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…
Designers need feedback to check with the team, stakeholders, and clients if they are on the right path. Too often we tend to show screens with little direction, and the design feedback is unfocused. As a result, it is not…
Journaling is one of the hot new productivity trends. The lesson from every podcast I listen to each morning is that productive people journal to get their ideas out of their heads. In my case, I have a pile of…
The number one question my students ask me is be how to make their design portfolio stand out. After reviewing graduating students’ work as well as applicants at IBM, I often see a hodgepodge of what seems like everything they…
**Editor’s notes. This is a repost from an earlier article. Over the past year, I have talked with former students to hear about their stories interviewing for their first UX designer role. Their lessons combined with my interview experiences have…
It’s time for setting goals. The beginning of the year is the time to examine what we have accomplished and what remains on our ‘to do list.’ I have written about how focusing on myself has helped me accomplish goals…