dauntlessdesigner-blog

[dauntlessdesigner-blog]

This is How it Starts

No job. Limited human interaction. Unorganized data. Conflicting opinions. Paid classes. Free content. Books. Articles. LinkedIn. Twitter. Blogs. Brand. Sketch. Illustrator. Balsamiq, Axure, Visio. Omnigraph. Professional organizations.

^that’s a lot of stuff^

After Day 2 of Hopscotch I felt overwhelmed. Hearing some very conflicting opinions from UX’ers on the right/wrong way to try to break into the field of user design, realizing we’re strapped for cash on paid courses (remember: I left my job), and having this huge cloud of uncertainty at my doorstep just didn’t feel good. Until I realized something. Those things that were overwhelming me were actually good things.

Conflicting opinions exist because...drum roll please...there is more than one way to get to UX. And when I realized that, it took a huge burden off my shoulders. I’m not saying whichever path I take will be easy, but at least now I can rest easier knowing that the steps I take will likely pay off in the long run.

So, after taking a month off to recover from my prior job/get married, it’s been one week since I started my self-guided tour into UX and there have already been some really good outcomes:

1. I have learned the basics of HTML5, and am just about ready to do the same for CSS. (No, I don’t want to be a developer. But I DO want to be able to communicate as effectively as possible with my team/business partners, and that means being able to speak their language and understand their limitations. For those that are curious, my interest lies with becoming a Visual Designer, Interaction Designer, and/or Information Architect (TBD on which one of those wins out).

2. Joined a regional UX Meetup group: Ladies that UX. Their next, and my first, meeting is at the end of the month! Very excited for this one. 

3. I’ve been reading...a TON...willingly (remember: not an avid reader)! As mentioned earlier: articles, blogs, posts, intro to UX books, HTML textbook, and You’re a Badass by Jen Sincere (<- that one is for a little extra motivation!)

4. Set up time with a friend’s UX coworker to talk about her best tips to breaking into the field and maybe even to set up a long distance mentorship (I’m east coast, she’s west coast.)

So, all-in-all, for the first week I’ve accomplished a ton. On to week 2 :)

[dauntlessdesigner-blog]

The deets

If by now you've decided to follow this blog, then here's some more context about me and my life to help it all make more sense:

I'm a shy, social introvert (I like people, but it exhausts me to be around them for large periods of time, but without people I go nuts)

Good, bad, or ugly: I am an empath. That means I feel things very deeply and the emotions of others can impact me greatly (easy example: you cry, I cry.) This also means how other people feel is really important to me.

My background is in exercise physiology, customer service leadership, and retirement finance (note: not design). As close as I get, up to this point, is that I'm a self-taught cake designer (on the side and it's been a while).

I'm only just recently discovering the depths of my courage, of which the limits will be pushed as I take on this new adventure.

I have a natural knack for creating visuals and communicating with others through visuals and writing.

Generally, I am not a book worm. I tend to get made fun of for this one (mostly by my mega-nerdy husband), but it’s just not how I enjoy spending my free time. I can read just fine, I just don’t usually choose to.

As is true with many, if not most, people, I am still learning who I am everyday. And that means that as I uncover new things about myself, I'll probably update this post.

[dauntlessdesigner-blog]

[dauntlessdesigner-blog]

Let's get this party started!

Well, my last month of employment has passed. Loose-ends nice and tied up and now onto the vast open space that is my new life.

Over that month I made some connections in my prior company's UXD department, grabbed some other connections from friends coworkers in UXD, found any excuse I could to work on my visual design skills, and discovered some things that will need further discovering (coding basics, UXD software/programs, professional organizations and meet up groups, design conferences, etc...).

So all that brings us to today: Day 1 Hopscotch Design Festival. A city, jam-packed with local and not-so-local designers of all kinds, listening to some amazing speakers in the design world. I've already learned about a non-profit education company where I can take Human Centered Design classes for free, made a connection with a UX'er from SAS, realized that risks like the one I just took are what push us to greatness, that it's going to take a lot of courage to keep pushing through, and that the chicken at Beasley's Chicken&Waffles is out of this world.

[dauntlessdesigner-blog]

Dauntlessdesigner, User Experience Designer Until 29, a financial call center manager

We don’t all find our purpose in life early. Don’t worry too much.

[dauntlessdesigner-blog]

Zero

I made the most difficult decision of my 29-year-old life this week.

I quit my stable, well paid job, at a highly esteemed financial firm where I was considered an exceptional employee with high potential.

More to the point I gave my notice. One month to be exact. My boyfriend calls it retirement from an old career, and honestly I think he’s right. And so, retirement is where my story begins…

6 sentences in and you must be thinking: Wow. This girl is nuts. And I suppose I must at least be a little bit to take such a risk, but we all know the cliché: “the greater the risk, the greater the reward”.

3 months ago I finally figured out what I want to do with my life. And for those of you who have struggled as I have, wandering life without knowing what you want to do when you grow up, you know this is a Really. Big. Deal.

Some things you should know about me: My passion has always been creating. Drawing, decorating cakes, folding paper flowers, stationary, spreadsheets, PowerPoint, animation, infographics…you name it, I would probably like taking a stab at creating it. And, whatever it is, will probably be bursting with color.

Additionally, effective communication is something that has recently become one of the most crucial things in my life. After getting divorced and then finding my true soulmate, the importance of communication in all aspects of life became more apparent than ever. And I’m proud to say, that largely due to big doses of courage and practice, I’m also pretty good at it.

When I look at the world full of possibilities for my career, nothing has inspired me more than the field of UXD. And that’s with only scratching the surface. The idea of looking at the human experience and being able to help companies communicate through visual design and empathy, thus making technology more seamless and appealing for the human race. That’s pretty cool.

So why “Zero”? As you read above, I had never even heard of UXD until a couple months ago. So in short, on the spectrum of UXD knowledge and experience I’m sitting pretty close to 0. In one month my full time journey of risk, faith, and dedication begins.

Wish me luck 🍀