this means? 124 00:08:08,110 --> 00:08:09,760 Does this look good to you? 125 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,098 So that the feedback that you get would give you clear and 126 00:08:13,098 --> 00:08:15,450 concise areas that you can improve on. 127 00:08:15,450 --> 00:08:19,202 Even till now as a designer a few years in, 128 00:08:19,202 --> 00:08:24,134 there is a tendency to feel a little bit almost like to be 129 00:08:24,134 --> 00:08:28,530 very protective when it comes to your work. 130 00:08:28,530 --> 00:08:31,560 And you need to separate yourself from your work. 131 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,340 Your work is one thing and you are another thing. 132 00:08:34,340 --> 00:08:36,790 And your own job is to continue improving yourself. 133 00:08:36,790 --> 00:08:39,101 So when you get that feedback constantly, 134 00:08:39,101 --> 00:08:43,208 you are going to stop yourself from making the same mistakes over and over and 135 00:08:43,208 --> 00:08:47,800 over again, because you've learned from it because someone has told you. 136 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:51,832 This is why it's also important to join communities like I mentioned in 137 00:08:51,832 --> 00:08:53,370 the previous slide. 138 00:08:53,370 --> 00:08:55,341 Because when you ask for feedback, 139 00:08:55,341 --> 00:08:59,611 you're surrounded by people who most likely know a little bit more than you or 140 00:08:59,611 --> 00:09:03,970 are around the same level and have some very valuable insights for you. 141 00:09:03,970 --> 00:09:06,942 So become comfortable with asking for feedback. 142 00:09:08,883 --> 00:09:10,920 Next up is partner up. 143 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:12,645 We know what's better than one designer? 144 00:09:12,645 --> 00:09:16,645 Two or more, three, form a group. 145 00:09:16,645 --> 00:09:21,002 Ask yourself what's the problem you've always wanted to solve and 146 00:09:21,002 --> 00:09:22,694 just start working on it. 147 00:09:22,694 --> 00:09:26,088 Start doing some research, partner up with others and 148 00:09:26,088 --> 00:09:30,780 you guys can all just form like a little group and give yourself tasks. 149 00:09:30,780 --> 00:09:34,209 You can also of course pair up with developers, product managers, 150 00:09:34,209 --> 00:09:37,410 generally anyone who is in tech that you think could add value. 151 00:09:37,410 --> 00:09:42,036 And these are ultimately the kind of projects that can enter your portfolio as 152 00:09:42,036 --> 00:09:46,890 a junior designer, just things that you don't necessarily have to be so grand. 153 00:09:46,890 --> 00:09:50,940 They don't have to be so life-changing but they're just important steps. 154 00:09:50,940 --> 00:09:55,152 Now this also teaches you how to work with other people and as a designer, 155 00:09:55,152 --> 00:09:58,989 that is a huge part of your work, stakeholder management. 156 00:09:58,989 --> 00:10:00,951 So you will eventually work with developers, 157 00:10:00,951 --> 00:10:02,519 you will work with credit managers. 158 00:10:02,519 --> 00:10:06,961 So if you can start to get that experience now even before you have maybe even your 159 00:10:06,961 --> 00:10:09,868 first job, Then you would be helping yourself. 160 00:10:09,868 --> 00:10:13,050 You will be putting yourself basically miles ahead. 161 00:10:13,050 --> 00:10:16,116 So learn to team up with others, learn to set goals. 162 00:10:16,116 --> 00:10:19,830 Set goals that you can actually achieve. 163 00:10:19,830 --> 00:10:24,192 Now, another great advantage of partnering up is the fact 164 00:10:24,192 --> 00:10:26,958 that you can stay motivated easily. 165 00:10:26,958 --> 00:10:29,939 So if one person is feeling down, the other person can say no, no, 166 00:10:29,939 --> 00:10:32,940 we committed to doing this for two months and we're going to do it. 167 00:10:32,940 --> 00:10:35,793 We committed to achieving this milestone by this particular time and 168 00:10:35,793 --> 00:10:37,030 we're going to do just that. 169 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:42,506 And so just by having that good energy, that positive energy, 170 00:10:42,506 --> 00:10:46,210 that drive in your circle, it helps you to keep going. 171 00:10:48,140 --> 00:10:53,123 And lastly, I think it's very important that we remember that it's important to be 172 00:10:53,123 --> 00:10:57,010 very kind to yourself while you are on this journey. 173 00:10:57,010 --> 00:11:02,150 Now, it is usually quite daunting to learn a new skill. 174 00:11:02,150 --> 00:11:06,803 It's daunting to start and see other people doing what you would 175 00:11:06,803 --> 00:11:10,509 think is better than your, being able to achieve, 176 00:11:10,509 --> 00:11:16,810 being able to get certain milestones supposedly because of you, before you. 177 00:11:16,810 --> 00:11:21,343 So it's really important that you take out the time to mark your progress and say, 178 00:11:21,343 --> 00:11:24,510 even if you're not seeing it, it's there. 179 00:11:24,510 --> 00:11:28,645 One day you would look at your work that you did weeks ago, months ago, and 180 00:11:28,645 --> 00:11:30,780 then look at what you're doing now and 181 00:11:30,780 --> 00:11:35,520 be fully appreciative of the amount of progress that you have made. 182 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:40,176 Take breaks, courage yourself, relax, and just enjoy the ride because at 183 00:11:40,176 --> 00:11:44,510 the end of the day, it's a journey and it doesn't stop. 184 00:11:44,510 --> 00:11:48,997 So always remember to be kind to yourself and to allow yourself, 185 00:11:48,997 --> 00:11:51,252 allow your brain time to relax. 186 00:11:52,973 --> 00:11:56,549 So yes, you are on your way to becoming a superhero. 187 00:11:56,549 --> 00:12:00,591 Just be patient with yourself and keep going and 188 00:12:00,591 --> 00:12:05,045 remember to make small actionable commitments so, 189 00:12:12,139 --> 00:12:16,347 So thank you all so much. 190 00:12:16,347 --> 00:12:19,600 I would like to get into some questions now. 191 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:24,667 So the first one is knowing there is an overlap, what skills did you have to 192 00:12:24,667 --> 00:12:30,640 acquire outside of your role as a graphic designer to become a UX designer? 193 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,886 Well, actually, yes, there is an overlap as you mentioned. 194 00:12:34,886 --> 00:12:36,550 That is really true. 195 00:12:36,550 --> 00:12:41,180 But you would soon find that the concepts of design within graphic 196 00:12:41,180 --> 00:12:45,910 design are actually quite different from those within UX design. 197 00:12:45,910 --> 00:12:47,672 So of course, there's some core principles. 198 00:12:47,672 --> 00:12:51,614 But when it comes to actually being aware of mobile principles, 199 00:12:51,614 --> 00:12:56,505 web principles, and stuff like that, that was something that I had to work on, 200 00:12:56,505 --> 00:12:59,950 so understanding how design works within technology. 201 00:12:59,950 --> 00:13:05,084 You know how you would learn as a graphic designer, maybe how to work with 202 00:13:05,084 --> 00:13:10,152 prints and how to set up your, I don't know, CMYK versus RGB formats. 203 00:13:10,152 --> 00:13:13,490 If you're a graphic designer, you would know things like that. 204 00:13:13,490 --> 00:13:17,430 So within UX design, you have to learn mobile-first approaches. 205 00:13:17,430 --> 00:13:19,713 You have to learn your constraints. 206 00:13:19,713 --> 00:13:24,636 Then of course, you would also learn, I also have to get into a lot of UX 207 00:13:24,636 --> 00:13:28,224 research and understanding how to ask questions, 208 00:13:28,224 --> 00:13:32,648 how to solve problems, and just really trying to understand or 209 00:13:32,648 --> 00:13:38,330 get into understanding how to solve problems for users and what users are. 210 00:13:38,330 --> 00:13:44,350 Another thing I had to learn was general best practices regarding mobile and web. 211 00:13:44,350 --> 00:13:46,431 So when you get to understand those things, 212 00:13:46,431 --> 00:13:48,300 it really puts you into that mindset. 213 00:13:48,300 --> 00:13:51,699 So those are some skills that I had to to really learn. 214 00:13:53,756 --> 00:13:58,825 Another question is, are developers and designers open to collaborations or 215 00:13:58,825 --> 00:14:02,380 are they reluctant to add more to their plates? 216 00:14:02,380 --> 00:14:07,369 It depends, you could, it depends on the kind of people that you are going 217 00:14:07,369 --> 00:14:11,244 to be working with them, what their own situations are. 218 00:14:14,241 --> 00:14:18,177 So if you're looking to work with other junior or 219 00:14:18,177 --> 00:14:21,058 people that are just starting out, 220 00:14:21,058 --> 00:14:26,970 most likely they might not have too much on their plates and stuff. 221 00:14:26,970 --> 00:14:29,050 But that would make it easier or 222 00:14:29,050 --> 00:14:34,490 that would make them rather more open to collaborations and linking up with you. 223 00:14:34,490 --> 00:14:38,152 So you may not want to reach out to someone that already has a full-time job. 224 00:14:38,152 --> 00:14:42,465 Maybe someone that's still testing the waters and other people like that, so 225 00:14:42,465 --> 00:14:44,630 people that are still figuring it out. 226 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:48,685 So it's hard to say, not everybody would be reluctant and 227 00:14:48,685 --> 00:14:50,067 not everybody will be open. 228 00:14:50,067 --> 00:14:54,351 But it's helpful to look for people at a more similar level as yourself, so 229 00:14:54,351 --> 00:14:57,689 you know how you would manage time and responsibilities. 230 00:14:59,736 --> 00:15:03,408 Next question is, I was wondering if there's a current trend or 231 00:15:03,408 --> 00:15:07,340 concept in UX that you are personally really enjoying. 232 00:15:07,340 --> 00:15:11,762 And in the opposite vein, anything that makes you wonder why it's a trend? 233 00:15:14,088 --> 00:15:18,780 Well, one is this is not so much in design. 234 00:15:18,780 --> 00:15:23,620 But one thing I do currently enjoy is that there's this new kind of 235 00:15:23,620 --> 00:15:26,330 role called design ops. 236 00:15:26,330 --> 00:15:31,235 And so how it works is basically design operations where there 237 00:15:31,235 --> 00:15:36,895 are designers that are specifically hired to work on design systems and 238 00:15:36,895 --> 00:15:41,516 to make design systems scalable and to make them extremely 239 00:15:41,516 --> 00:15:47,080 useful across all platforms that they're being created for. 240 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,287 So personally, I quite really enjoy that. 241 00:15:50,287 --> 00:15:52,728 We have a few in my company which is on HelloFresh. 242 00:15:52,728 --> 00:15:57,700 And working together with them makes your life so much easier as a designer, 243 00:15:57,700 --> 00:15:59,105 so definitely that. 244 00:15:59,105 --> 00:16:02,520 Then something I don't understand why it's a trend. 245 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:06,903 I don't yet understand, forgive me if you're a fan of this, but I don't yet 246 00:16:06,903 --> 00:16:09,881 understand your Neumorphism and why it's a theme. 247 00:16:09,881 --> 00:16:10,570 I'm not against that. 248 00:16:10,570 --> 00:16:15,233 I don't hate it or anything, but I just don't see it being very practical when it 249 00:16:15,233 --> 00:16:18,200 comes to accessibility standards and all of that. 250 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:21,820 So I think that it still has a lot more work to improve and 251 00:16:21,820 --> 00:16:26,310 to finally be a fan and would need some maybe specific guidelines for 252 00:16:26,310 --> 00:16:29,750 it to become very accessible and useful. 253 00:16:29,750 --> 00:16:33,660 So yeah, I hope that answers your question. 254 00:16:33,660 --> 00:16:35,916 And from Jason, do you think it's important for 255 00:16:35,916 --> 00:16:38,130 new developers to learn UX design principles? 256 00:16:38,130 --> 00:16:43,145 For front-end developers, I would say just having some concepts, 257 00:16:43,145 --> 00:16:47,211 some understanding of concepts like accessibility and 258 00:16:47,211 --> 00:16:50,520 some very basic things would be very useful. 259 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,673 And that is also because UX designers constantly need 260 00:16:53,673 --> 00:16:56,110 the feedback of developers. 261 00:16:56,110 --> 00:16:59,930 So I wouldn't say it's a must but it's a nice to have. 262 00:16:59,930 --> 00:17:05,167 So if you can gain some knowledge on this, then I would say, why not? 263 00:17:05,167 --> 00:17:09,029 It's not top priority, but definitely if you have the extra time, 264 00:17:09,029 --> 00:17:10,260 you should go for it. 265 00:17:11,964 --> 00:17:16,295 Laura says my background is in web design, mostly information architecture, CSS, 266 00:17:16,295 --> 00:17:18,590 rather than in graphic design. 267 00:17:18,590 --> 00:17:20,704 What recommendations would you have for 268 00:17:20,704 --> 00:17:23,758 me as someone wanting to transition more into UX science? 269 00:17:23,758 --> 00:17:27,389 I would say that your background, first of all, does give you an edge. 270 00:17:27,389 --> 00:17:30,563 And that's really cool that you have that. 271 00:17:30,563 --> 00:17:35,240 Information architecture is still a very core part of UX design till now. 272 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:38,939 So I would say, right now, what would be very important is for 273 00:17:38,939 --> 00:17:42,437 you to familiarize yourself with UX-related concepts. 274 00:17:42,437 --> 00:17:46,200 So just really get getting into user research, 275 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:50,906 familiarizing yourself with products, core products and 276 00:17:50,906 --> 00:17:56,290 services that are solving relevant problems and things like that. 277 00:17:56,290 --> 00:17:59,230 And of course, it does help to take UX courses. 278 00:17:59,230 --> 00:18:04,638 So when you take UX-specific courses that would take you from 279 00:18:04,638 --> 00:18:10,359 the basics to explaining some deeper core concepts, then yeah. 280 00:18:10,359 --> 00:18:12,238 Another thing I would advise for 281 00:18:12,238 --> 00:18:16,840 you is since you already do have some knowledge of it, just start practicing. 282 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:19,810 Just start doing something as soon as you can. 283 00:18:19,810 --> 00:18:27,217 So don't necessarily wait until you feel like you have all the answers. 284 00:18:27,217 --> 00:18:33,681 And yeah, just start at it and then just keep going. 285 00:18:39,733 --> 00:18:42,090 How did you learn general best practices? 286 00:18:42,090 --> 00:18:45,310 Is there a book or do you follow through and [INAUDIBLE]? 287 00:18:45,310 --> 00:18:49,869 Well, for one, yes, following Google and is actually a very good place to start, so 288 00:18:49,869 --> 00:18:52,543 understanding material design and things like that. 289 00:18:52,543 --> 00:18:55,594 But I would say general best practices are, 290 00:18:55,594 --> 00:19:00,224 it's just something that you would do a lot of a bit of research on. 291 00:19:00,224 --> 00:19:03,730 And it's also to an extent, some trial and error. 292 00:19:03,730 --> 00:19:09,115 So you would basically start from doing some research 293 00:19:09,115 --> 00:19:15,227 about mobile-first practices and web-based practices. 294 00:19:15,227 --> 00:19:20,393 And then, just start reading up on these things and then also start working on it. 295 00:19:20,393 --> 00:19:22,960 Then you would also do some research on, 296 00:19:25,623 --> 00:19:30,656 You would also do some research on how to basically solve problems and 297 00:19:30,656 --> 00:19:34,400 what things that you're supposed to look out for. 298 00:19:36,010 --> 00:19:40,135 How were you able to get a job in Germany considering the tech industry is 299 00:19:40,135 --> 00:19:42,210 competitive there? 300 00:19:42,210 --> 00:19:47,949 Honestly, I would say when you know that you're in a competitive market, 301 00:19:47,949 --> 00:19:54,950 you also have to take extra steps and do your best, put your best foot forward. 302 00:19:54,950 --> 00:19:57,631 So there are efforts that you can make personally on your side. 303 00:19:57,631 --> 00:19:59,910 And then also when you hear that something is competitive, 304 00:19:59,910 --> 00:20:02,310 it doesn't mean that there's no space for you. 305 00:20:02,310 --> 00:20:03,864 So it's competitive but 306 00:20:03,864 --> 00:20:08,690 that doesn't mean that you are not able to get an opportunity there. 307 00:20:08,690 --> 00:20:15,310 So I would say, I just tried and I learned from mistakes and I kept trying. 308 00:20:15,310 --> 00:20:19,545 So when you're also in competitive fields, or in competitive environments, 309 00:20:19,545 --> 00:20:21,959 it's very important that you try your best. 310 00:20:21,959 --> 00:20:23,941 And that when you apply and someone rejects you, 311 00:20:23,941 --> 00:20:25,496 you find another place and you apply. 312 00:20:25,496 --> 00:20:29,100 And you learn from your mistakes, and you basically keep going. 313 00:20:29,100 --> 00:20:33,526 So basically I didn't give up and I kept applying even when I got rejections. 314 00:20:33,526 --> 00:20:36,181 So I think that's a very important aspect. 315 00:20:40,752 --> 00:20:43,344 What is your philosophy in deployment of interfaces? 316 00:20:43,344 --> 00:20:48,163 Is it more important to get something out ASAP than improve the UX or 317 00:20:48,163 --> 00:20:50,930 do you need to get everything right? 318 00:20:50,930 --> 00:20:53,500 The truth is you can't get everything right at the first time. 319 00:20:53,500 --> 00:20:56,160 No matter how hard you try, there's always going to be trade-offs. 320 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:59,960 There are always going to be things that you will have to compromise on. 321 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:04,750 So I would say that it's important that you get the core things right. 322 00:21:04,750 --> 00:21:05,990 So get your core things right. 323 00:21:05,990 --> 00:21:11,360 So some very basic, ensuring that your whatever it is you're launching is usable. 324 00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:16,039 So it doesn't have like very bad usable practices, it's responsive, and 325 00:21:16,039 --> 00:21:16,925 things like. 326 00:21:16,925 --> 00:21:20,231 Then ensuring that it meets up with accessibility guidelines and 327 00:21:20,231 --> 00:21:21,200 things like that. 328 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:23,373 So you wanna ensure core concepts are met and 329 00:21:23,373 --> 00:21:27,204 core business goals as well are being met, and core user needs are being met. 330 00:21:27,204 --> 00:21:30,167 And then from there begins the process of iteration. 331 00:21:30,167 --> 00:21:32,390 Iteration is a never ending process. 332 00:21:32,390 --> 00:21:35,762 For example, HelloFresh has been around for eight years or 333 00:21:35,762 --> 00:21:38,200 so, and we're still designing till now. 334 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,962 So we are making iterations, we're constantly finding room for improvement. 335 00:21:41,962 --> 00:21:46,067 But you do have to take the first step and push the bird out of the nest and 336 00:21:46,067 --> 00:21:50,254 actually start, and then constantly iterate and improve from there. 337 00:21:53,381 --> 00:21:56,572 Would you say voice UX is similar'? 338 00:21:56,572 --> 00:21:58,070 Any insight on voice UX? 339 00:21:58,070 --> 00:22:00,801 I mean, generally anything that has, 340 00:22:00,801 --> 00:22:05,287 a lot of things are related when it comes to UX design in general. 341 00:22:05,287 --> 00:22:08,730 And this is one that is becoming quite popular. 342 00:22:08,730 --> 00:22:13,382 So yeah, I would say it's It's a growing niche. 343 00:22:13,382 --> 00:22:17,439 But I would say familiarize yourself with core UX concepts, 344 00:22:17,439 --> 00:22:21,120 get into that, and then branch out into voice UX. 345 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:25,519 Yeah, but it is definitely a growing trend, and 346 00:22:25,519 --> 00:22:31,220 as well as AR and VR UX, those are coming up in a couple of years. 347 00:22:31,220 --> 00:22:35,209 So if you can familiarize yourself with it now, then definitely go for it. 348 00:22:39,482 --> 00:22:44,400 Do you have any recommendations or go to books on writing for UX and web design? 349 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:48,614 There is actually a really nice course 350 00:22:48,614 --> 00:22:53,486 on Gymnasium by Aquent that you can search up 351 00:22:53,486 --> 00:22:58,373 that talks about UX writing for web design. 352 00:22:58,373 --> 00:23:01,318 So you can just check that out. 353 00:23:01,318 --> 00:23:03,221 I don't know if I can type it up. 354 00:23:03,221 --> 00:23:04,802 It's Gymnasium Aquent. 355 00:23:04,802 --> 00:23:06,994 You can just Google that. 356 00:23:06,994 --> 00:23:11,558 And then there is, I think, UX Writing Hub on Instagram. 357 00:23:11,558 --> 00:23:12,560 And you can reach out to them. 358 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:15,530 They do some really awesome UX trainings. 359 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:19,880 So thank you all so, so much. 360 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,220 I believe that was the last question that I have time for. 361 00:23:23,220 --> 00:23:25,800 So yeah, you can search for me. 362 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:26,900 I'm on YouTube. 363 00:23:26,900 --> 00:23:27,766 I have a YouTube channel. 364 00:23:27,766 --> 00:23:31,830 So you can just search for Sharon Onyinye and you can check out my videos. 365 00:23:31,830 --> 00:23:35,280 You can also follow me on Instagram or connect with me on LinkedIn. 366 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,930 Thank you all so, so much and have a lovely, lovely rest of the day.