You can also read this article on my website.
Itās been a year since, in January of 2019, I published the article How to Ace the Design Test.
In it, I argued how take-home (design) assignments used in the hiring process need to be seen for what they really are: unpaid work that unhealthily distorts the equity between company and job applicant.
Since publishing the article, Iāve actually had some experiences with the hiring process, believe it or not.
One of them was an interview with a company for a position that sounded promising, but where I was asked to do a āclassicā take-home design test. Even then, Iā¦
As part of a job search I found myself googling for a solution when really I was asking the wrong question.
The first time I did a design test was when I was trying to make it as a freelance designer ā and was failing at it, too.
Business wasnāt exactly booming and I was struggling with finding freelance work which was actually paid. I had plenty who contacted me with the promises of equities, exposure and sometimes even glory. Neither of which would help me pay my bills, obviously. ā¦
Originally written for SaaS Designās blog. Head on over there now to read the full article. (Donāt worry, Karen, itās still free.)
I very clearly remember the first time I opened up a copy of āUniversal Principles of Design,ā thinking it would be the peak of nerdiness for me as someone who deliberately spent the least possible amount of time in school.
This was in 2011 when I was only starting to dip my toes into design, which meant most of the book initially didnāt make much sense to me (and still doesnāt entirely ā full disclosure.) Back then, I figured that being able to brag that I had read the book and survived it would be better than nothing. ā¦
Take some advice from a 400-year-old talking tree.
The beginning of my design career wasnāt going super well. Iāve said this many times before but itās actually because I feel I have to.
Last year I did a few talks about my personal projects, how they kickstarted my career and won me some great opportunities. Doing those talks made me realise when you stand up and show people something youāve made, thatās what they see. When you tell them since making it youāve become a better designer and also a better person, thatās what they hear. I obviously know what went on behind the scenes: the blood, sweatā¦
My onboarding task as the new Product Designer of Learningbankās Learning Platform was to redesign it.
When I started as the designer at Learningbank in February of 2019 my mission was clearā¦
Just kidding ā Iāve already used that line in a previous case study and as I was beginning this article I found myself revisiting the pages of that chapter:
During the one and a half year I worked as a Designer at Napp I experienced two whole concept changes for the product, one of which resulted in a full redesign covering the brand, website, and online platform as well as the app for Android and iOS. ā¦
Hello, Figma! š (Updated April 2020)
My relationship with Adobe began over ten years ago when as an insecure, spotty teenager I discovered Photoshop and the wonders of the Clone Tool.
Later on Photoshop became where I created my very first website design before painstakingly moving on to Illustrator. I even had a brief romance with Dreamweaver in which I wrote some of my very first code.
Though a decade is arguably not a lot compared to an entire lifetime itās been a period of massive, technological as well as social changeā also within the design field. ā¦
Last summer I wanted to quit design and become a painter.
I consider myself an industrious type of person. I can work very hard and intensely for several consecutive hours ā especially when doing something I like. I often enter the āflow-stateā when being creative whether itās gaming, drawing, painting, writing, crafting or designing. Design is something I like doing. Itās the career path of my own choosing and in the summer of last year it was also my current employment.
Liking design has gotten me through one and a half vocational educations, three different apprenticeships and working freelance on the side. It helped me hold fast against the waves ofā¦
Itās an early spring Sunday in March where a harsh, Scandinavian winter is still stubbornly clinging to its own existence. You can taste the frost in the air and breathing it in stings your nostrils. Were it any other typical Sunday I would be at home in my cave, burritoād in a blanket and lost in a computer game. But it isnāt a typical Sunday at all ā far from it.
A handful of people are gathered at a driving practice track clad from top to toe in thick clothing; sporting big, heavy boots and helmets. I stand among themā¦
When life gives you lemons, design a Lemonade brand š
This article was originally a talk at the PUSH UX Conference 2018 in Munich; watch it here.
Maybe you were just now wondering about the name of this article ā unsure of whether youāre going to get enlightened or just scolded. Iāll admit itās a bold title to present to both you and the ~600 other unsuspecting people who showed up for the final talk of the first day of the Push Conference in October of 2018. ā¦
When working with a design, I often find myself asking: āWhat does the person visiting or using my design want out of it? What it their goal?ā If I can figure out what people want from the product, I can guide them there faster and easier; resulting in a, hopefully, better experience. Weāre all driven by goals throughout the day, especially when interacting with a software or service, whether it be booking a hotel or ordering a new pair of yogapants.
Being a woman of the modern age, I often have my own goal of finding some new clothes inā¦
