Five lessons that the Pandemic has Taught Me as a UX/UI Designer Trying to Break into the Industry
By: Holly Lancefield
Tags: Flatiron School, UI, Growth, UX, Product Design

Five lessons that the Pandemic has Taught Me as a UX/UI Designer Trying to Break into the Industry Holly Lancefield Jul 1, 2020·4 min read

When I started my course at Flatiron Design School, I did not envision myself attempting to enter the job market during a global pandemic. But there I was, several months later, baking banana bread, taking up obscure indoor exercises regimes and trying to enter the world of UX/UI design. The situation came with unique hurdles but also unexpected opportunities to learn. I want to share the most important things that I have learnt from this process, with the hope it will help other people starting their journey, like me.

When you are feeling your least capable, that is when you are learning the most.

I wanted to dedicate my lockdown to really honing my skillset, but when deciding areas to focus on, I was confronted with a paralysing number of potential avenues to put my time and energy into. The vast assortment of software, methodologies and qualifications out there was simply overwhelming. This immediately triggered self-doubt. How is it possible that I know so little? Where is the right place to begin? Is it even worth trying?

Eventually, I realised that questioning myself could be a powerful tool if harnessed in the right way. If you can manage to let go of the idea that having gaps in your knowledge is a negative thing and reframe the situation as an exciting opportunity to learn, then you stay grounded in reality whilst simultaneously perpetuating your personal development. In the end, with this mindset, I successfully spent lockdown learning how to do animation, refining my UI skills and tightening up my portfolio.

2. Cringing at your old designs is not just natural, but essential.

We all know the feeling. You’ve not taken a moment away from your work, having spent hours staring at the screen obsessing over your final designs. Tying up the process, you close your MacBook with a dull glow of contentment. You are actually happy with what you created. Yet when you return to the project two weeks later, you are confronted with a very different reality: everything is wrong. Colour palette, typography, UX decisions — you question them all.

If you are improving quickly, then you will quickly go from loving what you’ve made one minute to hating it the next. This is a good thing. The pandemic gave a lot of the chance to learn at an accelerated rate, which means it will happen even more frequently. It shows you are growing as a designer. Not being able to let go of designs that have room for improvement, will, after all, only hurt the end product.

3. Remote working takes setting personal boundaries to a whole new level

At the beginning of the lockdown, I would fall asleep next to my MacBook and open it at 7:30am to start making caffeine fuelled edits to my portfolio. Without the luxury of office walls, the lack of physical separation between my ‘work space’ and my ‘me space’, resulted in an uncomfortable, unsustainable fusion. After working like this for a few weeks, I started to feel burnt-out. I realised I wasn’t producing my best work and on top of that, I wasn’t feeling good either. I came to realise that taking regular, organised breaks helped me get perspective on what I was creating and improved my overall wellbeing. Win win.

4. Feeling busy is not the same as being busy. Hone your focus.

While the world slowed down, technology did not. Between the miscellany of software open on my desktop I would flit between, the influx of emails, messages on slack channels and notifications from obscure apps, It was easy to stay occupied all day, without actually getting anything done. Working like this will tire you out without you having much to show for it at the end of the day. I realised that I had to hold myself accountable for my daily tasks and ensure I kept track of the goals I was ticking off to truly grasp my progress.

5. People want to help you. Let them and listen.

While the movie Contagion would have you thinking that the unleashing of a SARS Virus across the globe would propel our society into competitive, fratcured chaos, I experienced the opposite.

Despite the struggling economy, personal difficulties that people are facing and the global upheaval, I found that people who are in a position to help genuinely want to. Whether it has been actionable feedback, job searching tips or general advice about the industry, I have learnt the most from reaching out and listening to those with experience. So a big thanks to anyone who has helped me in my process over the past couple of months, I really am grateful.

Holly Lancefield is a London Based product & UX designer driven by bringing users clarity, both visuslly and experientially. Follow her here on Medium to keep up to date with her illuminating blog posts, look here to nose around her portfolio or reach out to her on LinkedIn.