7 things I’ve learnt as a UX design trainee
I’m currently a Junior UX designer at the BBC, working on designing internal tools to help the content producers make content. Before getting this role, I was part of the BBC user experience design trainee scheme. This is a year long program that involves four placements in different teams — in my case, I worked in the Weather team, AVKX (Audio video key experience), Systems and Service Design and lastly the BBC Children’s team. This is the start of my career and I wanted to reflect on some of my learnings in order to help others with what they can expect as a UX design trainee (or intern as it’s more commonly called).
#1 Things can be slow
The first thing I learnt was that things take time. When I first joined, I was working in the BBC Weather team. It was a really exciting time as they were just about to launch the new updated look and feel for the TV and responsive web. However, I found out that this ‘imminent’ release had been ‘imminent’ for a while! On reflection, the team was iterating and improving the designs and efficiency of the site constantly. They were working on bugs and fixes, running tests and improvements where possible. This process taught me about the importance of patience, about really understanding the audiences and getting stuck deep into the problem in order to perfect the outcome.
#2 …but change happens quickly
As someone new to the UX industry, especially as a trainee — everything is really exciting and new. It’s a strange feeling when you first hear that people are leaving a place that you’ve only just got to know. I eventually learnt that people do leave, and new people replace them. It’s all part of the industry — and ultimately people pick up new skills and use them in the next team.
One great thing about our UX team specifically is that we are rotated into different teams. This rotation encourages designers to be flexible and fluid in our design practises. It makes us adaptable and enables us to be pick up new ways of working and learn from each other. I found it especially useful as a trainee to be able to observe and compare the ways different teams operate. It was surprising too how varied they were, considering we all work for the same larger team. A benefit of this was that I had insider knowledge of things that others in my new teams didn’t have.
The rate of change helps you as a designer to identify the things that you’re good at, so embrace the fast changes and rotations!
#3 People are people
At the BBC and most large corporations there’s a hierarchical structure and as a trainee you’re at the bottom of it. Above you there are Juniors, Mid-weights, Seniors, Creative Directors, ‘Heads of …’ and then the Chief design officer. (It gets higher still!) These multiple levels can seem intimidating and although there are a lot of them, they don’t mean that your opinion is less valid. I found that as somebody new to the industry, a fresh pair of eyes and a new way of thinking was valued highly. I learnt to embrace my position as someone in training, to be bold in asking questions and reach out to colleagues who are higher up. At the end of the day they’re just people too.
#4 Just do it … quick!
This one goes along with my first two points, that things can change really quickly and yet they can also take a really long time. Don’t wait to grab an opportunity, do it now. If you want to speak to someone, now is the time as they might not be there tomorrow, or the week after. If there’s something you want to make happen, don’t delay in getting it started. Talk to the right people if you know them — and make connections. Personally, this attitude helped me to go and work in Manchester for one of my placements — an experience I could’ve missed out on if I hadn’t talked to the right people at the right time. Opportunities might appear out of nowhere and also slip away very quickly if you don’t have the confidence to run with them!
#5 Respect the industry
By industry, I mostly mean the colleagues that have worked to get where they are. I’ve found with UX that there is no perfect course or route into it and therefore people can come from all different backgrounds. So far I’ve encountered people who used to be lawyers, project managers, PHD students, graphic designers, set designers, music producers, entrepreneurs and art directors. Especially at the BBC, there are many staff members who started off in the first ‘design’ department and have helped to shape and define the UX team it is today. One UX colleague started at the BBC painting the backdrops for TV dramas! These designers have had to change immensely and constantly be learning in order to evolve with the teams. I’ve learnt that these are usually the wisest people and to try to learn from their experiences. It’s good to remember that whatever path you’ve taken to get there; you also have interesting experiences that you can contribute too.
Because of all these different backgrounds, we are also able to have a diverse set of roles within our teams. Within our UX department, the main role titles include; UX writers, UX information architects, UX designers, UX researchers and UX accessibility specialists. These roles all carry quite different tasks, however they are not exclusive in their nature. Ultimately we are all just a different form of user experience designers.
#6 Always be learning
As I’ve mentioned previously — the industry changes so fast, every day theres a new tool that we’re now using. It’s comforting to know that we’re all in it together no matter how long you’ve been in the industry! Share knowledge and learn together. It’s okay to not know how all the tools work and don’t be afraid to suggest new ways of working. The colleague I mentioned earlier who used to paint backdrops probably didn’t expect to be a UX designer, but grew into the role as a result of her willingness to adapt and experiment with new tools. Ultimately, collaborate and learn in order to expand your own potential.
#7 If you know what you want, tell everyone.
This is probably a more general rule for life; and is something I’ve witnessed in the workplace recently. If you know what you want, talk to people and tell them about it. It’ll get to the point that people will know you for that specific thing — and will come to you if an opportunity in that field comes up. I’m still working on what it is I want to focus my career in UX on, but I’ll keep learning and experimenting until I do.
Thank you for reading! I hope to keep writing about my experiences working on the internal tools of the BBC and other things that I come across and find interesting! Follow me on linked in and twitter here!
If you’re interested in applying for the BBC UX Design Trainee scheme click here!
