Student Experience, Tom Young | User Experience Design

Learn all about BrainStation’s UX Design Course!

Now that you’re almost halfway through your course, what has been your favorite aspect of the course thus far?

The people! So many unique thoughts and opinions really make the entire experience whole. I have seen the growth of almost everyone in the class taking ideas/suggestions and transforming them into their own tangible products. I have come to expect that each class is going to teach me something really interesting about UX design, I have great conversations with other students, and I will leave the class excited for the next week.

Tom is taking UX Design at BrainStation in Toronto!

How is your project coming along? 

My project has been slowly coming along. I feel the most enjoyable part of my project is going out and engaging my network to further develop insight. I am quickly finding out true User Experience design needs to be developed with the end users. Scaled projects which require large amounts of development should be articulately thought out prior to any stage of development. Agile and sprint methodologies that we are leveraging throughout the course have provided me with active and reactive feedback from the end consumers. Look forward to putting the developed ideas in actions through prototyping.

What have you found to be the most useful tool in building your skill?

There have been so many useful tools so far that we have been exposed too. When people ask me what course I would suggest taking at Brainstation I always suggest UX design because it is the most transferable skill set to all industries. And that is most true with Design Thinking. It takes a brand new approach to evaluate problems and understanding the touch points of a product and service. Functional design – it can look pretty but if it is not practical, what’s the point?

With four weeks under your belt, are you finding you are looking at things differently with your new found knowledge?

Design thinking! I can’t say it enough. Looking at projects, products, and processes with this mindset has really changed the way I approach a problem. Empathizing, for example, is a framework of the end user. What does person X I am delivering this to want? What value are they gaining by the delivery, execution, or completion of the given product, process, or project? It is something that I will keep with me as I continue my professional career no matter what industry I am in.

What are your goals for week five and six?

I really want to iterate on the end process of my product. If the logic and flow of the interaction with the product are not solidified I can not begin to generate content. I have found that a well thought out structure will make updates, content creation, and overall maintenance easier in the long run. The prototype should really be content free in the first ideation with buckets that eventually will be filled. Excited to move forward!