Category: Uncategorized

In September 2022, Experience Haus co-hosted a first-of-its-kind Design Day from our studio. Alongside 50 of our Experience Haus designers, we invited 50 young people (aged 15-19) to come to our studio to help create a series of digital concepts that could improve the historically strained relationship between young people and the police. In February 2024, nearly 18 months after the original event, the next stage of this exciting project took place.

Once again, Experience Haus designers, students from various schools and colleges across London, and officers from the City of London Police and Metropolitan Police gathered together to come up with further solutions to tackle the lack of trust and low confidence young people have in the police.

We split the attendees into 5 groups that included designers, students, police officers and other representatives from government and businesses. They spent the day coming up with solutions to address some of the issues young people face in relation to Stop & Search. The morning involved a lot of conversations between the young people and police where they discussed opinions from both sides, and what could be done to improve the situation. Once a solution had been agreed on, the designers stepped in to create digital versions of these ideas that would be presented back to the police at the end of the day. It was the student’s job to stand up and present their design prototypes back to the whole room, explaining how the solution could improve the relationship between young people and the police. These designs have now been passed onto the police, with the idea that they will choose one to be developed and built.

The workshop gave these young people a fantastic opportunity to make their voices heard and play a pivotal role in the future of this relationship. In addition to meeting members of both police forces, they met with mentors, employers, business and government leaders, and other students from different colleges, helping them develop teamwork and networking skills that they can take into their future careers.

Like all these events, it takes an army to put something like this together. The idea was devised by Digital Skills Consulting, who have closely worked with Experience Haus for some years now,  and included students (aged 15-19) from schools and colleges across London, including Barking & Dagenham College, Sir George Monoux College, City of London Academy Islington, Activate Learning, City Academy Southwark, Vallance Community Sports Association Ltd. and the City Academy, Hackney.

According to Julia von Klonowski of Digital Skills Consulting: “This was another fantastic day, and the young people were amazing. They were engaged, curious and resourceful and, working alongside the designers and the police officers. They came up with some `gold nuggets’ in terms of ideas to incorporate into a digital solution, website, or App, that will hopefully be developed and start to improve some of the negative perceptions of police by young people, but also improve perceptions of the young people by the police!”

Amit Patel, Creative Director of Experience Haus said: “Giving the young people of today a voice in societal changes is so important to helping us change the way our lives will be lived moving forward. Giving them that voice through design, and providing them inspiration from designers who work everyday on creative problem solving, helps make this happen. I firmly believe that everyone involved in this day has left understanding the power of co-creation.”

Chief Superintendent Bill Duffy from the City of London Police said: “This event has been brilliant. It has meant we can engage with the youth of London and improve our service to them. All the partners want to see change and we want to understand what we can do to make this happen.

Young people have great minds and are happy to challenge the way we think and our processes. This is what we need. Having people of all different ages, from all different backgrounds is a really interesting prospect in terms of what we could deliver.”

Superintendent Lucky Singh of the Metropolitan Police Service said:  “We know that consultation and communication with our communities is really important, particularly engaging with young people and listening to them.

We are committed to community policing and getting back into the heart of it. We need to build trust and confidence with the public to effectively support our communities.”

 

Elrica completed our 12-week part-time Service Design course in April 2023 and is currently working as a Senior Service Design Consultant at Human Engine.

We caught up with her recently to see how the course helped her achieve her goals and if she has any pearls of wisdom for any budding service designers.

Tell us a bit more about what you were doing before you decided to pivot into design?

I was starting in the industry working as a service designer for the adult social care department of a local authority.

How was training at Experience Haus different from other providers ?

I liked how at Experience Haus I got to work on a live client brief. During my course it was within the University of Essex’s start-up service. This meant I was able to put the skills I learnt into immediate practice.

What was the highlight of your course?

The amazing help and support from my instructor Jack. I learnt so much from him.

What was the most challenging part of your learning experience?

Nothing for me! I really enjoyed the whole experience and would 100% recommend it.

Since 2020, the emphasis on digital design and demand for digital designers has skyrocketed. As businesses could no longer solely rely on a physical presence, the need to have a strong digital presence was paramount. Whilst it was an exciting space for many to move into, those who had already been in the design world for many years, started to feel left behind.

With the emergence of new design tools and softwares, this left Sketch designers and physical product designers in the dark. How could they manage to stay in demand and (more importantly!) in a job?

At Experience Haus, we have designed our courses to not only benefit designers breaking into the industry, but also for experienced designers looking to add to their skill sets and to keep their skills as up-to-date as possible. In this article we explore why some creatives might feel like they’re on the back foot, and how a course can help.

Outdated Teachings at University

We have had many students join one of our design courses shortly after finishing university and it’s clear that it’s not just a large student debt they’ve graduated with, but a large skill knowledge gap as well. The learnings they’re being given are outdated and not what employers are looking for. Even after the introduction of Figma and the monopoly it’s had on the world of design, some students have mentioned their lecturers were still teaching them to use Sketch, a software hardly any companies still use!

In our courses, we continuously made changes based on the industry needs to ensure what we’re teaching our students is as relevant as possible and can ensure they have a good foundation that could help them land that all-important first role. Students will graduate from our part-time and full-time courses confident they now have the skill set employers are looking for.

Moving From Physical to Digital

One of the biggest transformations we’ve seen in the last few years is the move from only physical design, to the emphasis on digital design. With terms like ‘user experience design’ and ‘user interface design’ coming to the forefront, physical Product Designers have felt left behind with this new generation of digital designers leading the way in app and web designs.

It is also now uncommon for any design job to not include the need for UX or UI design. Even graphic designers are struggling to find new roles where UX/UI design is listed as a key requirement, even though it’s a graphic design role. Looking at the backgrounds of students who have joined an Experience Haus course, around 75% of them have come from a graphic design background and are doing a course to add UX/UI to their skill set. In this way it will open more career opportunities for them in the future, and avoids pigeonholing themselves into one area.

Learning on the Job

In some roles, people will find they can start a role with no prior training and essentially learn on the job. Design is not something you can do this with, and it will become very clear very quickly that you don’t have the right skills. This can impede your professional growth and will mean your career progression will be very slow. This is where joining one of our courses comes in.

Whether your company is paying for your training or you’re doing it yourself, you will find that in just 8-10 weeks, you will not only have gained the skills needed for your job, but the confidence to know you are doing it well. Adding to your skill set opens the doors to more career options, quicker career progression and the potential for higher salaries. 

With the promise of flexible working opportunities, quick career progression  and an exciting industry to be in, more and more people are now transitioning into the design world. As more people join this industry, it is essential to ensure you stand out from the crowd. By doing a design course that expands your knowledge and keeps your skills up-to-date, you will remain very competitive and keep one step ahead of the competition.

Tell us a little about yourself and your current work outside of Experience Haus? 

I’m a drone flying, dog loving, car driving enthusiast from the North West with a lifetime of being creative. I’ve worked in the world of UX Research and Design for the past 10 years, having the curiosity of a toddler, and the bad knees that go with being 35 and deciding skateboarding and football were the best hobbies to have when I was young.

I’m currently the Head of Product Design and UX at a global education software company, alongside owning my own UX Consultancy: Omagood, and drone videography business: The Flying Ibo.

Did you have a specific goal you wanted to achieve before you started teaching at Experience Haus? Do you think your time here so far has kept you on the right track?

The latter chapters of my UX career made me realise how important mentorship is, and how it impacted my own career trajectory. I’ve taught UX for the past 3 years and wanted to continue inspiring people who share my passion for design and problem solving. I love what Experience Haus is about, and I’ve learned so many things about myself that help me shape who I am as a leader in my own roles and businesses. Not to mention the interesting people I get to meet!

What is your teaching philosophy?

If you want to learn, I will do everything I can to help in the course and beyond. You get out what you put in, and if you’re willing to turn up and have the passion about the subject, I feed off that and reciprocate!

What do you enjoy most about teaching at Experience Haus?

Watching students from all backgrounds who have some hesitation about their own capabilities, and helping them unlock them. When a student gets back in touch to say how the course and myself helped in any way with the next phase of their story, it puts a huge smile on my face.

User research is the perfect subject to master as the skills you learn can be used across the entire design spectrum, meaning you are constantly in demand.

From user experience design to service design, the skills you learn as a user researcher will be fundamental in the creation of successful products. In this article we explore why taking a user research is the perfect next step for your career, no matter what stage you’re coming in from.

Refining Your Craft

No matter what course a student is on, something we emphasise to all students is the idea of continuous development. Just because you may be working in a particular role doesn’t mean you can’t develop yourself further. As the design industry is always evolving, it’s fundamental to stay as up-to-date as possible with the latest tools and trends, and this is no different with user research.

By joining a user research course as a junior or mid-weight user researcher, you will learn the exact tools and techniques being used in the industry at that moment, meaning your organisation will also be as up-to-date on their offerings as possible. This can open up opportunities for your own professional growth, leading to more responsibilities, promotions and ultimately, higher salaries!

 Upskilling into User Research 

You may not directly be in the user research industry yet, but have decided this is the area you would like to upskill into. At Experience Haus, we see many students across our different UX/UI design courses use one of these as a jumping off point into the field, and then decide to specialise into something like user research.

By upskilling into user research you will bring the knowledge you have already gained in previous roles and have the chance to focus on something you are really passionate about. Additionally, as you will be coming from a related background, you won’t necessarily have to start from a Junior position if you are familiar with some of the techniques, and therefore not have to take a salary cut.

Pivoting into User Research 

Moving into this field isn’t just something for the moderately experienced. It is an industry open to anyone. A lot of the skills needed as a user researcher such as empathy and the ability to talk to people are skills we pick up ourselves and aren’t something you need to have a degree in.

This area is perfect for those who have experience in research-related fields, like psychology, as well as those who love to use data to influence project decisions.

Join our Online Course

Whatever bucket you think you fit into based on the above options, our 10-week online Mastering User Research course will be the perfect choice for your next career step. 

During this time you will learn various research techniques, including what techniques to use and when, how to build surveys and carry out user interviews and how to identify research insights. All the while you will be working on a live research brief, provided by a real client, allowing you to immediately apply your learnings from the course. At the end of the course you will present your final project to the stakeholder in a small research group and be able to use this as a real case study to put on your portfolio.  

It’s a great course to do if you’re passionate about the design industry, but don’t want to focus on the creative user interface side.

Get in touch with the team today about enrolling onto our next course.

Tell us a little about yourself and your current work outside of Experience Haus? 

I am an entrepreneur and design studio owner based in London. I established Component Product Foundry in 2018. What started as a solo consultancy grew into a creative UX studio working in partnership with larger agencies to deliver UX projects for healthcare, finance, retail, automotive and e-commerce fields.

I started my career as a customer experience researcher in 2014, helping a boutique service design firm called Ethnogram after getting my master’s degree in marketing communications. During that time I also started learning to code, design and build websites as a self-taught freelancer. These two career paths turned out not to be so different when I discovered with UX design was and how I could apply them together for my clients moving forward.

My entrepreneurial journey has provided me with many valuable lessons and different aspects I need to think about when dealing with businesses. I use the UX skill set I’ve cultivated through years of experience to navigate through this journey, always keeping an open mind to learn new perspectives and find various ways to overcome obstacles.

Did you have a specific goal you wanted to achieve before you started teaching at Experience Haus? Do you think your time here so far has kept you on the right track?

I have previously mentored, taught occasionally and helped others with my knowledge, but students I’ve met in Experience Haus allowed me to understand their learning journey across a longer period of time and track their progress, assisting and coaching them session after session to help them build the right mental models around their creative output and thinking processes.

What is your teaching philosophy?

I am a practical and resourceful learner who can find information quickly and I intend to teach my students to be as resourceful as possible, supporting them to develop the mental pathways to get unstuck, think of solutions on the go and find necessary information to help them make the right decisions or test their assumptions.

I believe that learning requires different modes of thinking and experience in implementation, and therefore should involve more than just lectures in a classroom. I prefer combining my lessons with hands-on experiences, and small workshops to allow experimentation and discussions to keep the students engaged, fostering their confidence to self-express and build their design intelligence to advocate and express their ideas.

What do you enjoy most about teaching at Experience Haus?

As a self-taught entrepreneur, I know the importance of having real-life experience while honing your skills, and that the reality is often different from what is taught in learning environments.

The real-life startup projects come to Experience Haus from startups or accelerator partnerships and guiding students through understanding those real challenges might be the most exciting part.

Some of the most common questions we get from prospective students looking at joining our full-time UX & UI Career Development Bootcamp is what life is like for students on the course and what sort of backgrounds students come from.

We’ve interviewed a group of our recent graduates who can explain more about their backgrounds and how they found the full-time bootcamp.

What were you doing before you found our UX & UI Career Development Bootcamp?

Matthieu: I worked as a floral designer for over 15 years, mostly for event, retail and private clients.

Jaci: I was on a career break.

Ana: I was a teacher.

Imma: I was working for a fin-tech startup offering digital e-money management solutions.

Iria: Prior to the bootcamp,  I was immersing myself in the world of graphic design and web design. 

Lucas: I was running a startup in fashtech for the best part of 10 years. I always enjoyed the product side of things and decided to focus my career in that direction after Covid disrupted the business.

What drew you to Experience Haus?

Matthieu: After looking at different schools, I chose Experience Haus for the following reasons:

1. In-person class
2. Working on a real life project
3. Experiencing working in a team
4. The chance of having teachers that are working in the field, that would give me up-to-date and relevant information, contributing to a more meaningful and practical learning experience

Jaci: The in-person teaching and opportunity to work with real-life clients.

Ana: I was looking for a design bootcamp to change careers and after thoroughly researching (speaking to former students on LinkedIn and having a long Zoom conversation with Amit) I decided to go with Experience Haus as it was the only bootcamp that offers a hands-on experience, in-person, working in groups, working with clients and the possibility of networking in events like hackathons.

Imma: I was looking for an intensive UX bootcamp that could provide some experience with real clients and tha took place in-person. Experience Haus was the only bootcamp I found hat matched my requirements.

Iria: The course was in-person and offered the right mix of UX/UI theories and hands-on practice.

Lucas: Peer to peer recommendation. I was once the client brief for a uX/UI course at General Assembly.I stayed in touch wih our team and grew close to one particular member who did a lot of work for us over the years. He helped me figure out my direction and suggested the EH course.

What did a typical day look like for you on the course?

Matthieu: We would start class at 9:30, sometimes with a class on UX or Figma, or otherwise working on our team projects. The schedules were aways flexible and the teachers would always check with each team before planning a class. The day would usually finish around 5, but sometimes we would stay a bit longer to work on our project, especially when deadlines were close.

Jaci: The days were usually pretty full on. When it was busy, I would spend time on my coursework, working into the evening, but if I had any free time I would play video games with my partner. There were also occasions where me and my course mates would go to design events together.

Ana: Every day was completely different as it depended on where we were in the course and the project we were working on. But generally there was a lot of workshop time within our teams, at least a 1 hour lecture and sometimes we’d have various mornings learning Figma and UI.

Imma: Attending lectures at the studio and applying the new concepts to the assigned project.

Iria: A typical day involved engaging lectures in the studio, followed by collaborative team meetings to align our daily tasks and work on practical projects.

Lucas: Like working in a creative agency. Learning, collaborating, projects and new friends. It was a very friendly and relaxed environment. It helped me get back into the swing of a 9-5 after working for myself for a long time.

When deciding what course to take there are so many different providers to look at and so many different individual courses to explore. It can make choosing the right course a very tiresome experience! In this article we’ve listed the important factors to think about when choosing the right course for you.

1. Taking your background into consideration

For students who are pivoting into design from a different career, many worry that the fact they have no prior experience, or haven’t studied design before, means they can’t take a course now. This is not the case. Just because you don’t have a background in design doesn’t mean you can’t learn it now. We have had students from all different backgrounds take our courses from university students, to dentists, to chefs, to marketing professionals.

Something you will bring into your design career regardless of your background is the soft skills knowledge you would have accumulated in previous roles. Skills such as communication, time keeping, receiving feedback and empathy are all fundamental  skills a designer should have in order to create human-centered designs and to be able to work successfully in a design team.

2.  What learning environment will you thrive in

Online learning vs. in-person. Big classes vs. small. Part-time course or one-week bootcamp. It’s important to think about what sort of learning environment you will most benefit from and you’ll leave feeling like you’ve accomplished everything you wanted to. Where some people prefer to learn online from the comfort of their own homes, others prefer the in-person aspect as they feel they have to be accountable for coming in. Additionally, whilst many of us are still spending a lot of our time working from home, some students may decide to do an in-person course because they already spend enough time on Zoom as it is! For this reason we run both online and in-person courses at Experience Haus to make our courses accessible to all. We also run courses in different formats (part-time, full-time, short and long) so there are options that will work for everyone.

One of the fundamental pillars of the Experience Haus learning is keeping our courses as small as possible, in order for everyone to progress as fast as they can. This is also to allow students, especially beginners with no prior experience, to feel comfortable asking questions and for the instructor to spend more time focusing on exactly what each student needs. You couldn’t get this in a group of 20+ students!

3. What are your goals for the future?

Something to consider when choosing a course is how it will help you achieve your goals. If your aim is to get a new job, will the course help you with a portfolio piece? Will there be any support offered after the course is completed? If you’re looking to get a promotion within your current company, will the course give you the skills to achieve this?

On all of our courses you will be working on a real client brief, whether that’s individually or as part of a small group, giving our students the opportunity to immediately apply what they have learned in a real world situation. The client project as well as stakeholder management experience will hold more weight on your portfolio as opposed to various example of hypothetical projects.

4. Learn from industry experts

When learning a new skill, it is essential that you’re learning from the professionals. It is not enough to just learn from a teacher who simply teaches the content of a course. You need to learn from someone who actually has experience doing the job! All our instructors are experienced design professionals working across a variety of product design, UX, UI, product management and service design roles. They come into classes with real examples of their experiences and challenges they have faced in their roles, making the design learning more interesting for students and easier to see how the different aspects of the design process can be applied in real life.

5. Affordable education

From free, online courses to 2-year courses costing over £30,000, there are a lot of different priced courses out there. In our opinion, learning a new skill shouldn’t be something that costs an arm and a leg, but at the same time, you should know you’re still being taught quality content. Our mission is to make our training fully accessible to everyone, which is why all of our courses are priced fairly and we offer flexible payment options for students to choose from.

There are many different factors to consider when picking the right design course for you. In our opinion, we believe we have all the elements across all of our courses that give you the best possible learning experience. Don’t believe us? Just ask the 1,000+ students we have taught who are now experienced professionals in the design industry.

Luis completed our 12-week part-time online Service Design course in July 2023 and he has recently landed a Service Designer role at TPXimpact.

We caught up with him recently to see how the course helped him achieve his goals and if he has any pearls of wisdom for any budding service designers.

Tell us a bit more about what you were doing before you decided to pivot into design?

I had just been made redundant and found myself at a crossroads in my career. Despite the initial shock, I saw it as an opportunity to reassess my priorities and overall perspective on work. After a period of self-reflection, I decided to enrol in a Service Design course at Experience Haus.

How was training at Experience Haus different from other providers ?

There were a couple of reasons that made training at Haus stand out from other providers. Firstly, the small class setting. For many career switchers like me, starting over isn’t easy and getting attention and support from your instructor is key to keep you engaged and motivated to do the work.

Secondly, the opportunity to work for a real client. For someone now in a consultancy role, this exposure was invaluable. Stakeholder management is widely considered one of the most crucial skills in the consulting world, and this course provided me with firsthand experience in it.

Finally, the flexibility it offered, which allowed me to balance my studies with work – a stark contrast to some courses that demand a full-time commitment and leave little room for anything else.

What was the highlight of your course?

The hands-on nature of the course, as it provided a more practical and immersive learning experience. I’m not going to lie that at times it felt a bit daunting, but proved to be the most effective way to build a real understanding of the frameworks and mindset of a Service Designer.

What was the most challenging part of your learning experience?

Learning how to effectively collaborate with other team members. There were a lot of uncontrollable variables, which are particular to training courses with a more flexible structure. We would have benefitted from having someone responsible for leading the project, for example. Having no well-defined roles and responsibilities was initially difficult, but ultimately offered invaluable lessons in teamwork.

As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and just like Rome, your design career won’t be either. It is something you will have to dedicate time and energy to, constantly refining your skills and staying on top of the latest tools and trends to keep your skills relevant.

The more time you invest in this learning, the quicker you can work your way to the top! Nonetheless, as you begin to climb the career ladder, it is essential that you master the leadership skills needed to manage teams, foster innovation and ultimately help the business achieve their goals.

The Skills You Need as a Design Leader

Leading a design team goes beyond managing a team. You need to be able to inspire other designers within your team to produce work of the highest quality, whilst also being able to provide constructive feedback. It is essential for leaders to communicate effectively to provide clear direction and convey their ideas and vision clearly. This ability to tell compelling stories around design ideas not only garners support from team members, but from stakeholders as well, ensuring a strong execution of projects.

Design leadership is also something that extends beyond design proficiency. Being emotionally intelligent allows leaders to understand and empathise with team member’s feelings, allowing them to build better working relationships and create a positive working environment. It is important to guide each team member, helping them work towards their own goals, as well as contributing to the business’ overarching vision.

How a Design Leadership Course Can Help Your Professional Growth

Navigating your career into a more senior role can be daunting, especially if you’ve had no prior experience leading teams in the past. Joining a design leadership course allows designers to develop the essential skills needed, as well as giving them insights and practical experience with real-world scenarios. By providing this practical application, students can start to immediately apply their newfound knowledge and skills.

Enrolling on a design leadership course equips students with the tools and knowledge to become effective design leaders, opening the doors to new opportunities. At Experience Haus, we run a 6-week part-time Design Leadership course from our studio in Shoreditch. From building and managing teams, to delivering design critiques, we give you all the skills you would need to effectively lead teams, whilst also learning how to best represent design in the boardroom. You’re taught by industry experts who have extensive experience in leadership roles and can connect you with other people in their network who can also contribute to your journey into a leadership role.

Whether you’re aspiring to lead a team or to elevate your career, we will equip you with the skills and knowledge to take on a design leader role. Get in touch with the Experience Haus team today and kickstart your leadership journey.

Tell us a little about yourself and your current work outside of Experience Haus? 

I’m a Product Design Director & Consultant with over 12 years of experience. Specialising in SaaS & Enterprise Platform Design, Design Systems, AI implementation, Chat Platforms, Digital Transformation, and Device Agnostic Design. I’ve lead teams within and built solutions for big brands like Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz, L’Oreal and many others. I’ve also worked with startups and smaller companies to help grow their offering into highly profitable products.

Did you have a specific goal you wanted to achieve before you started teaching at Experience Haus? Do you think your time here so far has kept you on the right track?

I wanted to help others on the strange and challenging journey in the world of Product Design. It’s such a wonderful and exciting space to be working in, and to share the keys with others is a unique opportunity. Selfishly too, teaching others often helps us understand where our own strengths and weaknesses in our craft may be. Since starting with Experience Haus, I’ve felt the need to go the extra mile in staying up to date on the tools, techniques and strategies being used by the best in class, to ensure I can be a pro performer!

What is your teaching philosophy?

Making sure everyone feels like they’re in a safe space is key. It’s good to make mistakes, failure is a core part of product design, and people need to feel comfortable with that. I try and ease them into this thinking as pain free as possible!

What do you enjoy most about teaching at Experience Haus?

There are some wonderfully talented future Product Pros out there, and helping them grow their career is incredibly rewarding. It’s very inspiring to start a course with people who have absolute zilch understanding of the product world, and within such a short period have the crafting tools that would impress Zuckerberg or Bezos!