78. How to review your year with UX Designer Sang Valte

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action" - Peter Drucker.

As 2021 comes to a close, it's useful to reflect on what worked, what didn't and how your industry evolved.

In this episode, you'll hear from Sang Valte, Senior UX Director at international design agency Jellyfish, and Design Standards Board Member at General Assembly, about how he reviews his year and how the UX changed in 2021.

Questions to ask yourself for your end of year review:

• What have you gained in your health & wealth? Where have you lost? Sang thinks of wealth in relationships, friendships and knowledge, and health in terms of financial health, mental health and physical health.
• What have you done to further your skills in your career this year? Good UX designers must work to remove bias from their thinking to truly understand the users they make products for, says Sang. To sharpen critical thinking and dull bias, his recommended reads are Noise by Daniel Kahnemann and Think Again by Adam Grant.
• What have you done to build relationships for your career? Build relationships before you need them. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, Sang had a job offer, which suddenly fell through. He spent 5 months applying for jobs fruitlessly, and landed a dream opportunity when he reached out to someone he met at a design conference.
• How has your industry changed in 2021? In your end of year review, think beyond your experience and think about how the sector evolved. Reflecting on the trends will help you capitalise on them in future. For example, Sang says that the UX field now has more senior women in it than ever before, and that there is a new interest in diverse thought.

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