Stepping out of the comfort zone means immersing oneself in unfamiliar environments, embracing new challenges, and fostering personal growth. In 2023, as a UX designer, I took that crucial step beyond the familiar confines of my comfort zone.

For those familiar with my previous articles, you may have noticed that I’m the type who tends to get bored with the same workplace or environment after around five years (or even less). To ward off monotony, I consistently seek out new challenges.

This latest venture tested my resolve multiple times. However, with friends providing encouragement and joining me in the challenge, we successfully accomplished the feat!

The new challenge

To put it simply, I served as a mentor for a UX Design Hackathon event hosted by a Canadian university. While I’ve mentored aspiring web designers in Japanese, this experience was vastly different. It demanded quick thinking and responding in English, setting it apart from my previous mentoring endeavors.

How did I end up taking on this mentoring role? Almost every month, I participated in events gathering UX designers, and forging connections with the organizing team. One of them extended an invitation, propelling me into an event spanning two weeks, with over 40 teams participating and each team comprising four members. The sheer scale of it gradually heightened my anxiety. However, a friend reassured me, suggesting I mentor a team of Japanese participants if I felt uneasy due to language concerns. Fueled by a sense of competitiveness, I declined, asserting, “No, I’ll be fine. Let’s give it a try!”

Still uncertain about the specific tasks, I reached out to a friend in Vancouver (currently flourishing as a UX researcher in Japan), who responded with an enthusiastic “Let’s do it.” Their commitment and the prospect of mentoring alongside them provided significant support, helping us overcome the challenges.

Among the participants in the team I mentored were individuals pursuing UX design courses. Their kindness, combined with late-night collaborative efforts, resulted in the team securing an impressive 4th place overall. While the ranking is a bonus, I am genuinely grateful to everyone in the team. Despite being on the advising end, they provided tremendous support.

The one regret I have from this experience…

During the Hackathon’s opening ceremony, I was asked if I’d like to participate in a “Fire Side Chat” with other mentors in front of over 100 students. Regrettably, I declined, assuming it would be too challenging. Watching other mentors speak during the event, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment at missing an opportunity for a casual and impactful interaction.

Undeterred, I embraced another challenge

Inspired by my role as a Hackathon mentor, I was invited to speak as a UX design instructor and workshop facilitator for a workshop organized by business students at the same university.

With around 40 expected attendees, I questioned my decision multiple times, especially when illness struck the week I was preparing slides. However, the last-minute event announcement resulted in around 15 participants, creating an intimate and relaxed setting where I could share my insights comfortably (despite speaking at a rapid pace due to nerves).

Reflecting on these challenges

I realized the universal nervousness that precedes trying something new. Whether it’s leaving a job, working in a new place, embarking on a foreign trip, or speaking a new language, the initial step out of the comfort zone can be intimidating. Those of us prone to staying within our comfort zones tend to create numerous “reasons why not.”

To those reading this article, I hope it serves as an inspiration to take that first step toward your aspirations in 2024. Challenges like leaving a job, working in a new place, or speaking a new language are all within reach. Focus on the present, tackle problems as they arise, and remember that practice can turn anxiety into confidence.

Here’s to embracing new challenges in 2024! May this article inspire those who read it to take their first step toward their aspirations 🕊

I believe that.

I often hear questions like, ‘I’m currently working in a job unrelated to UX design, so I’m worried if I can become a UX designer,’ or ‘Is it possible to transition from a different industry to become a UX designer?’

Firstly, to answer those questions, it is possible!!

Connecting My Past Experiences to UX Design

During high school and college, I worked part-time at various restaurants. One of those jobs was at a pufferfish cuisine restaurant, a pretty expensive meal in Japan. They charged high prices and service fees, enforcing strict customer service standards. It made me ponder how to ensure customer enjoyment, influencing my actions.

As a customer in restaurants, I began noticing things like, ‘Why is this menu so hard to read? I’d design it differently,’ or ‘The plates are clearly dirty; why aren’t they offering replacements without being asked?’ or ‘The reservation system is confusing, why leave it as is?’ These observations sparked my thoughts.

Working at restaurants, I felt stressed due to poor interior layouts, leading to collisions with coworkers and longer routes to serve food.

During this time, I started aspiring to solve such problems.

Despite being a bit clumsy, my experience as a programmer became advantageous. As a mobile app Product Manager, I tackled the issue of not wanting to spend time on routine work. I used Google Spreadsheets and APIs to automatically track app downloads and users daily, seeking solutions continuously.

Being inherently lazy and always surrounded by problems led me to seek solutions, furthering this behavior constantly.

In my previous article, I mentioned encountering UX design at the ‘Shibuya UX’ event. Around the same time, I talked to someone sitting next to me at a bar who mentioned designing cities when asked about their job. I vividly recall this conversation as if it happened yesterday.

↓ Previous article

https://medium.com/@sheher/why-i-found-being-a-ux-designer-my-ultimate-calling-73557c1fb3ce

It was a revelation to me. ‘Designing cities?!’ I thought cities were constructed by important men in suits saying, ‘Let’s plant trees here because there’s too little green,’ or ‘Alright, we need crowds; let’s make a big shopping mall.’ That’s what I believed a city was.

And then, it struck me. ‘UX design fundamentally revolves around designing for users. It doesn’t necessarily have to manifest as web or mobile app design.’ Could city design also be a form of UX design targeting the residents? (I don’t know if that person identified as a ‘UX designer.’)

Since then, I’ve held onto the dream of designing something other than websites or mobile apps. Though the title might evolve, it’s my ultimate goal as a UX designer.

Transitioning from a Different Industry to Become a UX Designer

I deeply admire those aiming to become UX designers from different industries. It might sound like wanting what one doesn’t have, but for over a decade, I’ve been in the IT industry pursuing UX design, knowing almost nothing else.

If someone asked me to design the UX for a machine used in a hospital, I’d need to research everything about the hospital’s structure, the users (doctors, nurses, patients), and the machine itself. However, imagine if you were a healthcare professional — you might already understand the hospital’s setup or perhaps know about the specific doctors needing that machine.

Similarly, if asked to design an app for preschoolers in a nursery, understanding the nursery’s setup, the teachers, the children, and the parents would be essential. Even if you’ve never worked at a nursery, if you have kids who’ve attended one, you likely have more knowledge about nurseries than I do.

For you, as you read this, aiming to become a UX designer, your past experiences are not in vain. Even if you’ve never officially worked, if you’ve ever thought, ‘This is inconvenient,’ ‘It could be better this way,’ or ‘Why is it like this?’ in your previous experiences, those are all valuable plus points.

In my previous introduction, I mentioned that I transitioned from being a Web Developer to a Web Director within the company.

https://medium.com/@sheher/introducing-myself-my-journey-as-a-ux-designer-across-borders-eb5c5cced23d

At that time, I was still around 23 years old, in my second year since graduating. Despite becoming a Web Director, the team I initially joined was small, and I handled everything from customer support to planning, marketing, and task management. Being involved in customer support allowed me to understand the issues users were facing directly. When my superiors, who weren’t aware of these concerns, asked for new features, I found myself in a battle, asserting that users didn’t necessarily want those features and that updating existing ones should take priority.

Feeling a solid attachment to the essential service I was responsible for, I even created presentation materials for my superiors, questioning why reevaluating existing features was more important than launching new ones.

During this time, my schedule was packed every day after work and on weekends. It wasn’t just about hanging out with friends (though that happened too); it involved attending external study groups, design events, and gatherings related to websites and mobile applications.

Among these events, the one that truly changed my life was the “Shibuya UX” organized by individuals like Kazumichi Sakata, who still actively works as a UX designer and product manager. His Medium on the subject is definitely worth reading!

https://mariosakata.medium.com/

At Shibuya UX, I encountered ‘UX’ for the first time. Designing services centered around users was precisely the answer to what I had been struggling with at that time. Although I ultimately chose an art major, I had always loved psychology since I was a child, to the point where I was torn between psychology and art studies.

I became scared of specializing in psychology because I didn’t know what else I could do besides becoming a counselor after studying psychology. Moreover, I felt unstable myself and doubted if I could counsel others, given my own instability.

But on this day, during this event, it hit me: “This is my calling! This is what I’ve been searching for! I’ll become a UX designer!” (I’ve regretted not majoring in psychology several times since then.)

Because of experiences like this, I often advise aspiring designers to ‘go meet people’ and ‘participate in events.’ I’ve met lifelong friends and many experienced professionals, so let’s meet more people!

Hello, I’m Noriko:)

It’s been nearly 13 years since I started working in the IT industry. (There have been periods where I worked in different roles because I prioritized obtaining permanent residency in Canada over these past few years.)

Currently, I’m working in UX Design at my current company. While I introduce myself as a designer on the internet, I’ll save more about this for another article sometime later.

Educational and professional background:

I majored in weaving in the Fine Arts department at Aoyama Gakuin Junior College. After starting my career, I took a few months of courses in graphic design at Tokyo Design Plex. Upon moving to Canada, I systematically learned UX Design in English at a private college called Tamwood in Vancouver. I completed a workshop designer development program at Aoyama Gakuin University in the winter of 2023.

Work experience:

I worked at GMO Pepabo for 5 and a half years (initially as a Web Developer, then for about 4 years as a Web/Mobile App Product Manager), followed by a year working on-site at an advertising agency. Afterward, I spent a year on a working holiday in Canada. Upon returning to Japan, I worked for Goodpatch as a UX Designer for nearly a year, followed by another year on-site at an advertising agency. I had the opportunity to stay in the Philippines for a while before returning to Canada. Currently, I’m working as a UX Designer at a Canadian company, focusing on developing an NFT platform.

What I plan to share on Medium:

For about 10 years, I’ve been aspiring to be a UX Designer and working in an English-speaking environment. I’ve also been working towards obtaining permanent residency in Canada for around 6 years. Even though these dreams come true, I still want to accomplish many things as a designer.

As I’ve had more interviews about my career since moving to Canada, I started thinking about turning these experiences into articles if they can be helpful to someone.

Additionally, I haven’t fully articulated what I want to achieve next, so I plan to articulate these thoughts while writing articles here.

I might occasionally write about life in Canada, but I intend to update this blog regularly, so I hope you’ll join me on this journey!