Personal values as UX/UI Designer in the age of decentralization and automation
The longer and broader the road gets I feel like I need to stand firmly as what I believe in, how I experience myself, what I do every day, what I am passionate about, how I approach others and most importantly how I work with others in order to succeed. And as a designer, I am finally able to see what makes me different as a person and ultimately as a brand. I am my own brand. I feel like the experiences that I design should speak for itself but once I have them written down I might be able to get a level up and reflect on myself and stand even more firmly to the person I am striving to be. Thanks to my great teacher Alp from UCSC Silicon Valley Extension I got this incentive to put these into a comprehensive guide over the core values that describe me as UX/ UI Designer.
Good interface design can influence how people experience the present moment, a reality they are living in and how much they will be able to get out of the future that companies are creating for us. Without proper tools, people might not be able to fully experience the possibilities that are being created for them and take all the benefits. The best services might be there but without a well-designed interface, there won’t be accessible. They wouldn’t exist either without great businesses creating them. So at the same time I want to find new ways to help the businesses grow sustainably.
Decentralization and automation are just around the corner and the sooner we realize that the users should be in the center of those experiences those improvements might just become a burden and not fulfill its core mission — which is to change the systems governing our lives. My mission is to enable people the access to those wonderful services and experiences. I want to guide them through them in a seamless way so that their lives will benefit from it and therefore progress can happen.
Excellence
By giving attention to every detail, I create experiences not the products of the best quality that are supposed to add value to your business and to your customers. Balancing customer needs and business goals is my priority. I want to help you visualize your ideas that are going to disrupt the market and bring new solutions. As there is not enough time in your busy life to put all your ideas into a consistent shape I am here for you to organize them and prepare the best course of action in order to develop what is necessary. The result will be an honest, constructive feedback and approach.
Partnership
I am here for you, striving to put your best interests first — regardless of the project size or budget — so that I can become your trusted partner. And I don’t just search for a short-term partner. I was raised with values that fostered human relationships, I don’t consider my clients to be there temporarily. I want to build strong relationships with the people I work with for the lifetime. So the collaboration and exchange of thoughts develop continuously. I am also fully aware that being a designer in a digital age will require collaborations with people from diverse backgrounds such as data scientists, machine learning experts, blockchain developers, community creators just to name few. I am prepared and very passionate about learning the duties, passions, and ways of working with other team members in order to foster a healthy and enthusiastic collaboration. And those collaborations are there to envision desirable and feasible experiences too.
Process
Before I design a product I start with why’s. I take your problem as my own problem and analyze it best I can as if it would be my own business. Then I am going through a deep and careful analysis, research in order to understand what customers need and what are their struggles. I will put lots of attention to listening to your needs, ideas, getting to know you and the essence of your story, your context so that we are on the same page before we can start working together. I put lots of value on how I communicate with people from the beginning until the end. I endeavor to always deliver what I promise, to meet every deadline, and to communicate proactively. I believe in open communication, first knowing the client’s expectations and then expressing how I prefer to communicate. So that the miscommunication does not stand in between the quality of the work that is being created. I always strive to create an enthusiastic, energetic and positive work atmosphere.
Passion
Never settle for less. I am passionate about empowering people that are going to use the products that I make. I have come a long way from my home country to Netherlands where I studied design for many years and now to the USA in order to learn about UX/ UI design from the best. I want to transfer that passion to the projects that I am doing. Next, to the UX/ UI, I am passionate about many different aspects of the future and technology which I believe enrich me as a designer and therefore translate these values into the products I am creating. Whenever I can i attend the conferences either concerning the future of UX or the disruptive technologies such as blockchain for example. I read a lot of articles to know what other designers and companies are working on and what challenges they are facing. I never stop educating myself as I believe the role of designer is becoming more and more important as the technology evolves and every aspect of life becomes digitalised.
Disruptive
Design with innovation in mind. I am always trying to search for solutions that might be better than what is already out there and which would improve the usability of the products I am designing in an innovative way yet keeping it intuitive to the user. I am trying to embed different methods into my experience design research such as data analysis for example. I am always asking myself how something can be improved and done better. I am researching about new approaches whenever I can so I can be up to date with the market and small revolutions happening around me to advise the client along the way. I like to follow the changes happening within different market sectors concerning automation and disruption so I can be prepared when the new challenge comes across. The design of user experiences reach a new frontier with the emergence of machine learning techniques for example and that imposes a need for disruptive mindset which I think the designer should have in order to design interfaces for the connected age.
Focused
I believe that even a passionate designer should be focused on finding the area he/ she is most interested in. The focused mindset can create wonders and improve the digital products across industries. I am in a constant search for the products, ideas, companies that I truly believe and support so that in the near I know where to put my energy, effort and use my skill set which I am building all the time. Recently I have been following Blockchain development and the projects that are springing up around us like mushrooms after the rain. The more I discover the more I realize that if I want to make a change and contribute to this economic sector I need to know which aspects of distribution truly interest me, which projects I believe most. After become more precise and focused I can really bring an impact with my designs.
Ethics
As the 4th Industrial revolution unfolds and big leading tech companies are centering their visions around humanistic approach, I feel like the designers should do the same. Algorithms are getting closer to our everyday lives and that data provide a context for an evolving relationship between human and machine. Let people have a great conversation with the interfaces they use every day. Google’s UX community recently coined the term “human-centered machine learning” and last month Google Brain, the company’s AI research division, launched a new research program called the People + AI Research Initiative (PAIR), dedicated to driving a humanistic approach to artificial intelligence. By designing the interfaces I can lead the charge in holding automation ethically accountable to the humans it is designed to serve and redefine the relationship between humans and machines.
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