New year, new look; plus, a new group - Tech Under Thirty

It’s been a long while since I last blogged. I’ve been crazy busy, working my ass off at NASDAQ as a Product Designer. I tackle big UX problems daily; our team is redesigning a ton of NASDAQ’s web apps. I’ve also done work on their public newsroom, GlobeNewswire. I’ve learned that UX really fulfills my needs. I’ve always enjoyed designing and coding, but I also love designing the perfect application that affirms the target users’ mental models. Therefore, this year, I’m going to try to focus on becoming a great Product Designer.

Transparency and the design process

In addition to becoming well-versed in UX, I’d also like to share my design process with readers. When we finish projects at NASDAQ, if allowed, I’ll share sketches, wireframes, and screenshots of the prototypes with you guys. The more people are exposed to how UX aids Web Design and our design process, the less us designers will hear things like such as “it needs more pop” or “it needs to be more intuitive”. If I work on small projects, such as a website for a non-profit, I’ll also share the process. The process of designing a public-facing site has many similarities with that of designing a web app. My first post on this subject will be about the redesign of this website. I’m sure you’ve noticed the changes!

News for design & technology lovers

I’ve been going to a lot of design & tech meetups, and exploring lots of subjects. However, I’ve noticed that there’s a lack of younger people at a lot of these events. At several meetups I’ve gone to, I have been one in a very small group of people under thirty. We’re less accomplished; less confident; we’re generally more awkward. We don’t always know what we want in a career; I only found out that I enjoy UX last year. So, I thought, why not make a meetup just for people like us?

Tech Under Thirty, which I founded at the start of this year, will have its first meet on January 23 at Hive at 55. Asia Hoe is helping me run the meetup; she has experience with a successful meetup (Girl Gamer Vogue) and a lot of great ideas. Hopefully her experience and our combined ambition will make this event a regular apperance at Hive at 55.

The first meeting will include an introduction and explanation of the program. I’m in the process of writing a presentation for it now (look at me ma, I’m going to be presenting!). The great thing about this group is that I am one of the target attendees: I’m slightly socially awkward and I always want to learn more about design and technology. I want to better myself and become a more confident, successful adult. This will be the second or third time in my life that I’m presenting for a group of over 10 people. I’ve organized groups before, but nowhere near this scale and with such a specific purpose.

Our goals for the group include:

• Encouraging people in design & tech industries to meet and cross-pollinate ideas.
• Building a network to make finding jobs & recommending qualified people easier.
• Enabling people to learn new skills in a fun & friendly environment.
• Creating a community of confident, business-ready young people.
• Having awesome occasional outings 100% focused on getting out of the office/studio & having fun.
• Educating young people about opportunities for further enrichment in their fields of interest.

If you feel like you’d be interested in joining - and learning - with us, check us out!

Keep it real, guys!