In the midst of the pandemic crisis,🤯 I randomly came across UI/UX design videos while I was scrolling you tube. It was an interview between two youngsters speaking about UI/UX design in today’s technology. I was wondering what UI/UX design was?! 🤔I researched about UI/UX and came to know about it. Suddenly, it hit me that UI/UX design was where I belonged!
I decided to enroll in a course. Going from drawing dresses to designing digital interfaces felt like switching from crayons to a keyboard. Why would she draw dresses?! You might be wondering, Well I’m a Fashion designer with a lot of passion towards it, but like many people, I failed in achieving my dream due to covid😔, Hence decided to switch my career.
The job hunt was a rollercoaster ride of rejections and late-night snacks. I finally landed a job as a UI/UX designer.😌
Looking back, it’s funny how a hobby born out of boredom led me to turn my career path. Who knew that watching YouTube could pay off in more ways?😂
OOPS TO OPPORTUNITIES:
Learning from mistakes:
As an intern at The Alter Office, I was doing lots of things at once, like a circus performer. Sometimes I mess up and doubt myself😐, but even superheroes have bad days, don’t they?
Tech stuff? Yeah, I was as clueless as a goldfish in a mixing jar🤯. But every day was an episode of how I failed in making designs that didn’t make people scream, and understanding how things actually work.🤦
From the very beginning I was given the tasks that left me doubting, Why should I do this?!🙄 The tasks they gave were completely different. I wondered whether a UI/UX designer would do this.🤨 Someday they gave me prototyping, designing the screens which was cool and another day it was like designing a sticker which I had no idea about🤔. Seriously!? I’m not a graphic designer, but somehow I managed.😑 Questions popped in my head, I was full of anxiety😔 and started to think “I can’t become a UI UX Designer in this company”. Literally each day was, “Why! Why! Why!
Everyday I felt as if I’m not worth enough to become a UI UX Designer. Later that day, I was designing a header for a game screen, I’m surprised!! it came out so well.😯But how?! Answer: Exploring.
This made me realize exploring develops your skills. Actually to my surprise, they were testing me all these days. They were actually trying to understand what I’m good at😉.But I had completely opposite thoughts in my mind, that actually whispered “You are not good enough😑, that’s why they keep on changing you to a different role”. Stupid!! How stupid I was?! I’m insane.
Then there’s this “C” word – “Change” which every designer would hate😑. Whenever my teammates asked for a change, I was like No,I can’t, How many changes would I do?! (whispered in my mind). Some days are good along with them, but some other days it is as if a “puzzle piece is trying to fit where they don’t belong to”.🫠
I felt as if I’m left in a forest, “Trying to find a correct path with blind folded”.🙃Those days I felt lonely and missed being with my family.😔 They live far away from me. Here, I made a promise to myself, “That things might go wrong, But never stop trying”.
Soon I realized “change” was like the most powerful word. Ask me why?! Because it made me think better and gave creative solutions. 💡Slowly this enhanced my thinking capability as well as I began to think from the user’s perspective.🙂
INSECURITIES ARE GOOD:
Overcoming Insecurities in UI/UX:
As a UI/UX designer it is very important to speak your thoughts. Even though, with a brain full of ideas, I would stay silent as if my lips sealed tighter than a jar of pickles. Yep, insecurities have always got my back, Just kidding no! Not at all!🙃 It makes it harder to speak up than a mime in a library.😖
But then a friend’s blunt question made me think: “If you had the chance to launch the next big app, would you stay silent😶 or speak your mind🗣️?” I’m speechless!! My silence felt louder that day.
So, I started to level up my communication skills, starting with small talk and ending up in deep discussions with people I knew and understood about their everyday difficulties😖 . Which made me think of better solutions enhancing my UX skills as well as understanding the user’s pain points.🤯
One day, I was given a challenge from my team lead to find UX flaws in an AC remote. At first, I was like, “Seriously?😧 It’s just buttons and symbols!” But yeah! It had a mistake😅, the words are placed in between the upper and lower buttons making the user get confused whether they belong to the upper or lower button.
From this I came to understand we can also Identify mistakes in our everyday things that we use. “Everyday things✨” don’t you remember a book.
Exactly!!😌 “The design of everyday things” written by “Don Norman”. Reading this amazing book which had the best examples was the best decision I have ever made. If you are a budding designer👩 then you have to go for it.
Also I have this habit of posting some random UI/UX stuff in my LinkedIn Account🤗 where I receive unexpected bursts of motivation from strangers. Who knew a simple “Keep going!”😎 from a fellow designer could feel like a shot of espresso for the soul? This makes me feel motivated whenever I feel low.
The journey of UI/UX design✨ is a wild ride filled with ups, downs, and plenty of twists and turns😌. But through it all, one thing remains constant: we never stop learning and growing. So let’s continue to celebrate our progress, and keep pushing forward, knowing that the best is yet to come.🪄