Online UX/UI Archives - Experience Haus

Tag: Online UX/UI

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Student Success Story: Valerie Liuim

Varlie

Looking back before you joined the course at Experience Haus, can you tell us a little bit about what you were up to and what led you to consider a course in UX/UI design?

I studied Graphic Design and Art Direction in Milan and my first two jobs were in that field, but then somehow I started doing something completely different and was working as a data analyst and taxonomist. While working in that industry I realised I wanted to go back to something related to design, but I was trying to understand what I really liked to do because working as a graphic designer wasn’t what I wanted to do in life. So then I researched a bit, realised UX and UI design could be the right career path for me and I came across Experience Haus, and it seemed like a really good opportunity.

How did you come across Experience Haus? What made you choose to study with us?

I think the first time I saw Experience Haus was through an Instagram ad so I clicked the link and went through to the website. I got in touch with the team and compared this option to others like General Assembly and Career Foundry and found it to be the most reasonable in terms of price and the fact the classes were live. I wanted to be sure I was going to start and finish something, rather than sign up for a course that was ‘do it at your own pace’ which I never would have completed!

Thinking about your time on the course… What did you want to achieve from your Experience Haus course?

I wanted to have a portfolio and at least one case study from this course. I also wanted to meet people who were in the same field that could help me and I could collaborate with.

What did you enjoy most about the course?

I really liked the fact we were divided into smaller groups. This meant you could get involved in lots of parts of the project and be really hands-on, which you wouldn’t get if you were part of a big group. You could also really get to know the other members of your team and that was helpful.

You also felt like you were part of something by taking part in a live class, rather than a recorded session. With lockdown and people still working from home, this was a nice reason to meet new people and see other people’s faces, even if it was on camera!

What was your one big takeaway from the course?

Something that helped me was the fact our teacher pushed us to follow up with the client, and that led to something really useful because our group started collaborating with the client even after the course finished. It helped us portfolio-wise, skills-wise and mentor-wise. We were also pushed to do things we hadn’t even learned on the course! 

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Student Success Story: Francesca Tiley

Francesca

Looking back before you joined the course at Experience Haus, can you tell us a little bit about what you were up to and what led you to consider a course in UX/UI design?

I come from an illustration design background and for the last 4 or so years I’ve been working as a commercial illustrator, a freelance illustrator and also did a bit of art tutoring and teaching. So I’ve always loved design and had ended up in illustration, which I really love and still do on the side, but I was getting to the stage where I was falling out of love with it. I felt like I wasn’t using all of the skills I have within that role and wasn’t being pushed enough. I also missed working with people as it’s quite a solitary career. There were a lot of things that made me think this wasn’t complete enough and I could do more. So I had been looking into other areas of design and looking at graphic design, branding and other areas that interested me. I spent a long time looking into things and then the pandemic hit so all of that was put on hold. Then it was last year that a friend of mind recommended UX design. He told me it’s still design and is a growing area and seems like something he thought I would be interested in. So I did more research into it and then eventually led me to find Experience Haus. I also really loved the course I did – the Online UX/UI course – as it’s really great that it’s got both UX and UI rather than just one or the other, as a lot of other courses seem to just focus on one.

How did you come across Experience Haus? What made you choose to study with us?

I came across Experience Haus through a contact. I’m part of the Prince’s Trust charity and they’ve helped me out a lot with illustration stuff and I have a mentor through that. He then put me in touch with Matter of Form, who put me in touch with Amit, so there’s a link of people connecting me to the course! It naturally happened but it was through contacts that I heard about the course.

I’d been looking at the other courses on your website but the fact that this was both UX and UI together stood out to me. It eases you in, it’s not too much of a jump into something completely new and felt like it was right for the stage that I was at as a beginner but with some design experience. The fact that it was online was ideal.

Thinking about your time on the course… What did you want to achieve from your Experience Haus course?

The main goal was getting a job! But also strengthening my understanding of what UX Design and what UI is. I had been teaching myself before the course, but this was really nice to work with other people on a project as this gives you first hand experience of the role you would be stepping into.

What did you enjoy most about the course?

Definitely working with other people and getting a real client brief, but also I was interested to see how it would work online, but it totally did! I looked forward to each session so much and everyone was really lovely. It always felt like a really nice environment, even though it was on Zoom! It was a mixture of both having first hand experience on a live project, but also working with other people, learning new software as well.  

What was your one big takeaway from the course?

I do feel using your network is super important and being open and flexible. Even if you have a certain direction of where you want to go in mind, just be open to other options. The role that I’ve started a few months ago isn’t just UX, it’s graphic design as well and UI, like a classic Junior role and that’s ended up being really ideal as I’m using skills that I had before the course and also skills I learned on the course. When I was applying for jobs I was open to anything that was out there, which ended up being a really good thing to do!  

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Instructor Profile: Cory Hughes

woman-sitting-in-design-studio

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

I’m an experience design strategist, consultant and advisor. In other words, no-one in my family has ever really understood what I do for a living! My career in the creative industries has taken me around the world working with agencies, nonprofits and multinational brands. Right now, I’m Head of Strategy and Co-Founder of Inside Edge, a transformation consultancy that helps organisations own their digital future.

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?

My experience-design career path has been unorthodox. I wanted to share what’s possible when you back yourself to transition into a new industry. I also believe that the best creative leaders should do a bunch of interesting things outside of their day job, and work hard to demystify an industry that can often feel exclusive and hard to break into. Joining the Haus has packed my evenings with imagination, ideas and inspiration – everything I’d hoped for, and more!

What is your teaching philosophy?

‘Start where you are, with what you have’ – that’s a quote from Pema Chodron that I always return to. There’s no magic moment where you are ‘ready’ to be a designer. Design is a continual process of polishing and iterating and the learning journey is no different.

What do you enjoy most about teaching at Experience Haus?

The community is incredible – warm, welcoming and human. Everyone lives the mission of making design skills accessible and sharing knowledge generously. I love that real world experience is baked into the course and that battle-scarred practitioners are leading the teaching.