My UX/UI space

We’ve just finished week 8th! it’s been intense and great. Working with my team makes me feel more relaxed compared to the projects where I work alone, the work is split in 3 and everything is just more fun so I’m very grateful. 

Working in teams makes me grow a lot because I have the opportunity to learn from people that are more experienced than me. 

It’s been a long ride and I am looking towards next week which is also the last one. 

I can’t believe we’re going to start week 8 tomorrow! just 2 weeks left to end this life changing experience. 

I feel so accomplished already! I am really proud of all the things I’ve achieved and how my life has changed in the last 2 months. Not only because of the bootcamp but in general. 

We just delivered our final solo project and I was amazed of all the knowledge this bootcamp has given me in such a short period of time- but god, it is for the hard people, for the strong and tenacious. I’m happy because I know I am able to develop myself further and not ever stop. 

I feel grateful for all the students in my cohort and my teachers! They really put on hard work so we can have the best experience, you can tell when something is done with dedication. 

I showcased my final project to a professional UX designer who was the jury, I was nervous to present my amateur job to someone so experienced, but she was so nice and really gave me confidence to start looking for a position once the bootcamp is over. 

Now Im looking forward to the very last project which is a real case for a start up called untaxme 🔥

I am having a hard time to understand where to place the RCI in the research phase. For me, it seems like a usability testing even though I know it is not. 

I have some questions like for example:

- During a remote RCI should we ask the user to share their screens?

- I am concerned about the data that maybe they would show if sharing their screens and their in-company’s policies. 

- If we are researching for onboarding processes for employees in company’s should we ask the user to share with us their current tools or methods?

I don’t know really how to conduct this method without overstepping, specially being on remote. 

This is the part that scares me the most for this project but I hope I’ll clarify these questions soon :)

That being said, I think it is a great way to really understand the user needs and current usages of their tools. I agree that we should do a RCI to the business analyst and the end user, it gives as a panoramic view of the problem. 

Also, I am a little worried about the time frame for the project as the video said it would take at least 5 days to complete the RCI and the data analysis, I’m just crossing my fingers to not have any major blockers. 

So, I decided to go on a family vacation during the fifth week. I did it because i will be relocating this upcoming week and wanted to say goodbye to my loved ones, but I won’t lie and will admit it was really hard being away and stayed focused on the bootcamp. You have to be 100% dedicated while other people at home are just enjoying life, so I am really proud of myself because I still made it. 

This week’s was a group project challenge. I love to work in teams because the work is on everybody’s backs and if you need a break a teammate will be there for you. 

I had the opportunity to work with two amazing women Fabi and Susi, both are super smart and assertive. I learned a LOT from them about Figma and design in general, there’s a sense of pride and joy when I work with other women, they really inspire me and make me feel capable of anything :)

The project was about redesigning a small business website, I really fell in love with this project because the entrepreneur in me was screaming of joy , I LOVE to think about new business ideas and supporting small brands.

We had to code a full screen of the page in HTML and CSS and I did not enjoy it. To be honest, Susi did the work and tried to explain to Fabi and me about the structure and the whole sense of the coding but it was a bit too much. 

This made me realise my path as a UX designer is just beginning and I will have a never ending journey, but that’s ok, I’ve made my peace with that. 

I’m looking forward this upcoming week even though I will be moving to another country (i want to kill the Paula of the past for thinking she could handle it all at once). 

I finally chose Sofia for this project: designing an app for flight booking. 

Sofia is an android user that likes to have fun and travel around the world. 

For this task I have to take into consideration that Android has different basic patterns for the UI design that all apps use when installed in this operating system, which I must follow for the sake of consistency. 

1. Controls: 

2. Action Button Styles : 

3. Typo: San Francisco is the system typeface in iOS. Roboto is the standard typeface in Android.

4. Navigation Transitions: 

5. Check boxes:

After almost 4 weeks of projects at the bootcamp I could relate with some points mention in this video. 

Given that I had no prior experience in design of any kind it was a bit hard to notice that design is not easy, that it is not that simple to not be biased and to start looking at our users needs with critic eye. 

For me, also it is difficult when I have some great ideas but as the video says sometimes those ideas are not goal serving, but that doesn’t mean those ideas couldn’t be used in the future. 

It is critical that we as designers learn how to approach the research process and to get results that actually will help us.

When the UI part started I was surprised that the designer actually used keynote (BTW it seems easier than Figma!). Also, it was funny when the audience start to praise him for aligning the lines (so basic) but it clearly shows that when people use apps they don’t stop to think how much work it actually takes to build every single part of it. 

ONE IDEA IS NOT ENOUGH, this is so important and I could see it throughout all the past projects, so many ideas and we have never used the first that came, we go through so many iterations even if the original concept stays the same.

I appreciate so much the 180 technique which I didn’t consider, to explore total different approaches.

I'm feel kind of proud to know get to understand this kind of lectures and actually have a critic.

As I'm learning how to be an UX designer my worries get bigger when I think I don't have good taste when it comes to creating the anesthetics of a product but most of the times I find myself enjoying the deeper levels of the process. This lecture is encouraging as there's a hope to keep sharpening my designer sight, I feel now like before getting into the classes in the bootcamp I was totally blind, I did not see the world as I do know, at least the digital world. I know understand about features, usability, functions and more. I can differentiate some aspects that make a design clear and functional, I went from "that looks pretty" to finally starting to develop a critic eye.

On the second week of the bootcamp we were given a project to work alone. The goal was to design a habit tracking app, we weren’t given a specific topic we had to do deep research instead. At first, I thought I wasn’t gonna be able to pull it through but I did it. I had to put a lot of hours and effort. I have no prior experience in design so it is a bit harder for me to grasp into some concepts. It is for me a new territory using figma  although I’m getting there slowly but surely. 

I AM EXHAUSTED! It is true what they said about the crazy hours, but I must say I feel satisfied, never a dull moment during bootcamp days.I feel like I am learning a TON of different things : research, sketching, ideation, usability testing, creating personas, etc...I delivered my first group project and received feedback from other students and teachers which is pretty useful for the upcoming projects. I feel more confident knowing that I AM capable of doing this and that’s an awesome feeling :)

I’d like to upgrade my skills on figma and master this tool by the end of week 9. I like all the ideas my classmates had for their projects, they are very conscious ideas and with sustainable purposes. 

I’m writing this on a sunday night when I just finished all the assignments for the weekend but I must say I went for a beer or two during this weekend, remember! It is all about balance :)

When I decided to join the Full-Time UX/UI bootcamp at Ironhack we were just recovering as a society from the Covid-19 global pandemic. We were just given permission to go outside with some restrictions. Although things were better Ironhack decided to keep making its bootcamps remotely for our safety.

 At first, it seemed like the perfect option because I could sign up to the cohort that best suited my schedule as location wasn’t an issue anymore and the dates varied depending on the city. Finally I decided to enrol and begin this adventure which is also a career transition. Since that day I felt like I was being part of a great community even though class wasn’t starting until next week.