I’ve learned a great deal by reading other people’s journeys.
You never know what you will discover. It can be an experience that provides you with an idea, a statement that assures you it’s fine to fail, or a fact that you didn’t know.
Their trajectory is never linear. There are always twists and turns and it’s expected to stop, think about the situation, and change course.
In 2020, I was looking to change course but had no idea how. I’m getting my story out there with the hope that someone will find it insightful. Either now or 10 years later.
First contact
My first contact with the tech world was in July 2019, in the second year of my bachelor’s degree. I got accepted as a Software Engineering Intern at Nagarro where I learned about front-end development and saw how’s life at a huge corporation. It seemed easygoing for the people there. They worked, but some had plenty of breaks. They looked relaxed.
At first, I was way too “stiff”. But, as weeks past I got used to the environment, people were always keen on helping, I was just too shy to ever ask anything.
The best thing there was meeting my first mentor, Mike. He guided me into learning Software Engineering, but also helped me shape my thinking about programming, corporate world, dealing with clients/managers, and lots more.
Around December of the same year, my brother wanted to create a mobile application with me and Mike as developers. It would allow gym trainers to create personalized programs for their clients.
The goal was to build an MVP, get it out there, and get feedback. The “MVP” took way too much to develop both because along the way it stopped being an MVP and also because I was an inexperienced programmer.
Looking back, that experience was the first turning point in my journey. The hours of coding, the guidance from Mike, and all the thinking that went into the product helped me understand how hard it’s to build one.
At that time, I thought that all jobs in the tech industry are about programming. Or at least being a programmer unlocks the best life one can have. You know, the typical holidays, house, car, often eating out, etc.
Eight months in, the application was ready to ship. After that, I stopped programming. I felt tired and fed up. Only 21 years old and already tired. It’s a mood nowadays.
After those months, I realized that engineering is not for me. It’s not a good sign if you’re tired and unmotivated after only eight months of working. I knew I can be a good programmer. It wasn’t that hard to learn. But I couldn’t be a great one.
It didn't feel right. It was the time to switch paths.
Finding a new path
At that moment, I was content with life. Only one year left until my thesis and the university was pretty boring anyway. There still was a project I had to do over the summer, but the professors didn't seem to care much.
Moreover, there were no things to do. COVID was a problem then, the pubs were closed and during the day it was way too hot to go outside.
After some days of doing pretty much nothing, I felt like being productive. I enrolled on Skillshare and saw a UI/UX Design course. I had no idea what UI or UX meant, but what the dude was doing in the course preview seemed interesting.
I started following along. Before I knew it, I finished the course and had tabs with other related ones.
I never thought about learning design. I always had the perception that it's something you learn in Art school and you need to have an eye for that. A born talent.
I was wrong. It felt great. Programming felt too far removed from people, from interacting more with those that you’re creating for. But maybe not design. This topic seemed to strike a nice balance.
Searching for my first project
I asked a friend if he wanted a website for a resort his family owns and he agreed. I was off to create a nice design and build it.
From a deep hatred for Wordpress, I looked at other options. I had friends that were working with Wordpress but they never praised it. All the websites looked the same, they were slow most of the time, and it’s so hard to customize.
Through design, I saw that you can do something unique and at the same time great for the user. It’s how I ran into Webflow. And I started to explore it.
Webflow’s built with designers in mind and I was hooked. I could create a design in AdobeXD, play with things on Webflow, and publish it. The process was crazy fast. At least it’s how it looked like on Youtube.
Through the things I read online, I understood that design is less about making screens look beautiful (UI) and more about making things useful for the users (UX). But they both have a good purpose. It’s easier to try a product that looks great and it’s appealing for the eye. In the same time, if it’s only appealing for the eye, but confusing to use, you’ll stop soon.
I wanted to showcase all the things I learned online and Webflow seemed to allow me that.
Looking back, the website wasn’t that great. Weird color palette, accessibility issues, low-quality images, and I can go on and on. But I loved it! I took it from an idea to a concrete design, and then to a published website. The process was incredible and I never felt so creative in my life.
About a month or two earlier, I believed it was a job for at least two people: a designer and a developer. Or one developer that uses a Wordpress template.
Two important things happened in that period but I couldn’t see them at that time.
There was a constant sense of urgency. On one hand, I needed to have something ready before the university started. On the other, my friend and I were in constant contact so we can publish the website as soon as possible.
This left me no time to waste. I played with Webflow, watched videos, and read articles every day. My ability to design and develop was growing. I was motivated, energized, and ready to learn every time I started my day.
It’s a great sensation and in only one month I felt like a new man. A rebranded version of myself.
So all that urgency had me catch momentum. It was short enough to waste no time but long enough to learn and finish the project without being paralyzed by the deadline. Now it’s obvious. When there’s a deadline set, it’s easier to work and organize. When you’re learning on your own, there’s no such thing. You need to think about a date for yourself which is usually not so easy to respect.
The second important thing is that I paired design with development. Building a website is still a job for two people. But Webflow (and the whole no-code movement) is changing that. There’s a large wave of designers that are starting to learn Webflow and no-code. And it’s doing wonders. Not only for designers but for non-technical people in general.
It opens more opportunities. As a designer, you can take more work and do it all yourself. You can ideate, plan, design, execute, and finally have something online that works. That means there’s more room to grow both professionally and financially.
The idea behind this is to pair two skills that are not commonly found together. It’s not necessarily design and development. For example:
- engineering and writing
- illustrating and public speaking
- teaching and selling
- storytelling and video editing
The list goes on and on. I found this by mistake, but it worked. You can do it more strategically.
Continuing to build
Around November 2020, my brother realised that his app wasn’t working. He wanted another one, but now I would only work on the design.
As any rookie, I followed the steps others were suggesting online. Chat about strategy, goals, and how they view the app. Think about personas, draw wireframes, create high-fidelity mock-ups. Reach out for feedback and be open to reviews.
One month of work and it was done. I was super content with how it turned out both in terms of UX and UI. He was too. Now I had one project ready for my portfolio.
After spending some 2-300$ for a Flux Academy course (wouldn’t recommend it), I started a challenge created by Ran (founder of Flux).
I should create a new hero section for 30 days starting from an idea generated by an AI, in one hour, and post it on Instagram.
I’ve learned plenty about landing page design, principles of design, web psychology, and shipping things fast. I was serious about that 1-hour limit and I also shared what I was doing on Instagram.
After about two weeks, the hero sections started looking decently. I was pleased with my designs, and it gave me a huge boost of confidence that I could create a page for any type of company, in many visual styles. It’s an exaggeration, but I thought I could.
Setting expectations
When I realized that I enjoy designing, I made a deal with myself. One year, no expectations. Don’t think about money, employment, or projects. Work on building your skills. Focus on your curiosities. Progress as a designer. Look for opportunities. Put yourself out there.
There were no companies around me looking for UI/UX designers. But I found some freelancers online. There were many professionals working as independent designers with all sorts of companies. This seemed amazing. And I had no clue this was an option.
So I kept reading and designing. I found many designers who were writing about their experience, cool projects, or design tips. I went through 100s of websites (I’m still doing this) to see things that I liked and what I didn’t.
Over time, I started to identify problems and possible solutions. I had mental dialogues on how I could explain what was wrong on some websites and what I can do to improve them. Similar to pitching that company about me redesigning their website.
I even did one or two redesigns. That was a great exercise in the beginning. I reproduced a brand’s website in Figma and added my vision of solutions, keeping them for myself.
Everybody know that “practice makes it perfect, but there’s also one other crucial thing I was during this time. That “imaginary pitching” helped me a lot. It forced me to answer questions like:
- Why would we choose you?
- How will this redesign help our brand/conversions/ranking etc.?
- What’s the cost?
Design is a lot about selling. Especially if you start with freelance work. Not everyone understand the value of design and some benefits of this industry is intangible, you can’t really put a metric on everything, even more if you’re a newbie.
Learning from others
It was the start of 2021. This whole time I had no proper process or clear direction. I went around the design industry to see what feels interesting or not, with a bit more focus on designing user interfaces.
I started asking people on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. I asked questions like:
- What helped you when you were starting?
- What are some resources you’ve found and you think are useful for beginners?
- Where are you learning from right now?
Usually, you find these things by Googling. But by asking others, you’re finding out where people already in the industry go to learn. Or something they wished they knew when starting in design.
Some answered and gave me advice, resources, and ideas to think about. Some replied but then never followed up again. I still appreciated their effort.
Like the podcasts that I was listening to, Twitter and blogs helped me understand that everyone has a different path and story. Some designers from Uber or Apple started when they were 30. A lot of them never had a background in design.
This gave me hope. There are lots of people I can identify with. Or at least some part of their story.
Then, there is this guy called Chris Do. He might be the one that influenced me the most during this time of learning design. He is teaching everything about business and design on The Futur’s Youtube channel.
It’s how I learned to present a project, talk to customers, or simply behave like a professional. Some of the things he talks about:
- hours-long workshops about design, life, work, and business.
- critiques of designs, explained by the pixel.
- fundamentals about business or design.
- tips on freelancing and selling.
- podcasts with amazing guests.
I’m still amazed of all the value he’s putting out there for free.
Creating my portfolio
In January, I understood that designers should have a portfolio to get jobs. So I started researching.
I spent way too many hours checking others’ portfolios. But it was fun. It’s always fun to research a new project and see how great people are doing things.
I took notes on some things that I loved and some that I didn’t. I looked for the uniqueness of each portfolio. What made that person stand out?
I was jumping between Twitter and Webflow.
On Twitter you find designers that share. When you look at designers from Uber, Netflix, or Google they might not have the best-looking portfolios. But they usually write well. And being a good writer helps a lot in tech.
Freelance designers and design agencies are a great resource for inspiration. They tend to have a great mix of good design taste and nice storytelling.
For me it was important that the website looks good and sells. To sell you also need a good story about yourself and the work to back it up.
At this moment I had a rough idea of what I'll have on the website. But I had no idea how it'll look like. So I jumped in Figma. It's the worse to design for yourself. It's never good enough, you don't have the objective feedback. Even if you're asking a friend for feedback, it's useless. Their idea of a portfolio is not the same with what you'd want for yourself.
It took me at least two weeks ****to find a direction and settle on it. Things were moving, the screens started to take shape.
In the meantime, I found my "unique page". It would be a Bookshelf with all the books I had read in the past two years and the notes I took. I was already documenting all of this, so it made sense.
Jordan Hughes has a similar page. I immediately felt connected to the guy because he’s a fellow reader and we had some books in common. What if somebody would think the same about my page?
Getting hired
Between January and February I had some interviews going on. I was still trying to have zero expectations, but the point was to try.
I felt disappointed for a bit, as I got some rejections. But things changed quickly.
I received a catchy message on LinkedIn about a startup with millions in funding. "Are you interested?". Yes, let's go. I filled in a form, wrote about my brother's app and hit send.
Some hours later, Peter (CEO of Advisable) wrote me an email: "Any chance you can do a loom about that app you wrote about?". Firstly, of course. Then, what's exactly a loom?
Loom is a video messaging tool for asynchronous work. So I recorded myself, ran him through my thinking, process, and results. I started the trial period at the end of February. Around 20th of March he said that I should meet the whole team and offered me a full-time job.
Peter actually thought the same about my book page, which was still only a design, as I thought about Jordan’s. Quirks about yourself pay out.
The growth from that point is immense. It's been a year since I started working with the Advisable team and I couldn't be happier with how things turned out.
Making sense of it
During this whole time, I had no proper idea what I was doing. But somehow I followed what made me curious and it paid out.
Now I understand that it’s enough to be interested in a subject and take action into knowing more about it. That everyday decision that you will sit and do work it’s critical. Read about it, create something, document it.
You also need time and patience. If you consistently sit down, read, and execute, you’ll get miles better without thinking about it.
I didn’t have to pinpoint an exact role or subject. Even though I always believe I should. For weeks I looked into branding, illustrations, psychology and other related subjects to Product Design. My curiosities guided me to know more about this role and build the skills needed.
Right now I’m at the intersection of product, marketing, and growth with a focus on design. So I’m not exactly a Product Designer. Those three fields make me curious each day and it’s so hard to get bored. And if I do get bored, it means it’s time to read something new.
Discovering a thing that made me curious each day, changed everything I do. Only in one year.
