#35 - UX Researcher’s Life, Communication Skills, and Teamwork | Monica Chan

Monica is a UX Researcher @ Amazon. Monica talks about her career journey in research. We touch on the challenges she faced doing remote studies during COVID and what it really takes to be a researcher. She shares her favourite research methods, tips for those new to research, and advice for designers on working well with researchers.  We also dive into how to convince people that research is crucial for their projects and talk about whether AI could ever take over a researcher's job. Enjoy 🤙 Episode Links: Monica’s website: https://monicamchan.wixsite.com/portfolio  Monica’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamchan/  Monica on ADPList: https://adplist.org/mentors/monica-chan  Monica’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/monicamxchan  Podcast Info: Podcast website: ⁠https://podcast.kirillv.com⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://apple.co/3JFr2u8⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/3RukfVO⁠ RSS: ⁠https://anchor.fm/s/c09a45dc/podcast/rss⁠ Kirill V Links: Newsletter: ⁠https://www.kirillv.com⁠ Linkedin: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillvechtomov⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/_kirillv⁠ Youtube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@_kirillv⁠ Support me: ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kirillv⁠

Anthony is an award-winning Product Designer @ Amazon, author, educator, inventor, and mentor. Anthony talks about his career journey and experience in creating board games. We discuss UX bootcamps, thoughts on AI's role in UX, job search strategies, and portfolio and resume tips. To wrap it up Anthony shares his experience writing his first book “The Art and Science of UX Design”. Enjoy 🤙 Episode Links: Anthony’s website: https://www.anthonyconta.com/  Anthony’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyconta/  Anthony’s Medium: https://medium.com/@anthony.conta  Anthony’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/anthony_conta  Anthony’s book: peachpit.com/uxdesignsbs Discount code: CONTA Save 35%* off the list price of The Art and Science of UX Design: A step-by-step guide to designing amazing user experiences, book or eBook. Podcast Info: Podcast website: ⁠https://podcast.kirillv.com⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://apple.co/3JFr2u8⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/3RukfVO⁠ RSS: ⁠https://anchor.fm/s/c09a45dc/podcast/rss⁠ Kirill V Links: Newsletter: ⁠https://www.kirillv.com⁠ Linkedin: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillvechtomov⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/_kirillv⁠ Youtube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@_kirillv⁠ Support me: ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kirillv⁠

Kirk and Suzanne are creative leaders and co-founders of Design Unicorn, an agency on a mission to empower designers and agencies to harness the transformative potential of AI. They share their career stories and their new venture - Design Unicorn - where they share the latest AI developments specifically in relation to the Design world. Obviously, we discuss AI and its impact on the future of the Design profession, and whether AI could understand psychology and be creative. Also, we discuss the risks of companies over-optimizing for conversion rates and ROI, how you can use ChatGPT to prepare for job interviews, and much more. Enjoy 🤙 Episode Links: Kirk’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirk-clyne/  Suzanne’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-michele-reeves/  Design Unicorn: https://www.designunicorn.ai/ Podcast Info: Podcast website: ⁠https://podcast.kirillv.com⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://apple.co/3JFr2u8⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/3RukfVO⁠ RSS: ⁠https://anchor.fm/s/c09a45dc/podcast/rss⁠ Outline: (0:00) - Preview (0:56) - Introduction (3:31) - Suzanne’s career story (12:30) - Kirk’s career story Kirill V Links: Newsletter: ⁠https://www.kirillv.com⁠ Linkedin: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillvechtomov⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/_kirillv⁠ Youtube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@_kirillv⁠ Support me: ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kirillv⁠

Jacco is a UX Design Manager @ Elsevier, a large IT services company creating solutions for researchers and healthcare professionals. Jacco shares his career story and how he transitioned into UX leadership, the difference between management and leadership and skills you should be working on to grow in this direction. Also, we discuss the challenges of UX managers, AI and the future of UX design. In addition, Jacco shares resume, interviewing, and networking advice for UX design candidates, and much more. Enjoy 🤙 Episode Links: Jacco’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjotten/ Podcast Info: Podcast website: ⁠https://podcast.kirillv.com⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://apple.co/3JFr2u8⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/3RukfVO⁠ RSS: ⁠https://anchor.fm/s/c09a45dc/podcast/rss⁠ Outline: (0:00) - Preview (0:35) - Introduction (1:33) - Jacco’s career story Kirill V Links: Newsletter: ⁠https://www.kirillv.com⁠ Linkedin: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillvechtomov⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/_kirillv⁠ Youtube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@_kirillv⁠ Support me: ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kirillv⁠

Mukul is an AR/VR Designer @ Amazon. Mukul shares his career story and getting into the world of augmented and virtual reality, inventing new interaction patterns and the challenge of not having common patterns to rely on, prototyping tools for AR and VR experiences, the future of VR applications, metaverse, how to get into AR/VR design world as a designer, and much more. Enjoy 🤙 Episode Links: Mukul’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agarwal-mukul/ Mukul’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/mukulagarwalXR Unity tutorials: https://learn.unity.com/ Unreal tutorials: https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/learn?state=%2F5.2%2Fen-US%2Fsamples-and-tutorials-for-unreal-engine%2F  Podcast Info: Podcast website: ⁠https://podcast.kirillv.com⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://apple.co/3JFr2u8⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/3RukfVO⁠ RSS: ⁠https://anchor.fm/s/c09a45dc/podcast/rss⁠ Outline: (0:00) - Preview (0:36) - Introduction (1:17) - Mukul’s career story Kirill V Links: Newsletter: ⁠https://www.kirillv.com⁠ Linkedin: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillvechtomov⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/_kirillv⁠ Youtube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@_kirillv⁠ Support me: ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kirillv⁠

Sofia is a Learning Experience Designer at Amazon in India. Sofia shares her career journey and the transition from a non-tech job as a classroom teacher to a tech job as an instructional designer. We talk about learning experience designers and skills they need and the design process they use. Also, Sofia shares the challenges of designing for international audiences, tips for keeping audiences engages, and much more. Enjoy 🤙  Episode Links: Sofia’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofia-caroline-6736a078/  Storyline: https://articulate.com/perpetual/storyline-3  Vyond: https://www.vyond.com/ Snagit: https://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.html ADDIE: https://www.cdc.gov/training/development/addie-model.html Podcast Info: Podcast website: https://podcast.kirillv.com Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3JFr2u8 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RukfVO RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/c09a45dc/podcast/rss Outline: (0:00) - Preview (0:37) - Introduction (1:35) - Sofia’s career story (5:06) - Working in tech vs non-tech (7:48) - The future of education (15:01) - Learning Experience Design (16:14) - Transition to LXD (22:36) - Is Instructional Design for you? (24:10) - Design process (29:55) - Designing for international audiences (34:00) - Content review tools (35:47) - Engagement and tailoring content (40:58) - LXD career path (43:36) - Upskilling as an LXD (49:21) - If money wasn’t a question Kirill V Links: Newsletter: https://www.kirillv.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillvechtomov Twitter: https://twitter.com/_kirillv Youtube: https://youtube.com/@_kirillv Support me: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kirillv

Fernando is a UX Design Manager @ Volvo Cars in Sweden. Fernando shares his career journey and transition from a designer to a manager. We discuss the challenges of touch UI in cars, autonomous driving, and the joy of the driving experience. Also, Fernando talks about what it means to be a manager, gives job search advice during tough market times, tips on presenting to leadership, and much more. Enjoy 🤙 Episode Links: Fernando’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernando-s%C3%A1nchez-ulloa-90005717/ Volvo Cars: https://www.volvocars.com/intl/v/our-story Podcast Info: Podcast website: https://podcast.kirillv.com Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3JFr2u8 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RukfVO RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/c09a45dc/podcast/rss Outline: (0:00) - Preview (0:37) - Introduction (1:26) - Fernando’s career story (5:15) - UX for cars (10:49) - Touch UI in cars and safety (16:15) - Fully autonomous cars (17:33) - The future of driving cars (19:15) - Favourite car (21:53) - Transitioning to a UX Manager (24:59) - Important skills for management (32:17) - Advice to design candidates (37:43) - Job search advice (43:48) - Getting interview feedback (47:37) - Presenting to leadership (55:27) - Biggest challenges (1:01:26) - If money wasn’t a question Kirill V Links: Newsletter: https://www.kirillv.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillvechtomov Twitter: https://twitter.com/_kirillv Youtube: https://youtube.com/@_kirillv Support me: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kirillv

Amy is a UX Manager @ Canonical, the developer and publisher of the most popular Linux platform Ubuntu. Amy shares her career story and how she transitioned into UX from engineering, work culture differences between Thailand and Germany, learning to say no, experience working in an early stage startup, transitioning from senior UX designer to a UX manager, remote work culture, resume and interviewing advice, and much more. Enjoy 🤙 Episode Links: Amy’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amylily/ Podcast Info: Podcast website: https://podcast.kirillv.com Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3JFr2u8 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RukfVO RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/c09a45dc/podcast/rss Outline: (0:00) - Preview (0:35) - Introduction (2:00) - Amy’s career story (7:19) - Working in Thailand vs Germany vs UK (15:51) - Working at a startup (24:01) - Transitioning to UX manager (42:03) - Working at Canonical (45:36) - Remote work (55:18) - Advice to design candidates (1:06:32) - If money wasn’t a question Kirill V Links: Newsletter: https://www.kirillv.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillvechtomov Twitter: https://twitter.com/_kirillv Youtube: https://youtube.com/@_kirillv Support me: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kirillv

Bahar Espiritu is a senior UX Designer @ Amazon (at the time of the recording). Bahar shares her career story and how she transitioned into UX from hardware engineering, learning about inclusive design at Disney, diversity of work cultures and communication style, being yourself, clearly articulating your impact in interviews and portfolios, designing for automation, and much more. Enjoy 🤙 Episode Links: Bahar’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/baharespiritu/ Bahar’s Website: https://bespiritu.com Podcast Info: Podcast website: https://podcast.kirillv.com Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3JFr2u8 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RukfVO RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/c09a45dc/podcast/rss Outline: (0:00) - Preview (0:38) - Introduction (1:34) - Bahar’s career story (13:07) - Inclusive design at Disney (19:00) - Working in Dubai, Singapore, and the USA (28:10) - Volunteering (31:50) - Adobe and Figma (34:09) - AI and designing for automation (41:13) - Ethics and empathy (48:52) - Portfolio, resume, and interviewing advice (57:52) - Sound design story (1:02:21) - What would you do if money wasn't a question? Kirill V Links: Newsletter: https://www.kirillv.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillvechtomov Twitter: https://twitter.com/_kirillv Youtube: https://youtube.com/@_kirillv Support me: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kirillv

Dacheng Cheng is a senior Front-End Engineer @ Amazon. Dacheng shares his career and entrepreneurial journey, insights from the enterprise UX, and computer literacy in different generations. Also, we discuss the current AI tools' potential and problems, and how Designers should be collaborating with Engineers. In addition, we talk about the mere-exposure effect, building trust with and without data, and much more. Enjoy 👍 Episode Links: Dacheng’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dachengcheng/ Stable Diffusion: https://stablediffusionweb.com GitHub Copilot: https://github.com/features/copilot ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com Mere-exposure effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere-exposure_effect Podcast Info: Podcast website: https://podcast.kirillv.com Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3JFr2u8 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RukfVO RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/c09a45dc/podcast/rss Outline: (0:00) - Preview (0:49) - Introduction (1:51) - Dacheng’s career story Kirill V Links: Newsletter: https://www.kirillv.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillvechtomov Twitter: https://twitter.com/_kirillv Youtube: https://youtube.com/@_kirillv Support me: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/kirillv