Step up Facebook career challenge

Speakers:

Ailbhe Menton (director of marketing science in Facebook)
Rachel Keane
Patrick Kennedy (Marketing science partner manager)
Safia Dawood (Marketing science partner)

Facebook mission: To give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.

Acquired Oculos – virtual reallity head sets acquired by gfacebook
Workplace – basically facebook for work

Facebook quiz – how much do you know about us?

Monthly active users – 2.8 billion
Messages shared everyday – over 100 billion messages shared everyday
Stories shared everyday – 1 Billion

Influencers

Someone who can influence others using their knowledge and relationship on a platform.

Most followed Instagram account is Instagram.

Marketing science mission

Our mission is to help all businesses grow by transforming marketing practices, grounded in data and science.

The challenge

What kind of events would clients from the shop attend?

Gala
wedding
fashion week
prom
award ceremony
premier

The problem

Jasper’s Designer Boutique has been advertising on Facebook and Instagram over the past 12 months. They have recently started collaborating with influencers to promote their products and would like to understand if this new collaboration is better for their brand awareness and sales.

The mission

We need your help answering these questions:

Which advertising strategy is working better overall?
Which is working better for brand awareness?
What can be done to improve their advertising on Facebook in the future?

Is there anything else you would like to analyze to improve your conclusions?

The Toolkit:

We will provide you:

Background of Jaspers Designer Boutique
Data for their latest social media adverts
Key questions
Hints and Tips to get you thinking!

Jasper’s Designer Boutique offers a range of occasion and formal wear and accessories for teens and adults of all ages.

Customers/audience – Unisex clothing brand (all genders) with a variety of styles and sizes to suit everyone aged 13 and over.
Sales – Jasper’s Designer Boutique is an online only store with no retail stores. Their website reflects the brand’s fun and colorful fashion style! Think more ESOS than Primark.
Location – While the company is based in the UK, they sell at home and abroad, with customers in the UK, EU and the US.
Goals – Their goal at the moment is to increase the awareness of their brand and to increase their sales. Growing these areas will help their brand grow and help them build a loyal customer base. This is good as it ensures repeat purchases, continuing sales, referrals, brand trust, steady income, greater market share, sustainability, reputation, word of mouth,
Long term business stability and new business generation by reference. It’s also cheaper to keep old customers than to get new ones.
Marketing – They advertise mainly on Facebook and Instagram. They create their own social media adverts and work with local influencers to grow their brand and sales.
Data – They measure their marketing activities by surveying people who have (or have not) seen their ads, to see if the ads are successful.

Facebook utilizes a Randomized Control Trial approach to minimize bias and to help advertisers determine the causal impact of their ads

Deliver polls – would you like to buy from Jaspers boutique?

Each person in the controlled group will only answer 1 question at a time.

Add info after this look at slides

The storytelling

Once your data analysis over, think about how you want to communicate your results to your audience

Things to consider when presenting data:

1.How technical is your audience?

2.What is the conclusion you want them to make?

3.Is your insights immediately clear from the chart, or is there other information that will distract from your key point?

How can Jasper’s Designer Boutique increase their brand awareness and increase their sales?

Influencer vs Ads Only

1.Do campaigns involving influencers drive better results than ads only campaign?

2.Are the proportions different for those who saw the social media advert to those who didn’t?

3.Which strategy drove better Brand Awareness?

Creative Considerations

1.Does sound on/off work better for influencer ads?

2.Is it important to showcase your brand in the first 3 seconds?

3.What combination of platform and format works best to drive purchase intent?

What are your thoughts?

1.Is there a link between brand awareness and purchase intent?

2.Based on the information provided about the social media advert and the analysis you’ve produced:

Were both strategies successful? Did one perform better overall than the other? What could be the reason(s) behind this?
What should Jaspers Designer Boutique do for their next social media post? Should they stick with both adverts or combine them into one? What are the pros & cons of doing either?

3.If you had more time and more data, what other types of analysis would you run to help Jasper’s boutique raise their brand awareness and increase sales?

6pm on Friday 29th of October DEADLINE

Can be an infographic!

ESO

ESO – placement opportunities

Speaker: MT McCaan

She will really take care of the intern students and mentor them.

Placement begins next summer for a year
There will be 2 placement opportunities only

Company mission

To make a difference. Improve community health and safety through the power of data

MT – head of UX at ESO

Ladies that UX Belfast
Worked in Fathom
Passionate about building strong, collaborative teams, ensuring accessibility.
@BusyMomy on Twitter

ESO

Started in Coffee house (Austin Java) in Austin Texas
Offices in NI and US and Canada
This is a product company not an agency
Passionate about the health care company, many employees are previous first responders eg paramedics, firefighters

What does the software do?

gives data directly from the first responder to the hospital so the staff there (Doctors and nurses) right until the patient is discharged so the patient care can be evaluated.
Helps fire stations manage their operations and run more efficiently, run after their equipment, what training is needed, log incidents, emergency calls and any other data so they can then evaluate it and provide evidence to then get funded to keep providing care.
Collects data to be researched and analyzed.
Provide software for EMS (first responders), Fire agencies, hospitals and state departments. A real product ecosystem.

The company is very focused on the humans that use the software and how they can help them use their time fore effectively.

Their design is designed with clarity, simplicity and accessibility in mind – can they use it with gloves on while on site? They ensure the software isn’t overwhelming while still showing all the information they need on screen. They also consider what tasks need to be done on field and which ones can wait until after they get back to the office.

The reality of the scenarios – the software is in their vehicle and its viewed when they can. It’s on their mobile and work stations.

ESO Belfast office

The headquarters are in Austin Texas.
Washington
Offices in Colorado
Nova scotia (Canada)

The Belfast office

opened in 2019
2 floors
Remote/office work mixed and flexible
Royal avenue near boots (Location)
Art in office based on rich Belfast Maritime history – the sea horse is a symbol of Belfast – also in the city hall emblem. Symbol of health, vitality.

Design team:

All about the user that uses the software – human centered design.
Also keeping in mind that whatever is build makes sense in a business point of view.
Their role is to bring together team members to understand where the complexity in the software lies and making it clear for the user. Complexity into clarity.
Format of design team – UX manager manages the UX and product designers.
As an intern you would be part of the product team.
They work and prioritize decisions with a trio of people.
The role of the design team is to make something that will help simplify the busy lives of the users. Does the price point work for users? You can only make better decisions by talking to the user and by designing for them.
Project trio
Liza Torres – listen to one of her TED talks
They have an agile work environment
They use Figma, Storybook and Confluence

Benefits to your education

join a fast growing company with an ambitions global vision.
Driven by mission and purpose.
Practice your new UX skills and get product experience in a growing UX team.
See first hand the challenges and opportunities of growing a product internationally.
Learn from product designers who you will be partnered with.
Practice design methodology in an agile dev cycle org.
See your features in users hands.
Doesn’t matter what you are designing the process is the same

What they want from a placement student

Work and support each of the product designers.

Look up project Aristotle – research Google did – she brought it up, this could be a good talking point for interview. Liza Torres – listen to one of her TED talks

Passion for healthcare and making a difference
Full of curiosity
Being energized by the companies mission
Cares about people and has the right mindset
Empathetic and caring for the people this software is aimed at
natural problem solver
Critical thinker – don’t just go for your first idea, explore, research, stress test it and improve, show you are willing to ask for help if needed.
empathy for our users and desire to learn as much as possible about their needs in various scenarios
desire to build accessible interfaces.
loves teamwork and bringing people together
can also work independently
great communication skills
high emotional intelligence
flexible/agile
Natural collaborator
positive attitude and common sense
Seeks challenges – as UX and product design is about solving challenges
Someone that can lead in our new technological world
Work with teammates
ask questions
don’t keep quiet

Knows the basics

Naturally creative
know your way around Figma, Miro, Dovetail
Be able to show process: sketch > wireframe > prototype > test > iterate
user research methods
usability
product mindset

How to apply

mt.mccann@eso.com

deadline Fri 05/11/21

NOT LOOKING FOR A POLISHED PORTFOLIO

She just wants to see the process and why you want to join the team based on what was said today and what motivates you.

What to email MT

tell her the reason why you would love to join ESO
What motivates you and excites you in UX and product design.

Reflection

I always wanted to make a difference and I think that this would be my dream placement.

Becoming an interview pro

My current attitude to interviews is mainly nervousness and fear of not being fully prepared. This is something I am working on fixing.

I believe that attitude can play a big part of how good a first impression you give an employer so I would like to go from looking like the guy (Jim for the Office fans) above to being excited and happy to have an interview and maybe even approach it as a learning opportunity weather I am successful with the application or not.

As part of my placement research and preparation for future interviews I decided to attend this talk to help me improve my skills to hopefully help me land my dream placement position when the time comes.

Speaker: Eilis Spence, Employability advisor

Date: Monday, 11 October 2021 3:00pm – 3:30pm

Link to the recorded talk can be found here.

In this session I was given top tips to help me prepare for interviews, learn about the type of questions to expect at interviews and how best to answer them. I noted down some of the things that I felt might come in useful later on. This talk helped me understand the different types of interviews, how to use the STAR technique and offered me some ideas on how to better prepare for an interview. I have outlined some of this information bellow:

How to prepare for interviews:

Research – the company, their values, recent projects
Preparation – Getting familiar with the software if it is an online interview, having your portfolio handy, etc …
Mock interviews – I found that this was a great way of improving how I would approach questions and articulate myself.

Type of interviews:

Panel interview
Competency-based interview (skills in leadership, teamwork, etc…)
Strengths-based interview
Group interview
Assessment center
Video interview
Phone interview
Automated/simulated interview (You record your answers to questions/situations posed)

How to prepare for an interview:

Research the company – website, brochure, Twitter, use your friends and family that may work here, news article, company size, locations, Company history, plans, culture, ethos, are they expanding?
Job documents – print and repeat your completed application form, the job advertised, the job description and employee specification. These will give you a hint of what questions could be asked.
What do you want the employer to know? you have to tell them eg education (what have you learned within your degree?), skills (teamworking, communication), personal qualities (what has motivated you and your selling points, what is unique about you?) Be confident

Interview questions

Think about what questions may come up and have answers prepared
The employee/personnel specification and job description will often give a lot of clues about what may be asked
Draft answers to possible questions

Sample questions

Tell me about yourself?
Why did you apply for this position or company? — research about company can come into that.
How do your qualifications and experience meet the requirements of this post? — Very common one!
What are your strengths and weaknesses? — IN the past I have found that I have been bad at answering this question but I overcame it by …

Provide an example of a time when you demonstrated attention to detail
Give us an example of when you have had to prioritize and really manage your time well
Describe a situation when you had to work in a team to get a job or task done
What important trends do you see in our industry/business over the next 5 years? — Commercial awareness
Why do you think we should choose you for this placement position? – being able to positively talk about yourself

The STAR method:

Prepare: Listen carefully
Situation
Task: What was the task I had to do? set the scene and highlight specific challenges and constraints – deadlines, costs
Action: specific actions taken to complete task – desirable ones that is. Take them through the motivation for each answer
Result: Include figures if possible eg a high mark. Think of it as a reflection, you can even talk of how you would change it as it shows that you have learnt from the experience

How can it be applied?

So in this example the candidate talks of how they achieved the task, their method and how they arrived at that strong result.

Things to consider

What technical skills/qualifications have been asked for?
What transferable skills/competencies were mentioned?
How might these be assessed

Questions to ask the interviewer:

Always have a couple planned!

The organization – what are the likely future developments
The work and training

Things I should do to be best prepared for:

Before the interview

Find out as much as you can about the type of interview you will be having
Find out who will be interviewing you
Learn about the company
Prepare answers to possible questions
What areas do they value the most?

On the day

Show confidence – consider your body language
Keep good eye contact and smile!
Listen to the questions and think before you answer (provide)
Be positive
Remember to be articulate

Online interviews

Make sure you know if it is live or pre-recorded
Choose a suitable location
Make sure there are no distractions
Become familiar with the software
Prepare using an interview simulator like: Interview 360 tool in Aventegro

I think that overall attending this talk was a great way to start my research journey as it gave me a starting point and some insight. Some of the things I would like to do is research and maybe come up with some more possible interview questions more specific to my degree. I would also like to do some mock interviews maybe with my classmates, tutors or even some of the careers advisors at the careers university service. I am less nervous about the many interviews I will hopefully be invited to and the prospect of having to explain my strengths and weaknesses. I would like to keep researching and learning as I think it will help me success.

Puppet

An introduction to Puppet

Rick Monroe @monro

Now working at Contrast security

Who is Rick Monroe?

Started working at Tibus (one of the first 2 web developer agencies in NI) now a network organisation. They morphed into Zesty – They work on websites and apps. It is a fast-paced agency. Monroe introduced the UX design idea to this agency. Agencies make their money by doing as much work as possible as fast as possible.
Then went to FATHOM a dedicated UX agency. Top 3 UX agency in NI. They built up a client base by consulting with them on usability.
Whilst at FATHOM he worked at an app called MyWallST he worked around 3-4 times with them as they would run out of money and he was just part of an agency. They then won the award for the Irish startups. But while working at an agency its very short term, you don’t stay with a team.
Puppet – a US company starting an agency in Belfast. He started of as a UX engineer. Puppet users can interact with code in either a code-based system or a design based system. They have worked with Intel, Nasa (their system is used in space), Cern, SONY, Apple, Disney (Puppet facilitated the management and success of Disney+, it allowed the streaming quality and demand to be appropriately supplied.)
Contrast: US form in Belfast – no placements atm. Creates self-protected software. Cybersecurity is the start of a hige wave, there is tons of money in it atm

Don Normal – the design of everyday things book. First person to have the UX job title at Apple. Living with complexity – book of his.

“Every application has a level of complexity that simply cannot be removed.”

What are companies looking for in students?

Go to the companies website and watch a summary video on their website to try and start learning the problems the company solves.
They are just trying to make/design tools that will make peoples lie/work easier. In the world of cyber security that is.

Placements:

Rapid7 is a big organisation that will take a large amount of students
Go to their website, understand what the industry is about and from there understand which company you want to learn from
Big motive – invented NI covid app.
Some companies may have a too structured
Go in armed with questions into an interview – ask what design probrems the organisation solves? Can you show me a product you have worked on and any improvements you have made? Do you have a plan in place for interns? What will I be doing? Who will I met and can I meet them? How much exposure will I get from different areas of work? What does a year look like for placement students?
Work I need to show – Don’t think quantity. Talk about your process. State very clearly what kind of problem you were trying to solve with your work. Don’t be afraid to show them the roughest of work if it aided you work. The elements of user experience – BOOK – talks of how you think through the layers and how you talk about it to show you knowledge and process. Do not focus on the UI and the pretty parts of it, focus on the nitty gritty.
Don’t be blinded by perks in company open days, focus on development and opportunities. Don’t jump at the first option, compare and contrast.
Rapid7 is super strict, rigid and organised, an agency is more disorganised and wild west if you will.
Still show branding even if you want to work in UX as its still problem solving and a way of communicating. Talk of improvement and constant iterations

Design should solve problems

UX Belfast – LOOK up – 18/10/21 online 6pm register at uxbelfast.org

What kind of designer?

Guest speaker: Ronan McKinless

His experience:

17 years experience.
Worked for large and small companies and startups.
Currently working for himself. He has worked within agencies, startups and now freelance.

I found Ronan’s talk to be very helpful, afterwards he has a Q&A session, now this is what helped me the most. Here are pictures of the notes I made:

Ronan was also kind enough to give me his email so I could send him my portfolio for him to review and give feedback on.

Overall this session was very helpful.

DHD

Speaker: David Henderson

What they do:

Digital marketing company
Graphic design
Animation
Web design
Logos – branding
Film and photography
Social strategy

The speaker: David Henderson – creative Director (Melissa is his wife)

He started in Sept 2008, fresh out of uni. He started as a freelancer.
Around 2012 he hired his first employee
Lucy Cook current IXD intern
They are global – work with clients in the states
14 yr old company
They pride themselves on reliable and constant customer support
Hydrogen Ni – renewable energy
Go youth trust (Glasgow) – just went live
Bakery in Bangor – they did their brand and their website
Passionate about education – going to meetups, digital DNA, web summit, conferences, etc…
They have had placement students for 8 years now
You get to try the different disciplines the company covers.

Who they want:

Hard working
Honest
Diligent
Respectful
Sense of humor
Genuine
Motivated
Passionate attitude for what they do
Organized
Loves what they do
Attitude over skills
Can meet deadlines

Apply and connect:

02895818054
@wearedhd
wearedhd.com
hello@wearedhd.com
david@wearedhd.com
#wearedhd
DEADLINE: 29/11/21
Talk to him on LinkedIn

Product pitch

So as I showed above in my notes I am interested in either creating an eBook for children or a more affordable ambulance system for Americans.

While the urge to create awesome illustrations for a kids book is so strong I do think that exploring the ambulance alternative would be a very good and interesting challenge. Many families in the USA have struggled to financially recover after calling for an ambulance as their insurance provider will not cover the whole cost. My main focus for this is to create a more affordable substitute for financially disadvantaged people and also to reduce the strain in the emergency services.

I was reading an article in The New York Times as part of my research and discovered that in America an ambulance ride can cost thousands even if not medical equipment is used and the costs are not always covered by the insurance. This is simply not an option for some people and so they have begun ordering an UBER to take them to the hospital if the injury or emergency allows. As stated in the article ‘For some, the financial setback of an ambulance trip can be immense. An alternative choice for non-emergencies could save people thousands of dollars and help reduce waste in a system rife with it’.

This tells me that this idea is a possible marketable product that will help people. I do think that this does bring the danger of people abusing or misusing the service and calling a lift instead of an ambulance when their emergency could be life threatening and requires the attention of medical professionals.

I also found this online chatting platform where real Americans were recounting their experiences in using a lift or asking a family member to take them to hospital instead of calling for an ambulance.

My fear is that the healthcare system in America is built around profit over people, cost over care which is something that truly saddens me as in cases like these usually minorities, less financially stable people/families or the vulnerable suffer. I want to create a solution surrounding a current existing service that will remedy this and better peoples life.

The global pandemic further exposed how broken the health care system in America is. After reading an article in the Guardian I discovered that there were 27.9 million people without health insurance in 2018 with patients biggest worry even when nearing their death beds being “who will pay for this?” that is a truly heartbreaking reality. As Derrick Smith, nurse anesthetist at a New York City hospital wrote on Facebook: “Next-level heartbreak – having to hear a dying patient use his last words to worry about healthcare finances.”

According to a recent study, 71% of ambulance providers don’t take the patient’s insurance. That same study found that 79% of patients who took a ground ambulance could be on the hook for an average fee of $450 after their insurance paid out. By comparison, air ambulances can cost the average patient $21,700 after the insurance pays out.

These surprise bills can be a huge problem, especially when nearly four in 10 Americans would have to borrow money to cover an unexpected $1,000 emergency.

More info:

App name ideas:

WELP
505 – I could make the brand look like a mix between SOS and 505 so for a mid emergency the user can call 505

Trying to articulate my thoughts

What is the problem?

The negative financial impact calling a life saving service like an ambulance can have on Americans and how cost influences patients decision on weather or not to seek much needed medical care.

Figures to drive point home:

71% of ambulance providers don’t take the patient’s insurance
79% of patients who take an ambulance could be on the hook for an average fee of $450 after their insurance pays out.

The solution

505 is an ambulance alternative that utilizes the same principles as UBER to request a high priority emergency lift that will cost a fraction of what an ambulance would.

Boosting CV careers Notes Placement Research

Getting ready to smash my first interview

Ok so in all seriousness, I have my first interview with Global Payments on Monday 22/11/21 at 11am. I am more excited than nervous but I would still like to be prepared so I decided to put all my key research and information that I think might help me here. I will also add an evaluation at the bottom of the post of how my interview went. 🙂

Who will be interviewing me?

Stephen Picton (Director, Technical communications)
Jordan Hamilton (UX designer)

** They were both so very lovely **

Things I know about the company

I reached out to Gemma Ferguson on LinkedIn to get some insider information and some tips on how to do well in my interview. That along with the Global Payments talk I had earlier in the year helped me pinpoint the things I would need to mention during my interview to leave a positive impression.

ACCESSIBILITY – in the US it is law – since they work at a global scale this is a big thing for the company. Make sure to mention how important this is to you as a designer.
User-centered design.
Focus on integrated payment solutions.
Sites/offices across the world.
Allows users to manage account, invoices, credit card, etc…
24,000+ employees.
Dominic was a placement student last year.
Belfast and Foyle sites accounts for 80% of the revenue for the company.
They want to know about your design process and how you approach design problems.

Interview tips

Practice on someone in the design field and someone who’s not. The person interviewing you may not be a UX designer, so you should be comfortable answering in terms that will still make sense to a non-designer.

Be ready to share your screen. Whether you’re interviewing in person or online, you may be asked to share your UX design portfolio on your screen. Close any unnecessary windows, and practice navigating to the projects you want to highlight.

Don’t be afraid to stop and think before answering (especially for design challenges). Talk through your thought process out loud—this demonstrates your ability to think through problems analytically.

Possible questions

I started off by brainstorming on paper

I then looked up some articles that were recommended by my tutors to better understand what the employers will ask me and what they are trying to find out by asking me the questions. I read a great article on coursera that offed a lot of insight and helped me form my answers. I also used this article on Carerfoundry that was super helpful.

I found other articles that not only had possible UX questions but also had some suggested answers. I used these also to help me form my questions and answers. One of these resources was an article by Toptal that was great for breaking down what the question means and what the employer wants to hear.

1- Tell us about yourself

As explained in this article by coursera what they’re really asking you with this question is what makes you the right person for this position? why should they invest money and time in you? Are you worth it?

It sounds like a simple get-to-know-you question, but there’s more to it. This is question is my get-way into explaining my journey with UX design.

Prompts:

Why are you interested in UX?
How did you get started in UX?
Tell me a little bit more about your background.
What sparked your interest in UX?
What experiences did you have in your previous jobs or coursework that inspired you to pursue a career in UX design? – here I could talk about some of my part time roles in the service industry and how this helped me improve my communication skills, improve my time-management and taught me how to better deal and communicate with people.
Express what excites you about the role you’re applying for.
Why do you think you’re the best candidate for the job?

I plan on talking a bit about how my multicultural background informs my design solutions and how I found a love for intuitive and user friendly design through art when I moved to this country as it offered me a respite from the language barrier and allowed me to express my frustration, emotions and in a way communicate with the world. This translated into a love for facilitating interactions and communications for everyone.

2- What is UX design?

3- Give me some of your favorite examples of good UX

This question is more about figuring out if you understand the elements of good user experience. Knowing why good UX is important is one thing. Knowing how to design good UX is another. This question digs into your knowledge of UX best practices. So think of apps in terms of usability, accessibility, how engaging and interactive they are…

Prompts:

What elements of the product, app, or website make the user experience enjoyable?
How is the design user-centric?
How do you think that impacts the company’s bottom line?

My examples:

Instagram – for its usability
Apples web store – so smooth, simple, and intriguing, it draws you in
Pinterest – intuitive
Spotify – great personalization

4- Give me some of your examples of bad UX

Here I would also talk about the importance of UX as a bad experience will stay with a user and it will make achieving their task harder. It also reduces their trust and patience for the product or service.

Translink timetables – will not read outload past the title (not accessible). Clunky and awkward to use
Ryanair booking platform – I like to think of it as sneaky UX, it makes it complicated and confusing to trick you into spending more money. Opposite of user first design. You can tell that it is about the bottom line for the company.

5- What is the difference between UX and UI?

Do you understand what UX is and isn’t (and how it fits into the bigger picture)? This is a hard but clever question as more often than not the terms UI and UX are used interchangeably or simply lumped together, they represent distinct roles in the product development process. Make sure you can communicate the difference between a product looking good (UI) and working effectively and efficiently (UX).

Designing for the user interface often plays an important role in the work of a UX designer, but it is not the only function.

Prompts:

UX considers the users needs and how to make a digital product accessible to its users.
UI design is concerned with the effective layout of visual elements on a user interface, UX design is ‘people first.’ It’s about what motivates them—how they think and behave.
How to get the user from A to B as simply as possible
Talk about the freelance branding you did and how you had to act as the Graphic designer, UI and UX designer all at once and how you had to continually justify your design decisions.
UI design is only one slice of the UX design process ‘pie’, and only one of many different disciplines that reside under the UX banner. These include, but are not limited to: a user-centered design strategy, core user demographic definition, persona creation, user research, information architecture, content strategy, interaction design, visual design and usability testing.
What’s the difference between a UX designer and a graphic designer?
How is UX design different from visual design?
What sets UX apart from other design disciplines?

6- What is the future of UX?

This is a fun question as you can really delve into the innovations that excite you in the industry and the things you would love to explore.

I found an article that really helped me to inform my answers, click here to read it.

Possible talking points:

focus on ease of use through motion design and gestural interfaces
Voice commands for minimal to no contact interfaces
AR/ VR – Corporations like IKEA, Target, and Home Depot are already incorporating augmented reality into their online shopping experiences. And let’s not forget when Pokemon Go’s AR technology took over the globe.
Ilya Kroogman, Lead UI/UX Designer and Founder of The Digital Panda stated that “The future of UX design is in a combination of intuitive/predictive AI as well as quality voice/chatbots. Being able to interact with technology in a natural Human-like manner will accelerate technological adoption and increase user satisfaction.”

7- What are your weaknesses?

8- Why do you want to work for Global Payments?

I remember when you came to give us a talk you mentioned that UX is the heart of the development process in Global Payments, this is something that really attracted me to the company as the more you elaborated on this the clearer it became that the customer comes first and that important elements of design like accessibility and creating user centered designs are at the forefront.

9- Walk me through your workflow/your design process

10- What kind of research methods do you use?

What they’re really asking: How do you validate your design decisions?

User research is a key part of the UX design process, so interviewers will sometimes want to gauge your familiarity with the process and methods.

You can approach this question in a couple of ways. Be sure to walk through any user research methods you’ve used in the past (this can include research you conducted as part of a course or degree project). Talk about the benefits and limitations of each method.

If you have limited experience in UX design, you can also frame your answer in terms of research methods you’d like to try and why.

Have you conducted user research in the past?
How do you decide which research method to use?

11- How do you respond to negative feedback?

What they’re really asking: Are you a team player?

Part of the interview process involves figuring out what you’re like to work with. Can you work collaboratively? Are you able to incorporate different ideas and viewpoints into your designs? Do you trust your team members with your work?

UX design is a highly collaborative process. Take this opportunity to talk about a successful collaboration. This could be a group project or a team effort in a previous job. No matter the example you choose, remember to point out the role you played in the group, how you overcame any challenges, what you learned from your teammates, and how the finished product benefitted from the collaboration.

Do you work well as part of a team?
Describe your ideal work environment.
How do you hand over your designs to developers?

12- Tell me about your most/least successful UX design project.

What are your biggest strengths or weaknesses?

Getting asked about the design project you’re most proud of is your chance to showcase your strengths. Outline your contributions to the project, then go into a little more detail about what made it so successful. As you prepare for this question, see if you can tie in some of the qualities listed in the job description for the role.

The negative version of the question is another way to ask you about your weaknesses. Be honest, but keep the focus on what you learned from the not-so-successful project and what you’d do differently in the future.

No matter which version of the question you get, take it as an opportunity to define how you measure success (hint: tie it to the user).

Walk me through your portfolio.
What is your biggest strength/weakness as a UX designer?
Tell me about a design problem that challenged you.

13- How would you improve the UX of our product?

Have you done your research?

It’s always a good idea to read up on the company you’re applying to ahead of your interview. This demonstrates your interest in this company and this role as opposed to any other UX designer job.

Take some time to explore the company’s products. Browse their website. Use their app if they have one.

Think about what works and what could be improved. Pick one or two examples, and come up with a sample plan of action. Remember to mention the company’s target users and the type of research you might conduct when enhancing an existing design.

The point here isn’t to bash your potential employer but to offer a preview of the value you’d bring to the company.

Tell me about a bad user experience you’ve had. How would you fix it?

14- Where do you find inspiration?

Are you passionate about UX design? Are you a lifelong learner?

Interviewers are generally looking for a couple of things when they ask a question like this. First, they want to know that you’re genuinely interested in the industry. Second, they want to know that you’re staying on top of trends. Third, they want to see that you’re always looking for ways to learn and improve.

There’s no right or wrong answer here.

You could discuss a design book you’ve read recently, pointing out a tip or two you gleaned from it. You could talk about a UX podcast you listen to, or a trend you read about in a design blog. How could that trend contribute to this company’s success? Maybe there’s a UX designer you follow on Twitter who always inspires you with new ideas.

If you’re not regularly consuming UX design media, now’s the time to start. Here’s a list of UX books, blogs, and podcasts to get you going.

What do you think is the next big trend in UX design?
What inspires you?
What inspires your work?

15- Do you have any questions?

Are you engaged and curious?

This question closes out many interviews, and it’s important that you come prepared with your own thoughtful questions. The main point of an interview is for a company to determine whether you’re a good fit for a role. But that goes both ways. This is your chance to explore whether the company is a good fit for you.

Demonstrate your interest in the company and the job by asking two or three questions. You can prepare some questions ahead of time, but don’t be afraid to ask questions that may have come up during the interview process. Topics to inquire about might include the company culture, team structure, and business goals.

16- Describe a recent project you were particularly challenged by and how you approached the problem.

Here they want to see what your design process is and how you tackle issues. It is essential to have a clear strategy to facilitate an end goal.

Prompts:

What did you find challenging and why?
How did you set out to come up with a solution?
did you gather extra user-generated data to help solve the problem/brief? – collecting data using analytics, testing the design on a specific demographic in a format that makes the most sense.
Testing wireframes or interactive prototypes on users to either validate or reject hypotheses.
Sending a survey to a wider demographic to better understand product market fit.
Did you employ remote moderated user-testing, or some kind of remote research methodology in order to listen to users and arrive at better design solutions?
Readily share enthusiasm about how you approach problems.

17- The Whiteboard Challenge

How do you perform under pressure? Can you back up the skills listed on your resume?

Many UX designer interviews include a hands-on design challenge. Sometimes this is a take-home project that you turn in later. More commonly, it’s a whiteboard challenge, where you’re asked to design a solution on the spot while talking through your process.

This can be intimidating, but keep in mind that it’s more about seeing your process in action than the final result. Break this down into a few steps:

1. Ask questions to clarify what the challenge entails. What are the expected outcomes? What factors should you consider?

2. Ask more questions to help you build a user persona.

3. Create a user story. Outline what the user would need to solve their problem and the steps they might take.

4. Draw a few critical wireframes on the whiteboard. Explain what you’re including and why.

5. Discuss some alternatives or other use cases.

6. Respond to any feedback with improvements.

7. Ask if there’s anything else you should iterate on.

Practice the process with a real whiteboard ahead of the interview. Here are a few sample challenges to practice with:

Design a child-friendly app for a store that makes custom teddy bears.
Design a mobile app to help singles safely find a roommate in a big city.
Re-design a popular dating app to make it more useful during the pandemic.
Design something from the Designercize prompt generator.

So in a nutshell I think that UX design interview questions tend to fall into a few categories:

All About You
All About Your Work
All About Your Process
What Makes You Tick?
What Are Your Goals?

Questions I have for the end of the interview

What staff development programs do you have?
During our placement program will we be given mentorship and if so how often
Company culture
Team structure
Business
How many projects will I be working on durin/ project opportunities
Opportunities to work in orther areas
What have you learned over the year on how to improive ypour designs
Would you be willing to give me some feedback on how I was able to articulate my answers and describe my design process.

Co-Founders

Speaker: Siofra Frost

What is Co-Founders?

It is a startup program were they explore startup ideas with high-gross potential. It can not be location specific though.

Who can apply?

1- An individual with an idea for an innovative product/service.

2- An individual with skills that a start-up would need.

A team that wants to add further expertise to their team.

It is about finding the right people with the right skillset for making the idea come to life.

Why apply?

Networking opportunity
Design thinking training
Learn how to develop a start-up
Potential to win one of ten £10k grants
Hone skills in teamwork, collaboration and pitching

Branding careers Invoice Notes Personal branding

Invoice design

So as part of our personal branding and for the design proposal we had to design an invoice template. I was not sure what to add so I started off by doing some research to know what I should add.

I found this website to be very helpful when researching invoices. I also found this blog post by William Simpson to be super helpful also.

What is an invoice?

An invoice is a document that you send to your client after they purchase goods or services from you, both as a means of recording the sale and of requesting payment from them.

Specifically, an invoice declares in writing what exactly the client purchased, when they purchased it, in what quantity and at what price.

What is their purpose?

They create a binding agreement between you and your customer that obliges the customer to pay the agreed price. As a result, invoices can be used when taking more formal actions, especially in the case of overdue or missing payments.

That’s because, in addition to stating the total amount to be paid by your customer, invoices also identify the payment terms, including when the payment must be made by and what, if any, the potential penalties are for late payments.

How to make a good design invoice

The invoice should look clean and it should be easy to read. It shouldn’t overwhelm the client with too much information but should include everything that’s important for your records and for them to understand your charges. When you’re creating the invoice, pay attention to the layout and consider how you’re going to bill for your work.

Your business logo, address, and other information they might need such as your phone number or email address ,must be included. Include your website if applicable. You’ll want to include your client’s name and information, an invoice number, and the date of the invoice. You’ll also want the invoice total to be in an easy to spot location.

Layout for a Design Invoice

Logo and information at the top, where it’s easy for the client to see.
Client name – middle
Date of the invoice – middle
Other important information. – middle
Break down the project and the costs.
Break down your project into subcategories that make sense for the project and include descriptions as needed.
Provide the cost based on how you’re billing the client and the total price for each section of the project.
At the bottom of the invoice, total the services, include any tax as necessary, subtract any amount they’ve already paid, and show the final amount they owe for your services.

How to Bill for Design Projects

You’re generally going to choose based on a set fee for each part of the project or hourly for the amount of time you spend on each part of the project. If you’re planning on charging clients set fees for various parts of the projects you work on, break down the invoice into those parts and write the cost for each one, then add them together to get the total. If you’re planning on charging an hourly price, write down which part of the project you worked on, the number of hours you spent on it, your hourly rate, and the total cost for each part of the project.

Your invoice reflects your business and should look fantastic yet be easy for you to fill out when needed and provide to your clients.

Visual research

I started by doing some visual research. Here is a link to see it.

Here are some of my favourite ones:

I really like the simplicity of these 2 designs, it includes colour and personality without taking away from the important information.

I really like the colour scheme of the Invoice above especially because it is similar to my own colour scheme. The writing size is a big too small though – it is a bit hard to read.

I really like how they used blocks of colour to create a sort of structure to the information.

Here is a link to my Figma design file.

My Invoice

Emily Ussher Invoice pdf

I had a lot of fun making the invoice and I am pleased with how simple I was able to make it. I do think that as time goes on and I mature as a designer this aspect of my brand will also mature.