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A day in the Life of a Lead UX/UI Designer

Get to know Lead UX/UI Designer Cynthia Myung

Welcome to the first installment of our Day in the Life blog series, where we will be interviewing NearFormers across our business functions to learn more about what their role entails, how they came to be in their current roles, and to showcase the diverse career progression stories that our team have.

With this week marking the UN’s Day for Women & Girls in Science, we are especially pleased to be recognising someone who brings together technology design with cognitive psychology and behavioural science.  Today we are travelling to Ireland, NearForm’s home country, to interview Cynthia, a Lead UX/UI Designer who recently joined NearForm at the start of February 2022.

What is your role, and what does it entail?

I am a Lead UX/UI Designer. To put it simply, I collaborate with businesses to understand their goals and listen to their users’ needs, which is then translated into a precise design solution. It takes a village, so I have an amazing team alongside this process to brainstorm ideas and deliver a clear and impactful outcome.

What is your favourite thing about your role?

Using data to drive design. There’s something to be said about seeing the results through user adoption, feedback or even an increase in sales from a design solution.

What is your biggest work challenge on a day to day basis?

Making sure all my eggs are not in one basket.

What did you study at university?

Graphic design/visual communications at the Illinois Institute of Art of Chicago.

What do you like to do in your free time?

My partner and I recently renovated a garage into a tiny home, so when I’m not going to war with myself about what to put up on the walls, I normally try to fit exercise into my routine. I enjoy going for runs, a long walk outdoors, or a vinyasa to break up my day and clear the mind.

Work with Cynthia!

NearForm is currently hiring. Find out more about life at NearForm and check out our open listings.

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Tell us about your day.

8:00 am

My morning starts by organising my surrounding space paired with the mandatory hydrating and caffeinating.

I then say good morning to my team on Slack and receive the same greetings from others. This is one of the ways in which we make a conscious effort to stay connected, working at a remote-first company like NearForm.

I then scan my calendar to set my agenda for the day and take some time to continue with onboarding by familiarising myself with new tools and diving into The NearForm Way (the company’s internal site with organised details on all the handy-dandy information you need to know, from recordings of company town halls to wellness program information).

9:00

Yesterday, I asked leadership if I could participate in any upcoming client meetings in order to observe the way we work as a team, so I spent some time getting acquainted with a client to be prepared for an introduction meeting in the afternoon.

To get more insight into the recent happenings of the company, I then watched the All-Hands from January 2022. All-Hands sessions at NearForm are monthly town hall meetings where we showcase major business updates, team projects, client projects, new starters, and more.

10:30

As the morning ticks along, I go back to responding to colleagues on Slack, mostly in my team’s design channel and in a group with IT to help me with my setup while I install all the necessary applications for my role: from Adobe and Figma, to Spotify.

By now, it’s time for a second cup of coffee ☕

11:00

I prepare for my 1:1 with one of the other designers on the team. This has been one of the many that I have scheduled on my first week to get to know my new team, and it has been a highlight!

Unfortunately, my  1:1 has to be rescheduled (these things happen!) so I continue with my onboarding by reviewing the latest Operation Comms Sessions to get a glimpse of current projects and the forecast of the team for the future.

12:00

I meet with the Delivery Ops Coordinator to bring me up to speed on everything from team structure to timesheets.

12:45

Lunchtime. There aren’t many days in the winter where it’ll be dry and sunny here in Sligo, so I’m going to gear up and go for a run. Benbulbin is there to greet me at the halfway point.

14:00

Back from lunch, and I hop into a client introduction meeting. I’m glad I could partake in the meeting as it was a good opportunity to get a glimpse of how NearForm works strategically hand-in-hand with clients.

16:00

Time for an IT Introduction meeting — this meeting is to make sure all the new hires such as myself are aware of where to look for IT support and see that we have the necessary equipment

It’s now time for a stretch break!

16:30

A 1:1 session with one of the Senior Product Designers. Since he was a recent hire, I was curious about his transition from onboarding to producing and delivering work. We also bonded over a playlist I had shared with the team the other day:

17:00

Since my earlier meetings were back to back, I take a moment to look at what I might have missed on my emails and Slack.

During the IT Intro meeting, the Weekly Design Sync was also going on. A recording of this meeting was made so I end the day by catching up on what’s been going on in the design team. I also learn that I will be on an exciting project starting Monday!

I have a couple more 1:1 sessions with designers tomorrow that I’m already looking forward to and can’t believe that’ll mark the end of my first week. I’m interested in really diving more into our projects and starting to contribute to the team.

NearForm is currently hiring. Find out more about life at NearForm and view our vacancies .

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