User experience designer — Emma Clayton

After working in graphic design Emma switched to pursue a career in user experience (UX). She now works as a UX designer at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ»ÆƬ (Jisc)

What degree did you study and where?

An arts foundation course at the Kent Institute of Art and Design, then a BA Graphic Design at the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol.

Later on I also did a diploma in UX design, and professional certificates in visual design and content design, all with the UX Design Institute.

Why did you decide on a career in UX?

I was a graphic designer for many years. It was a depressing and frustrating job and I became very burnt out and bitter. I was desperate to do something else and I didn't want to have to start from the very bottom of the career ladder again, largely because I had a mortgage and other bills to pay. So I looked for career options I could transition into, that had overlapping skills.  

I also felt that a lot of the qualities one needs for being a UX designer were things that I possess naturally, so it felt like a good fit.  

How did you get your job in UX?

I started by doing the UX design diploma in my spare time. I did a couple of small UX projects for local companies for free, to build up some experience. I already had a design portfolio online because I was a graphic designer, so I started to add my UX experience to it as well.  

I consumed quite a lot of content about how to get into UX, and I also spoke to a job coach with UX expertise to get her advice on how to show employers I could do more than graphic design.  

What kind of tasks do you complete on a typical day?

I work remotely most of the time, so I'm usually at home. I attend meetings, mostly with software developers and product owners. I interview users and watch them use a website, so I can observe what they find confusing or frustrating. I then write up my notes on that. I look at all the notes I've taken for one project and start to arrange my findings by theme. I put those findings down into a written report, or present that report to people. I might also put together medium fidelity designs of a webpage, to reflect some of the recommendations I've made in my report.  

What do you enjoy about being in UX?

 I take pleasure in making things better for people. I feel that way in life as a whole and I love that my job is about that. I find it gratifying when I make recommendations and they're listened to and acted on.  

I also value working for a tech-for-good public sector organisation where the focus is not solely on profit. 

What are the challenges?

UX is a relatively new industry, only a couple of decades old. Many businesses see good design as a luxury, and that includes UX unfortunately. It can be painful when you're working with people who don't understand the vast value it can bring, to their business as well as to individuals. Companies will have different levels of UX maturity, and if the maturity is low, it can be an uphill struggle for UX-ers because they're constantly having to fight the battle of explaining why it matters; and in those companies, the UX-er doesn't always win. 

What three qualities are important for a career in UX?

• Curiosity - you're someone who naturally wants to understand things better and more completely. You notice opportunities to tug at threads of further information, and you're not afraid to ask questions. 
• Empathy - you find it easy to consider things from other people's point of view. You've developed your emotional intelligence. 
• Ethics - you of course need to accommodate the needs of the business in the work that you do, but in my opinion that doesn't justify using your powers for evil, such as tricking users, getting them addicted or taking advantage of them. You want to be advocating for them and working in their best interest.  

Can you debunk a myth about working in UX?

People often confuse UX with UI (user interface, i.e. the visual part of a website or app that you interact with), and think they're the same thing. Sometimes people think that UX designers spend all their time designing the user interfaces.  

UX is about understanding the experience that users have, looking for points of friction and smoothing those away. That smoothing may happen by improving the way a website page design looks, but it's deeper than that, it's about seeking out the problems, understanding them, and considering the ways you can make improvements. Focusing on the way a button looks may be a factor but it's not the reason I'm here. 

What are your career ambitions?

Language and clear communication have long been a passion of mine, and I love that I can bring those skills into my UX work with content design (design with language as the focus). I consider this to be my specialism and I want to continue to hone those skills. 

What advice can you give to others aspiring to work in UX?

Check out content by Jared Spool, he's a high profile UX-er who worked in government for Barack Obama, and he is incredibly knowledgeable.  

Talk to people who are already in the business, ask questions, shadow them if you can, it's a great way to absorb and understand what the job is genuinely like.  

Create an online portfolio to showcase your work and have a look at best practice for how to present it. Best of luck. 

Find out more

• Learn more about the role of a UX designer.
• Explore what you can do with a graphic design degree.
• Discover roles within media and internet.