Hkedia - UX & UI Pathway

Over the past few weeks of this internship, I have been greatly introduced to the UX field. I have learned how to conduct certain interviews for feedback, how to do brainstorming and ideation processes in new ways, new techniques to sharpen the mind when it comes to creating new ideas, how to identify common problems and how to fix them, how to create task flows, user flows, information architectures, and card sorting, as well as being introduced to new and useful websites, such as Miro and Asana. I have already learned a lot about the UX field in just a couple of weeks, and I am looking forward to learning and practicing even more.

A few things I am somewhat proud of are my sketches at the beginning of the program to get a little more familiar with innovating, my progress with the brainstorm and ideation processes, as well as the interviews I conducted last week for our project.

I was added to the program a day late, so I missed the first meeting, but I have attended all of the mandatory meetings since then. I have also attended the few optional meetings that have been held over the past couple of weeks, as well as side meetings specifically for my team on this current project.

I hope to continue working on my project and learn more about techniques and tools used in the UX field. I want to improve on the ideation process and my flow charts so I can use even more detail and data in upcoming works.

A few mini tasks I have done are quick sketches on pieces of paper, with eight sections per paper, to find new ways to improve existing items, such as backpacks and T.V. remotes. Another small activity I was a part of was to draw 30 circles and have a total of three minutes to quickly turn each of those circles into recognizable objects or pictures. For the main part of our project, I have helped pitch in ideas regarding possible problems and solutions with the STEM-Away Platform and how to improve the users’ experiences with it. I have helped brainstorm, ideate, improve ideas, conduct interviews for specific features and tasks, record the data from the interviews to use to help improve the website, and have even made an information architecture and user flows for our solution. One main hurdle was that one of my team members dropped from the program, and we were unaware until a couple days later, pushing our progress back. However, one of the leads, Ms. Zoey, stepped in to help me and my partner. She has helped significantly as she stepped in as a teammate and has helped guide me and my partner through this part of the project.