the life changing advice for ux designers

THE LIFE CHANGING ADVICE FOR A UX DESIGNER!

/palici #uxdbUX Design Meetup Bucuresti 2014

HI! I’M CIPRIAN PALICIand I like to freedive

BUT I ALSO HAVE 10 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN DESIGNING STUFF

Concept Sketching

UI Design

Corporate Identity

Advertising Campaigns

Information Architecture

Mobile Applications

Interaction Design

Visual Design

Web Design

Wireframing & Prototyping

TODAY I WILL SHARE WITH YOU A BIG SECRET

THE SECRET OF BECOMING A GREAT UX DESIGNER

ACTUALLY IT’S DEAD SIMPLE

DON’T BE THIS GUY

DON’T BE AN ASSHOLE :)

WHY?

BECAUSE:

• Your mother doesn’t like him

• Your grandmother doesn’t like him!

• Your girlfriend/boyfriend doesn’t like him

• Your colleagues don’t like him

• Your clients hate him

EVEN YOU DON’T LIKE HIM

HOW CAN YOU AVOID THAT?

START BY TREATING YOURSELF AS A BAD UX PROJECT

YEAH! YOU HEARD ME RIGHT YOU ARE THE BAD UX PROJECT

THE SOONER YOU ACCEPT IT

THE FASTER YOU CAN START BUILDING

A BETTER !VERSION OF

HERE ARE 3 EASY STEPS ON HOW TO ACHIEVE THAT

1. LEARN TO BE HUMBLE

2. IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS

3. WATCH THE RED ROUTES

THOSE 3 THINGS WILL HELP YOU START WITH A SOLID BASE

LEARN TO BE HUMBLE1

“humility to understand that as a designer,!it's not about you or your portfolio,

it's about the people that you're designing for, and how your work just might help them

live better lives.”

Margaret Gould Stewart!How giant websites design for you (TedTalk)

Be more humble and you will gain:

A. Better relationships with people

B. Better work performance

C. Higher self control

FAKE IT ’TIL YOU MAKE IT

2IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS

In order to do that you need to:

A. Learn how to truly listen!

B. Learn how to speak so that people get you!

C. Learn how to write emails straight to the point

D. Learn how to write easy to understand specs

E. Learn how to speak in public

"Most people do not listen with the intent to understand, they listen with the intent to reply."

Stephen R. Covey

3WATCH THE RED ROUTES

RED ROUTE = A PROJECT’S FREQUENT & CRITICAL

ACTIVITY

EVERY PROJECT HAS IT’S OWN RED ROUTES

IDENTIFYING THE RED ROUTES WILL HELP YOU KEEP THINGS ON TRACK

“FLOWERS” WON’T SAVE YOU IF THE RED ROUTES

ARE BROKEN

COVERING THE RED ROUTES COULD BRING YOU CLOSE

TO 90% PROJECT SUCCESS

FORGET “YOUR TOOLS” & READ MORE BOOKS

BUT ALWAYS REMEMBER

DON’T BE AN ASSHOLE!BE A SUPER HERO

I’M STILL WORK IN PROGRESS :)

THANK YOU

• The Elements of User Experience (2nd edition) http://www.jjg.net/elements/

• A nice Ted Talk https://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_gould_stewart_how_giant_websites_design_for_you_and_a_billion_others_too

• Some more quotes about listening: http://www.inc.com/dave-kerpen/15-quotes-to-inspire-you-to-become-a-better-listener.html

• Red Routes Explained http://www.userfocus.co.uk/articles/redroutes.html

• Some more resources http://www.palici.ro/recomandari/