The personal elevator pitch is a useful tool for meeting and connecting with people who can strengthen your community. A high impact 15 second summary of who you are and how you can offer value can seal an effective first…
On the first day of design class, I have learned to prepare a talk for my students. For about thirty minutes I go over the importance of getting their sh*t in order and studying ahead. They tend to nod their…
Summer is a necessary break from the rigors of class. I work full time while I teach, but I welcome the time to reflect on my experiences from the academic year. The time away from class offers opportunities to grow…
This is part two of a three part UX Portfolio Checklist series. If you missed the fist part that outlined the necessary elements that make up a solid portfolio piece, check out this post (link). In this article, I go…
You made it. You survived the gauntlet of portfolio reviews, interviews, design challenges, and landed a new design job. Now is the time to really get to work. How should you approach the first 90 days? I have gone through…
John Challis is a Product Designer for IBM Bluemix and founder of the fashion and art blog, Hastyville. He currently lives in Austin,TX. In this interview, we discuss getting started in the industry, working for IBM Design, and growing as…
For most of this semester, I have been preparing my portfolio students to practice pitching their work and their skills for the impending UX design job interview. This week will be the last class for the semester. After they do…
Job Interview Myth #1: No Experience = No Chance Truth: Internships and Entry Level positions Of all the job interview myths, this one frustrates most of my students. However, just remember that companies are often looking to grow the talent…
A few years into my career, I started to notice designers self-identifying themselves by a specialty. As we started to better define UX, we realized that no one designer can own the entire process. So, we categorized ourselves as visual…
I came to enterprise software recently joining IBM design. Before this move I worked on mostly consumer facing applications at two startups and two agencies. A lot of my peers questioned my move. Their experiences with enterprise software companies were…