UX challenge

Bojana Rajković
Bojana Rajković
April 2, 2019

Bild Winter IT Internship is what brought us together. Five angry pirates, eager for change, knowledge, some new experience, and ready to level up.

Why Bild, why UX design?

It seems as if all of us had the same reasons for applying to this internship. Bild Studio has managed to build a great image as a company with extensive experience in the IT industry. It stands out as a socially responsible company, as evidenced by many awards concerning the care of employees, community and students. Bearing in mind all of the recommendations we received from our friends and people who used to work or currently work for Bild Studio, we could not have any doubts whatsoever.

With the same goal in mind, we bought a one-way ticket and checked in for a flight headed towards Bild Winter Internship – UX design. We wanted to try something new, something challenging, that encourages creativity, something for which there is no formal education in Montenegro. And so we began!

What is it that we learn and do?
 

Initially, we were introduced to the very concept and meaning of UX design. Our everyday life had become all about wireframes, prototypes, mockups, constant research, professional literature, new people (and two cats).

It became indubitably that a good design cannot and should not rest solely on the visual aspect of the product, yet that the same signals towards the importance of user experience. How could we possibly ensure the best and easiest way to use a product? That is the issue the UX design deals with.

Today, when we are accustomed to the fact that almost anything is possible, due to the technological achievements, how easy is to use something takes the front seat. The UX designer’s job is not only to think both as a creator and a user but also to consider the feasibility of his/her own solution. To this end, our mentors go beyond the UX design itself and give us a full perspective of the production process. 
Below you can see what we have been working on throughout these past two months. Presented are user flow diagrams, diagrams for creating a database, and our work on real-life projects.

Our mentors

Besides the primary focus related to the UX design, we are acquiring other valuable skills, such as dedication, discipline, teamwork, humanitarian actions and much more. This is what makes working for this company an invaluable experience.

We asked them to give us their own opinion.

Tarik: “Working in UX design is very demanding. It requires significant knowledge and experience in design, technology, marketing, user psychology, product knowledge, business processes and understanding of your competitors to carry out any kind of project professionally. 
Knowing this, initially, I was perplexed on how to approach the interns, how to make a systematic plan from which they will be able to learn continuously, while understanding the essence of our work, and most importantly, think of them as UX designers.
An additional challenge was not to scare them by the amount of information and knowledge that is necessary for the performance of their tasks, but rather to motivate them with it.”

Danko: “For me as a mentor, the two main goals for this internship revolve around interns being inspired and to learn how to think like designers. I do not know how to go about the first one (it’s up to the interns to say), but for the latter, we are on the right track.”

Tarik: “During the first month of the internship, the expectations and the results did not match – both from the mentoring side and from the side of the interns. I had the impression that we did not do the job well as mentors or that the interns are learning very slowly.
However, now after two months of learning, when the knowledge had settled, I am almost convinced that after 6 months of the internship, the interns will come out with solid knowledge that will be enough for them to perform at this position on a decent level.
What I am particularly positive about is that the interns have become a real team, they hang out together, respect each other, help each other and cover for one another, transfer knowledge to each other, and that is the thing that I, as one of the mentors, am most proud of. This is what motivates me further to transmit the knowledge better.”

What interns say

After two months of the internship, changes are evident. As Melanija says, UX makes us think differently. Here we practice work habits, time organisation, priority setting and we all enjoy working in a team.

Nikola: We overcome new challenges daily, always learn something new (even beyond the scope of UX design), and work full-time. After 8 hours spent in Bild, we do our homework and continue learning UX, because Tarik and Danko never sleep. But that works for me. In my opinion, this is a precious work (and life) experience, hardly obtained at college, and it’s more than fun.

Melanija: I learned far more than I could expect when the internship started. The internship consists of young people who want to acquire new skills and knowledge, willing to help at the same time. For the first time, I have the opportunity to work in an atmosphere that makes me want to work on improving myself.

Nina: What makes this practice different is the combination of us who want to learn as much as possible and our mentors who are dedicated and ready to share their knowledge selflessly.

Valentina: All of my expectations were met at the very beginning, thanks to mentors and colleagues who are always there to help unselfishly. Learning dynamics, as well as the mentors’ commitment, enabled us to make progress after two months. I do not think any of us expected that.

Bojana: What I appreciate the most are people I met here, both interns who deserve to be in the team, and mentors who unselfishly teach us, even in areas that do not concern UX design exclusively. The internship is well organised. With everyday work, homework, knowledge sharing and work on real projects, the great results are to come.

You just saw what we have done so far, read what it feels for us to be a part of this internship and you could witness our joy working in Bild Studio and our desire to become successful UX designers.

You have seen our previous work, motivations and reasons why Bild Studio justified our expectations. We hope it is clear how satisfied we are and why we are persevering to become excellent UX designers.

Stay tuned, we will be back in a couple of months, showing you our progress!

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