Peipei Wang

The UX job market in 2024 is a bit of a mixed bag. There are challenges due to recent economic trends, but also reasons for optimism. ✨ Job openings are down significantly from their peak in 2022, with UX being especially impacted. Competition for jobs is high, with many qualified candidates out of work. Here are some tips to help you carve your own career path in UX design given the current competitive job market: 🔹 Master foundational UX design principles 🔹 Specialize in a niche area of UX 🔹 Explore freelance and contract work 🔹 Contribute to open-source projects 🔹 Focus on transferable skills and consider roles in other industries ✨ Bonus tip: Use Lyssna to gather user feedback and validate your designs. Perfect for updating your portfolio! 🔍 #UXDesign #CareerTips #FreelanceDesign #DesignCommunity #Lyssna #usabilitytesting #userexperience #usertesting #userresearch #designthinking #ux

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👀 Designers: Is your portfolio missing this crucial element? New in my "Nessa's Knowledge Bombs" series: "Show Your Design Process in Your Case Studies." As a hiring manager, I can't stress enough: don't just show the final product. Reveal your journey! Read more: https://lnkd.in/eQu4vrTd #DesignPortfolio #UXDesign #CareerTips

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Hiring for design system roles differs from hiring for other design or engineering roles. Clarifying what makes the roles unique is essential for screening candidates. Here are some nuances that I've found to be helpful. When asking for a presentation, stop using the word "portfolio" and start using "case studies." They tell similar stories but change the expectations from traditional visual portfolios. Include clear bullet points about expected responsibilities; don't just copy and paste requirements from other similar, existing roles. Just because they have the word "designer" or "engineer" in the title doesn't mean the job is the same. If your org still insists on doing a design exercise, tailor it to reflect what you expect from a design system practitioner. The day-to-day is unique, so don't waste time on an exercise that provides no value for you and sets the candidate up for failure. If hiring a design system team manager, you're not hiring an independent contributor and vice versa. Managing and building design systems is a lot of work. One person can't do both roles well simultaneously, so pick one and focus the interview questions on the expected role. What did I miss?

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Unlock the Secrets of Org Design with insider help! 🎙️ Building an internal org design team... is it for your company or not yet? Learn from superstar internal org designers Joemmy Ramirez and Mary Selden. Jump in and have a listen. Even if you don't need an internal team right now, these two have some amazing OD insights that anyone can benefit from. #orgdesign #capability #orgstructure Organization Design Forum ⍙ Amy Springer Tim Brewer OrgDesign Podcast Powered by Functionly

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🎨 Designers Are the First Hires in Unicorn Startups for a Reason: Clarity Scales 🚀 Great design isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about clarity, usability, and creating experiences that resonate. Startups that prioritize design early build stronger brands, clearer messages, and scalable solutions. Here’s why clarity matters: ✅ It simplifies complex ideas for investors and users ✅ It builds trust and credibility through seamless experiences ✅ It sets the foundation for scaling your vision Design is not a cost—it’s an investment in your startup’s future. Is your team putting clarity first? #DesignThinking #StartupSuccess #UnicornStartups #ClarityScales #UXDesign #SlidePrecision 📩 Drop a message or visit us at slideprecision.com Adobe #Presentations #DesignTools #Productivity #Poll #SlidePrecision #pitchdeck #linkedin #fiverr #freelancer #upwork #powerpoint #Canva #Startups #Funds #Entrepreneur #Leadership, #CareerDevelopment, #Networking, #Business, #Entrepreneurship, #Marketing, #Innovation, #Technology, #RemoteWork, #JobSearch, #PersonalBranding, #Artificialintelligence #ProfessionalDevelopment, #IndustryInsights, #EmployeeEngagement, #BusinessStrategy #branding #brand #bangladesh #Olympic #AI #remotework #Job #hiring #share #USA #Australia #visa #Canada #Uk --- This post highlights the strategic value of designers in building successful startups, sparking reflection and discussion!

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🤝Designing Together: The Power of Trust in Cross-Functional Teams Let’s talk about something often overlooked in the hustle of deadlines, roadmaps, and launches: the human connections that hold our squads together. As product designers, we live at the intersection of user needs, business goals, and technical feasibility. In this space, our product managers and engineers aren’t just “other functions.” They are our partners—the people we rely on to bring ideas to life. Yet, the real challenge is less about tools, processes, or even skillsets, and more about building relationships rooted in honesty, transparency, and trust. Here’s the truth: without these values, even the most brilliant designs can falter. Why? Because product development isn’t a solo act. It’s a collaborative symphony, where alignment, constructive friction, and mutual respect drive success. Honesty: The Foundation Honesty starts with dropping the ego. Be real about what you know, what you don’t, and where you need help. For example, if a design direction feels risky, say so. Likewise, invite your PM and engineers to challenge your assumptions. The best ideas emerge when all perspectives are heard, not when we hold back to avoid discomfort. Transparency: The Glue Transparency isn’t just about sharing updates—it’s about inviting others into the process. Share your messy explorations, involve engineers in user research, and talk openly about constraints. A transparent team is a team that avoids surprises. And when everyone understands the “why” behind decisions, alignment comes naturally. Trust: The Multiplier Trust doesn’t happen overnight—it’s earned through actions. It’s being consistent in your delivery, showing empathy when conflicts arise, and treating criticism as an opportunity rather than an attack. When trust is solid, something powerful happens: debates shift from “proving a point” to “solving a problem.” The Role of Feedback Feedback is where these values are put to the test. Constructive criticism isn’t just about improving a design—it’s about building a better partnership. When a PM critiques your work, they’re helping align it with the strategy. When an engineer pushes back on feasibility, they’re ensuring it’s buildable. Embrace these moments. They’re not threats; they’re gifts. The Big Picture In a squad, the lines between roles blur. Success isn’t about who “owns” the best idea—it’s about delivering the best solution together. When honesty, transparency, and trust become your defaults, your team stops being just a collection of functions. You become a unit, operating with shared purpose and collective accountability. So, product designers: How are you fostering these values in your squads? What’s one thing you’ll do differently this week to strengthen your partnerships? Let’s commit to designing not just great products, but great relationships. That’s where the real magic happens. #Collaboration #ProductDesign #TrustMatters #Teamwork #productdesign

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Org design and how designers fit within cross functional teams has been at the top of my mind recently. Peter Merholz and John Cutler have an idea that in the future empowered design and engineering leads take on the majority of produce responsibilities. PMs focus on product strategy and in lieu of running daily rituals for 2 pizza sized squads. I’ve actually lived a version of this reality and can say it’s possible — with caveats. 1. The product-thinking mindset and skill set is needed for design and engineering leads. 2. A mature design practice with solid design ops is must. 3. Clear alignment and connection with business stakeholders. 4. An empowered insights practice based on UX research, driven by evidence, generates novel growth opportunities while enhancing current user journeys and experiences. 5. Great relationships across product, design, engineering, business. The truth is skill sets and preferences vary so widely that this model simply can’t work for every company or even every team. A full stack PM/UXDev sounds great on paper but rarely plays out well in reality. However, well supported leads could totally pull it off if well supported by practice area ops squads and empowered PMs.

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Drive user experience improvements using design metrics. We love Jenny Chang’s article on guiding designers to establish meaningful, data-informed metrics for their work. She emphasizes using metrics to make design decisions that improve user experience and align with business goals. By setting clear, measurable design metrics, teams can track progress, identify areas for improvement, and demonstrate the impact of design on overall product success. Check out her article: https://lnkd.in/grXbnpGz Here are her big ideas: →  Set metrics that focus on real user impact, not just looks →  Use failures as lessons to improve design →  Prioritize metrics that reflect user experience and satisfaction →  Regularly update designs based on what the data shows →  Work with teams to align design metrics with business goals We’re digging the ideas. So we expanded on them and put them in a table. Helio helps teams set effective UX metrics by gathering quick user feedback and tracking user-centered data like engagement and satisfaction. It also enables iterative testing and collaborative data sharing, making refining designs and aligning them with business goals easier. #uxresearch #productdiscovery #marketresearch #productdesign

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Zendesk faced a familiar challenge: the growing demand for UX research outpaced the resources and expertise needed to run research 📬 Discover how Head of UX Research, Reggie Murphy, tackled this hurdle by embarking on a journey to democratize UX research at Zendesk. Reggie shares how he developed new research training programs, automated processes, and ResearchOps to empower cross-functional teams to conduct research independently. This helped elevate research from a supporting function to a strategic partner to the business. Tune in to the Optimal Path Podcast to learn more 🎧 https://buff.ly/4aUwHax #UserResearch #ResearchDemocratization #TheOptimalPath

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It’s frustrating to share design/product ideas that never gain momentum. How you approach communicating these ideas to your org will have a big impact on the traction they gain. I wrote about it here: https://lnkd.in/gNqEGRPV #product #design #ux #productdesign

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Design operations (aka DesignOps) is the engine that keeps the design process humming along so that designers can focus on what they do best (you know, designing). 👩‍💻 It ensures your team’s sanity, allowing them to focus on the work itself rather than reinventing the wheel or “how” to get the work done every time. This stuff is especially crucial as your design firepower grows—whether with new designers, devs, or product peeps. Wondering how to get started? Our blog post on Standardizing design through DesignOps has you covered: https://lnkd.in/gfwR2u-6 #DesignOps #UXdesign #designprocess

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🎤 Victoria Campbell, Director of UX Design at Fidelity Investments 💬 How to use Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) to get the best UX feedback Getting feedback early and often is critical to the design process and success of any product. But, getting productive and thoughtful UX feedback from stakeholders can be a tough, daunting task. Often, it comes down to creating a safe space for honest communication and asking the right questions that encourage engagement and critical thinking. Enter Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), a facilitation technique that fosters collaborative, inclusive, community-building dialogue. This workshop will explore a simple, 3 question technique that can help UX practitioners get meaningful feedback and foster communities of collaboration. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eTHMwe2U #UXYall #UXYall2024 #TriUXPA #UXDesign #UXDesigner #UXResearch #UXPA #UXInspiration #UXConference #UserExperience

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Our company is acquired. Now what? “Business as usual” applies no more to us UX professionals if we must navigate organizational changes. Here are a few questions to consider to handle uncertainty. #UX #productDesign

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My pal Vitaly Friedman is second-to-none when it comes to delivering thorough, thoughtful, and actionable design advice. He's released a few courses that are really valuable for practicing designers and design leads: 🧠 Smart Interface Design Patterns: https://lnkd.in/e-v-jsCG 📏 How to Measure UX Impact: https://measure-ux.com/ #design #ux

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Isn't it strange how the types of process materials in portfolios is different than how real work is done in UX? I talk about what materials we commonly see in portfolios that are never used in real work, then I talk about some that we really do use. https://lnkd.in/g45JT7Qk

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⏰ Ready to elevate your #UX game? We’re about to drop something special for all the UX #pros, #beginners, & #enthusiasts out there. Sign up to receive the first edition on Nov 07! https://shorturl.at/UUC04 #monthlynewsletter #uxlinks #newsletter #design #uxdesign #productdesign #bestpractices #trends #interestingtopics

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What Makes A Great Case Study? In episode six of The Essentials of Finding Your Next UX Job! Series, Jared Spool explains which parts of your different case studies best sell what you'll do for the hiring manager. Uncover how to compellingly tell your case study stories while making your portfolio highly skimmable. https://lnkd.in/d9judCZd

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What Makes A Great Case Study? In episode six of The Essentials of Finding Your Next UX Job! Series, Jared Spool explains which parts of your different case studies best sell what you'll do for the hiring manager. Uncover how to compellingly tell your case study stories while making your portfolio highly skimmable to get you the ideal next job in your career. https://cstu.io/bc1a4e

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