Category Archives: career path

I’m leaving TheLadders….and launching Proof!

“Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down.” – Fahrenheit 451 author Ray Bradbury     It’s a new year. And even though it’s mostly an arbitrary point in time, there’s … Continue reading

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Rock bands and Startups

For a good portion of the 90’s and early 00’s I was a touring musician. There were 5 or 6 of us (depending on the band), we were young, determined and hungry – both figuratively (we wanted to be rock … Continue reading

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You Don’t Need a UX Portfolio

“Can they draw straight lines?” That’s what my boss asks me each time I meet a new UX Design candidate. I’ve interviewed a lot of UX Designers over the past two years. Inevitably (and at my request in most cases) … Continue reading

Posted in career path, design, portfolio | Tagged , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Designing The Damn Thing

Over and over again, it seems, practitioners within the User Experience world stir up flame wars and heated debates about what it is exactly that we do and what it should be called. From Interaction Design to User Experience Design … Continue reading

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Call Their Baby Ugly and 4 Other Tips for Designing with CEO’s

CEO’s can be a tough group to design for – after all, it’s their vision with which you are now entrusted. I’ve been fortunate enough throughout my career to work closely with several CEO’s. From fledgling ideas to high-growth companies … Continue reading

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Gut Instincts

Much is said about education, experience and domain knowledge when discussing the potential quality of a design.  If the designer has the right degrees, a solid cross-section of experience and deep industry knowledge the assumption is that the design will … Continue reading

Posted in career path, Productivity | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Building the UX Dream Team

More than a few have written on how to build the ideal User Experience design team. Those articles have typically focused on the titles, skillsets and passions of the folks you put on that team. However, one key piece is … Continue reading

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The Case for a Designer in Residence

Design is one of the key differentiators in the success of a start-up. It’s been exemplified in success stories like Mint.com, Gilt Group’s end-to-end aesthetic and experience and even larger successes such as Facebook’s clean and constrained interface trouncing MySpace’s … Continue reading

Posted in career path, startups | Tagged | 12 Comments

You can have it all

Progressing in a User Experience career leads most designers working for companies or agencies (i.e., not freelancers) to a fork in the road. In order to get to the “next level” in your career you need to decide whether you … Continue reading

Posted in career path, startups | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments