Honest weekly conversations about UX design career, challenges, portfolios, mental health, and all things UX. Ioana and Anfisa together have 20 years of experience in the UX field and trying to share their main lessons to help anyone transitioning to design overcome the fears. Want to support us? Sign up to get access to exclusive locked episodes for $0.99/mo https://anchor.fm/honestuxtalks/subscribe To request the next topic DM us on Instagram: 🗂 instagram.com/honest_ux_talks 👩💻 instagram. ...
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In this episode: • Why is storytelling important? • Why is everybody talking about storytelling? What does it mean to have a story in your portfolio? • How should a good case study be structured? • What are some tips and tricks for effectively using storytelling in your portfolio? Mentioned in this episode: Hatch Conference in Berlin, September 4-6…
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#109 How AI is Shaping Design /w Pablo Stanley
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Today, we are joined by Pablo Stanley, who is a designer based in Mexico. He is the co-founder and CEO at Musho & Lummi — AI design tools aimed at unlocking people's creativity. Previously, he co-founded Carbon Health and Blush, and held roles as a staff designer at Lyft and lead designer at InVision. Episode's timestamps: 01:05 Episode introductio…
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#108 Landing a junior job at META amidst tech crisis /w Nitya Kumar
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Today, we are joined by Nitya, who successfully landed a job at META at the beginning of the tech crisis in 2022. Currently, she works on Instagram and Messenger. In addition to her role at META, she is a product design judge at Boston University and is a guest speaker at Columbia University. In this episode: • How to Secure Your First Job Through …
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#107 How can your side interests help in you UX career?
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In this episode: • How can you leverage your secondary skills in your UX journey? • How can you utilize your background when transitioning into a UX career? • How can you begin identifying which of your skills are relevant to design? LinkedIn post mentioned in the beginning of the episode Check out these links: Ioana's AI Goodies Newsletter J…
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#106 Remote vs. Office Jobs: Pros and Cons
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In this episode: • Hosts' Experiences with Office vs. Remote Jobs: • Why understanding cultural aspects is crucial for remote work? Mentioned in this episode: "Culture map" book Check out these links: Ioana's AI Goodies Newsletter Join Anfi’s Job Search community: Enroll in Ioana's AI cou…
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#105 Discovering what you are good at as a UX designer
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In this episode Anfisa and Ioana discuss how can you learn what you are good at as a UX designer. Mentioned in this episode: "Which of the million UX roles suits you best? A personality type analysis" article by Bas Wallet Hatch Conference in Berlin Check out these links: Ioana's AI Goodies Newsletter Join Anfi’s Job Search community…
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#104 Collaborating with content designers (at MEWS)
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In this episode, Anfisa is discussing collaboration with Michael at MEWS: • How does collaboration between UX designers and content designers look like? • What are the differences between journalism and UX writing? • What brought Michael from a journalist into UX writing? • Is it important for the UX writer to read a lot? • What's the typical workf…
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In this episode: • Where does the pressure to hustle come from for designers? When can you say enough is enough? • What hustling can bring you in a positive and in a negative way? • Are junior designers more prone to hustle or feeling that they need to prove themselves? Are they having a harder time to stop compared to senior designers? Check out t…
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#102 How to win against pushbacks in UX industry?
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In this episode: • What are the common reasons for which stakeholders pushback on the design vision? • What are the tips and tricks for navigating pushbacks? • What were the toughest moments in your career when you got push back from stakeholders despite giving your best set of arguments? Mentioned in this episode: "Articulating Design Decisions" …
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In this episode: • What to do if you feel you are not good enough as a designer in the beginning of your career? • What are the factors influencing the feeling of being an impostor? • Tips and advice form Anfi and Ioana on how they dealt with impostor syndrome. • How does company culture Iinfluence your response to impostor syndrome? Mentioned in t…
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#100 Sustainable UX Design w/Jonas Thorsten
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April 22 is Earth day, which is great timing for this episode 🌎 🌿 In this episode: What does sustainability mean in digital design? • How can sustainability principles be applied to digital design? What is carbon-friendly design? • Is there a difference between life-centered design and sustainable design? • How can we introduce sustainability to ou…
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#99 Being too easy vs too hard to work with as a designer
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Apologies for the strange noises when Anfisa talks. That’s baby Greg participating in the talk.In this episode:How to articulate strong opinion and stand your ground in collaboration?When as a designer you try to get your point across, should you go for a soft strategy or should you be more pushy?How to become an effective communicator?Why building…
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#98 Is it the time to quit UX and move on?
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This Episode's sponsor: Mobbin is the world's largest mobile & web design reference library where you can find practical design inspiration from real apps that solve real design problems. Don't forget to mention Honest UX Talks, if you register at Mobbin. In this episode: • What to do if you consider quitting design industry and feel less mot…
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#97 Being an intern and pursuing a full-time role
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This Episode's sponsor: Mobbin is the world's largest mobile & web design reference library where you can find practical design inspiration from real apps that solve real design problems. Don't forget to mention Honest UX Talks, if you register at Mobbin. In this episode: • How to showcase your value as UX designer when you are just starting ou…
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#96 Designing for accessibility w/ Anna Cook
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This Episode's sponsor: Mobbin is the world's largest mobile & web design reference library where you can find practical design inspiration from real apps that solve real design problems. Don't forget to mention Honest UX Talks, if you register at Mobbin. In this episode: • Why accessibility is sometimes overlooked when designing? • What companie…
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#95 How to negotiate salaries in UX design
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This Episode's sponsor: Mobbin is the world's largest mobile & web design reference library where you can find practical design inspiration from real apps that solve real design problems. In this episode: • Why is it always valuable to negotiate? How being a better negotiator makes you a better designer? • In what ways salary negotiation determines…
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In this episode: • How to handle relationships and team work in ambiguous environment? • How documentation and workshops can help to deal with ambiguity? • What learning a foreign language and working in ambiguous environments have in common? • Why is it so important to identify key stakeholders in your project? • How to stay sane in ambiguous envi…
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#93 Juggling a Design Role and Parenthood
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In this episode: • What was parental leave like? • What are the biggest fears before going to parental leave? Which of them turned out to be real? • What does an effective support system look like? • What to do during the parental leave to continue to stay relevant so when you get back you can still perform. How can you ease that anxiety of coming …
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#92 AI's Impact on the Design Industry w/Jakob Nielsen
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Jakob Nielsen is joining us for a special discussion about AI! Questions we are going to delve into in this episode: • How do you see the state of AI in design right now? Are there any new themes or is history repeating itself? • Will AI eventually replace designers?• Are there any specific parts of design process or design roles that are threatene…
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In this episode: Anfi and Ioana look back at their careers and reflect on the challenges they encountered professionally. They share tips and strategies they used in order to overcome those challenges. Check out these courses: Enroll on Ioana's AI course "AI-Powered UX Design: How to Elevate Your UX Career" on Interaction Desig…
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#90 Reflections and predictions from 2023
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In this episode: • What moments filled us with pride this year?" • What are our professional aspirations for 2024?" • What concerns or fears did we encounter in the past year?" • What were some of the challenges we encountered in the UX design industry?" • How will our podcast evolve?" Check out these courses: Enroll on Ioana's AI course …
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In this episode: Anfi unfolds her captivating journey, delving into the challenges she faced as a designer and co-founder in a startup. Check out these courses: Enroll on Ioana's AI course "AI-Powered UX Design: How to Elevate Your UX Career" on Interaction Design Foundation with 25% discount. Enroll on Anfisa's "Job hunting …
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#88 Choosing to work full time over freelancing
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In this episode:• What drives our decision to commit to a full-time role in a product company instead of pursuing freelancing opportunities?• Why we transitioned to full-time work and what kept us there?• What are the pros and cons, as well as the trade-offs, of committing to full-time employment compared to freelance?Mentioned in this episode: …
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#87 How we failed a podcast re-branding project
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In this episode: Anfisa and Ioana delve into the missteps behind the failed rebranding of 'Honest UX Talks'. Let us know where do you usually listen to the 'Honest UX talks' podcast in the question section. Mentioned in this episode: Enroll on Ioana's AI course "AI-Powered UX Design: How to Elevate Your UX Career" on Interaction Design Foundat…
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#86 The Long-Awaited Return: UX and Life Check-in
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In this episode: Anfisa and Ioana unveil their career milestones and life transformations. Let us know where do you usually listen to the 'Honest UX talks' podcast in the question section. Mentioned in this episode: Enroll on Ioana's AI course "AI-Powered UX Design: How to Elevate Your UX Career" on Interaction Design Foundation with 25% discount.…
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#85 The Impact of AI on UX Design industry
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Episode's sponsor: Dovetail is a one source of truth for all sorts of user research insights. Collect, analyse, synthesize and share user research easily and effectively. In this episode: How is AI changing the design industry? What is the type of work AI can and cannot do? What skills are not going to be replaced by AI in the foreseeable fut…
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Episode's sponsor: Dovetail is a one source of truth for all sorts of user research insights. Collect, analyse, synthesize and share user research easily and effectively. In this episode: What is a job hunting strategy and why you should have one ? Why applying to hundreds of jobs is not a good idea? What strategy we would recommend in 2023? Me…
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Episode's sponsor: Dovetail is a one source of truth for all sorts of user research insights. Collect, analyse, synthesize and share user research easily and effectively. In this episode: How to start building a case study? What are the stages of building a case study? Why is it important to understand in what medium you will be sharing your case…
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#82 Standing out as a UX designer during job hunting
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Episode's sponsor: Dovetail is a one source of truth for all sorts of user research insights. Collect, analyse, synthesize and share user research easily and effectively. In this episode: How to stand out as a junior designer in a tough market? What can you bring to the table as a junior designer? What junior designers lack in their portfolios? Wha…
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#81 Navigating UX career as a non-native English speaker
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In this episode: Is it important to master English if you are going into UX design career? Is English an important part of UX design career? How to build UX vocabulary in a foreign language? How were Anfi's and Ioanna's early days in UX? How was the content making in UX design as a non-native English speaker? ❓Next topic ideas: Submit your question…
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#80 Red flags in UX job postings (+big news drop)
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In this episode: Hosts' personal experiences navigating job opportunities How to understand whats behind the job description? How to evaluate job descriptions? What are the green and red signs when searching for jobs and analysing and evaluating the options? ❓Next topic ideas: Submit your questions or feedback anonymously here Links: 🎓 …
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Into UX jobs. Secure your dream job with the right strategy - Anfi's new 3 week course on how to find a perfect UX/Product design job for you (even in the middle of the tech crisis). In this episode: What is the current situation on the UX market? How can an aspiring designer understand where they fit in? How can you find or rather define your nic…
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Into UX jobs. Secure your dream job with the right strategy - Anfi's new 3 week course on how to find a perfect UX/Product design job for you (even in the middle of the tech crisis). In this episode: How do you get started with freelancing? What are some of the essential aspects of freelancing you need to know about?What are some of the things that…
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In this episode: How to frame the conversation to get more targeted feedback? How do you set up the rules for communicating or asking for feedback? Why all size fits all presentations not work? Why is it important to prepare your presentation and tailor it to the audience? How to be open for feedback and navigate the conversation? How to give const…
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In this episode: What is grown design? How different is it from traditional design role? How can you as a product designer apply it to your work? What are the educational programs that teach you that? How can you learn it on your own? What role research play in growth design? How different it is from the classic product design structure? How does g…
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#75 Dealing with UX job rejections w/Tanner Christensen
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In this episode: How to approach job rejections and ask the company where mismatch happened? How to reflect back on the feedback from the rejection? What are the reasons companies might not wanna reveal the feedback? What is the advice for junior or aspiring designers on how to deal with rejections in the beginning of their career? What are the str…
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#74 Collaboration between designers and PMs
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In this episode: Where do responsibilities start and end for each of these roles? What is expected of each role? What is the key responsibility of the designer and the product manager? How to navigate different challenges? What are the things that might go bad in this collaboration between designers and product managers? Mentioned in this episode: …
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In this episode: How does a typical day of a UX designer look like within a context of startup, freelance and corporate company? What are the typical routines outside the work? Links: Sign up to the next Design Thinking workshop list by Anfisa FREE webinar: Smooth transition into UX by Anfisa ❓Next topic ideas: Submit your questions or feedback ano…
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#72 Design processes: expectations vs. reality
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In this episode: What design processes do companies use these days? How do processes differ between start ups, big companies and freelancing projects? Mentioned in the episode: 'How design (generally) works at tech companies' article Links: Sign up to the next Design Thinking workshop list by Anfisa FREE webinar: Smooth transition into UX by Anfisa…
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#71 Should we be worried about tech layoffs?
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In this episode: How to handle a layoff? What should you do if you got laid off? What can you do to make it easier for you? Should we be really scared about layoffs and job market freeze? Does it impact the amount of jobs on the market? Mentioned in the episode: Website about layoff statistics Links: Sign up to the next Design Thinking workshop lis…
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In this episode: What are the typical types of designers? Are some archetypes of designers more successful than others in their career? Is there a relationship between the archetypes and the roles a designer lands in? How can you understand your speciality and your strong sides? What is The GROW model session? Links: Sign up to the next Design Thin…
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In this episode: Anfisa and Ioana share the key lessons and achievements of 2022. Links: FREE webinar: Smooth transition into UX by Anfisa ❓Next topic ideas: Submit your questions or feedback anonymously here Links: 🎓 Into UX design online course by Anfisa 🎓 Domestika course Create a Learning Strategy by Ioana 🧡 Want to support us? Sign up here to …
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#68 Growing design maturity within the company
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In this episode: - How can you assess the maturity of the company you are working in? - How can a UX designer help to increase UX maturity of the company? What are the practices that can help with that? - What is the criteria for design maturity in a company? Mentioned in this episode: The 6 Levels of UX Maturity article by Nielsen Norman Group Lin…
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Discussed in this episode: - Why researchers and not designers are supposed to do the research? - At which stage of a company's development UX researchers need to be hired? - How can designers efficiently collaborate with researchers? Links: Sign up to the next Design Thinking workshop list by Anfisa FREE webinar: Smooth transition into UX by Anfis…
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Discussed in this episode: - Is this the right moment in the current economic context to transition into UX design career? - Is career in UX for me? - What are the initial steps for transitioning into UX? - How to choose the right course for you? Should I be a self-taught designer or do i need to take a course or a Bootcamp? Links: Sign up to the n…
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Discussed in this episode: - What kind of research do UX designers typically run? - What are the most useful research tools on the market right now? - How to choose between multiple tools that serve the same need? - How can we recruit users? How to find users to run research with? Links: Sign up to the next Design Thinking workshop list by Anfisa F…
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#64 Why did we choose a career in UX design?
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Discussed in this episode: Anfi's and Ioana's stories on how they started their careers in UX design. Links: FREE webinar: Smooth transition into UX by Anfisa ❓Next topic ideas: Submit your questions or feedback anonymously here Links: 🎓 Into UX design online course by Anfisa 🎓 Domestika course Create a Learning Strategy by Ioana 🧡 Want to support …
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#63 Building UX design educational program
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Discussed in this episode: What is Instructional Design? What are the guiding principles for designing the course? ❓Next topic ideas: Submit your questions or feedback anonymously here Links: 🎓 Into UX design online course by Anfisa 🎓 Domestika course Create a Learning Strategy by Ioana 🧡 Want to support us? Sign up here to get access to exclusive …
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This week we are having a special Halloween episode about the horror design work experiences we had in our careers. Mentioned in this episode: ❓Next topic ideas: Submit your questions or feedback anonymously here Links: 🎓 Into UX design online course by Anfisa 🎓 Domestika course Create a Learning Strategy by Ioana 🧡 Want to support us? Sign up here…
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#61 Why you are not getting UX job interviews?
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Discussed in this episode: Why you don’t get any feedback to your design portfolio after applying? How to stand out as an applicant? How do recruiters filter candidates? What are the typical portfolio red flags? What are the ways of finding jobs other than on job boards? Why your portfolio should be intentional and what does that mean? How can you …
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