Meet our people: Ani, UX interaction Designer

This role has allowed me to gain more experience and understanding that a non-early careers role in UX. This is because I was given the support to shadow, work under and eventually own my own work, with the support of Capgemini. For example, I have had the chance to be a user researcher, content designer and interaction designer – most people in UX stick to one role but we are exposed to all 3 roles which gives us a unique edge in our field. This gives me a great platform to grow and excel in my professional career.

My favourite thing about working at Capgemini is the people. Specifically, the work environment that is fostered by the people. Everyone is very sincere, understanding, cooperative and non-judgmental. As an apprentice, the people I work with have so much experience and are willing to share it, which is invaluable for my own growth and exposure. 

Tie between freedom and trust. These values foster a type of environment that allows me to learn without fear of judgement. I can ask ‘stupid’ questions, I am given responsibility to add real value. I feel supported to grow in a safe but challenging environment. 

Day-to-day, I focus on content design, this can look like working with researchers and performance analysts to understand research insights and turn them into design solutions. Or collaborating with the design team to innovate good design and compare different solutions.
I use common tools daily such as Figma, GDS prototyping kit and GitHub to create, maintain and update prototypes that will be used in user testing. Other tools include Word and Mural for content or other design documentation.
I also work with the wider project to understand how we can technically implement design changes to promote innovation and work around any limitations.
On a weekly basis, I have regular calls with my stakeholders and team, to showcase our progress, get their feedback and allow them to understand and participate in the design process. Because of this, it has enabled me to build a strong working relationship with them and learn from their experience!

I previously studied BA Journalism and Communication at Cardiff University, the key soft skills in journalism are also present in UX. This includes being research driven, knowing how to communicate and present your ideas appropriately – basically being empathetic.  

The hard skills such as learning new tools are easy (for me) to pick up, compared to the core principles that make a good designer. 

Look at other people who are in the position you want to be in. Some industries have set career paths, but others are very open. That should inform what direction you want to go down.  

Figure out why you want to go down a specific path and look for all jobs that fit your values, you might be surprised to find jobs that fit you perfectly, but you didn’t even know existed – that was the case for me and UX. 

Look at the company values, the work environment and talk to as many people you can.  

The work environment plays a huge role in how much you can grow, learn, develop and enjoy life, as we spend the majority of our day working.