Design Studio Website
This design studio offers graphic design and user experience and user interface design services.
My Role
UI and UX Designer
My Responsibilities
Visual Design
Wireframing
Prototyping
Design System
What challenges did I face?
Huge learning curve
In 2021, I started on my journey in user experience and user interface design with no prior experience or background. On my first day at work, I remember I asked my senior colleague before, “what is UX design?” because... well, I really had no idea at all.
Poor UX copy writing
I found it challenging to write a UX copy that effectively communicates a friendly and welcoming tone, especially in alert and warning messages. As much as possible, I tried to avoid using placeholders.
Lack of wayfinding
I had some difficulties with the user journey and there were a lot of redundancy with the user navigation of the website.
So... what did I do?
Self-studied user experience and user interface design
Due to my limited experience and knowledge in user experience and user interface design, I dedicated a lot of time to studying these areas. In addition to seeking guidance from seniors and colleagues, I made use of online courses and e-books to enhance my understanding.
Conducted bi-weekly meetings
I hosted bi-weekly meetings with the stakeholders in order to present my designs and gather for feedback and suggestions in order to improve the user experience and user interface of my website design.
Created a navigational site map
I created a simple navigational site map to further understand the user journey throughout the website and improve user navigation.
Created a design system
I created a simple design system to ensure consistency and design quality of the components used in the website.
Created low-fidelity and high-fidelity wireframes
Aside from the low-fidelity wireframes, I made a working prototype of the high-fidelity wireframes.
What did I learn so far?
You’re not gonna be spoon-fed
I realized my seniors and colleagues will not spoon-feed me all the knowledge about UX and UI design. While they did give me design advice here and there, I recognized that I had to learn user experience and user interface design by myself.
Be open-minded
At first, I was somewhat of a know-it-all and stubborn when receiving feedback and suggestions from colleagues. I realized I don’t know everything and that’s okay! I learned to appreciate that not all user experiences are the same for everyone.
Be proud of what you made
Looking back at my very first website design, I honestly cringed because it was outdated and I couldn't help but think I could have done better. Yet, I've come to realize that I should be shamelessly proud because this design served as the foundation of my journey in UX and UI design.
Continue learning
In the design world where everything is constantly evolving, never stop learning and always be curious. Furthermore, I learned that we are not just designers but also we are problem solvers and story tellers because we need to seek for design solutions for our users.