Jenny Eishingdrelo

Really annoyed at Figma's price gouging here. There is no reason other than greed: https://lnkd.in/gfdrEiWH Oh, and I emailed them about it and this line from their reply was particularly poignant: "Additionally the minimum for enterprise is a $5k invoice minimum. 6 enterprise seats or made up with other products." To put that in context... our monthly Adobe bill (for 8 CC, 7 PS, 6 Acrobat licenses) is ~NZ$2k... Amazing how quickly enshittification sets in... #Figma #Design #SoftwareLicensing

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I'm hearing a lot of pain and confusion from a lot of designers and technologists and other folks trying to navigate jobs in these times. You as an individual worker (or as a customer or user of the products of design and technology) will never be valued for your own sake by an organization striving to maximize shareholder value. Collective action is the only way to counter this mandate and increase the cost of unethical, inhumane, or otherwise unreasonable practices. Sometimes this means working together more or less formally to influence policy and regulation, sometimes this means unionization. Asking nicely isn't going to do it. Nor is throwing your peers under the bus. If you need a pep talk (only $9):

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I really enjoyed this conversation with Alex Smith from Fuego UX on value of designers learning to code, team collaboration, culture, and thoughts for new designers entering the market in the age of AI. Plus, it's short and sweet - just under 12 mins! If anything peeks your interest that you'd like to hear more on, let me know as I may be able to go deeper in future talks or blog posts :)

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Someone has to say it! Tobias saying it makes it even more legit. Meet and work with a lot of young folks who are looking for mentors at workplace thinking they would be hand held at every step. While guides are there, one needs to walk the path and grind towards a path set by the mentor. Things don’t happen on their own. Blaming is another aspect of design folks where stakeholders are held responsible for what’s happening around them without introspecting why is it happening and what one can do to change that behaviour around by using design frameworks and improving the craft on a daily basis. So much of entitlement will never get us anywhere. #designlife

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Companies are finally seeing the value of super-senior ICs! But career ladders and expectations for staff+ designers are often unclear, leaving lots of people who reach this level feeling unsupported. To help, I took my own 14+ years of experience as an individual contributor in high-impact roles at tech companies of varying sizes and made a highly interactive course. Join us starting Feb 3: https://lnkd.in/eqg4e2vx We’ll cover: 💡 Common expectations of the staff+ designer role 💡 Effective communication with senior leaders and executives 💡 How to set and uphold boundaries to focus on high-impact work 💡 Techniques to manage up and show impact Over the span of three weeks, you'll build a network of super-senior peers and acquire tactics from me: a designer who's been through these exact challenges. Grab your spot now! P.S. Thanks, Adekunle Oduye, for the kind words!

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UX/DR should be a job title. I spent a few days last week with dscout and loved the discussions around UX Design and UX Research and their roles. In the current job market, we have seen many talented UX/Researchers laid off or devalued. While they delivered valuable insights, in many cases, they were not actionable or did not structure a team around them to be actionable. This is where we continue to blur the lines on Research and Design and deliver for our customers.    A UX designer is inherently a UX researcher, as effective design hinges on a deep understanding of user needs and behaviors. In this role, the UX designer immerses themselves in research processes, gathering insights through user interviews, usability testing, and data analysis. This research informs design choices, allowing designers to validate ideas and iterate based on real user feedback. A UX researcher can go further as well to inform design, stretch to do some wireframing or other artifacts to support the work - delivering insights is not the end state. #ux #userexperience #userresearch #uxresearch #uxr #colab #amazondesign #designleadership

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This is a great post for designers moving into management/leadership roles. The nature of your job changes dramatically and it's important to figure out the most effective ways to help your team and the company. As noted in the article, it's very easy to have your time consumed by managerial tasks (operational work). Being deliberate about how you want to spend your time, focusing on the change you want to bring about and working consistently towards that end are critical skills to learn. #UX #Design #DesignLeadership https://lnkd.in/e_g4TRJx

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Design doesn't die; it puts you at the forefront. It leads you to creating unimaginable experiences and brands that people love, whether it's a startup or a scaled business. P.S: A following read after Christopher Costuna’s post.

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I just read Longing for Less: Living with Minimalism by Kyle Chayka, and it got me thinking about the power of minimalism—not just in art and architecture that you hear so much about, but in how we experience the world. Chayka's core message is that minimalism isn't just about reducing clutter—it's about creating space for clarity, intentionality, and deeper meaning... principles that really resonate with me and the UX design discipline. Here are some thoughts looking at Minimalism through the lens of user experience design: https://lnkd.in/gnmJGfyM

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"Any tips for presenting design case studies in an interview?" a friend recently asked. Most certainly. ✦ Don't bury the outcome with a big reveal. Many times I've watched patiently as designers wait until the end to share the final outcome of their labors, first sharing their process (which is typically the same as every other candidate), sketches, post-its, and so forth. INSTEAD: Lead with a few screens that best represent the outcome. You can do this in 10 seconds. And then avoid the next mistake... ✦ Don't jump straight into your process. See note above. Your process is probably identical to every other candidate. This does little to set you apart. INSTEAD: State the problem clearly you were trying to solve. Clarity about the problem is a designer after my own heart. It shows clear intention to solve user/business needs. ✦ Don't show me personas. Some will disagree with this advice. But as a seasoned design leader, few things leave me more concerned about the inputs to your design work than fictitious avatars, names, and bios. INSTEAD: State the target audience you were designing for. If necessary describe the inputs to identifying this audience. Then follow up with how your work met or exceeded the needs of this audience. (Even better, stop using personas altogether and use archetypes or JTBDs instead.) BONUS TIPS ✨ ✦ If multiple designers worked on the same screen, be upfront about this and clarify what your role was. Personally I find it to be a bit of a letdown when something looks/functions great, only to find out later in our discussion that another designer did part of the work. ✦ Proactively share what you would have done differently if given the chance to do this work all over again. No work is ever perfect. But if you *could* get one step closer to perfection, what would it be. This shows me you're capable of critiquing yourself, which honestly not all designers are adept at. ✦ Provide me with a link to what you're presenting (slide deck, figma). I may want to jump around while you're presenting to find areas that are most likely to help me — and therefore you — discuss the right things relevant to this role. I realize this may be problematic to grant me access, so make a copy and then delete the copy after our interview. Hope this helps.

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Many designers still confuse a component library for a design system, but understanding the difference is critical for creating scalable, cohesive products. In this gabble of words I've explored how major companies like Airbnb and IBM do it right? 🧐 #UXDesign #DesignSystems #ComponentLibrary #ProductDesign #DesignVsDevelopment #Collaboration #Figma #DigitalProductDesign #TechDebate #DesignThinking https://lnkd.in/gGmxyKED

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Designers should NOT rely on user interviews alone. Here are 3 data-driven approaches that saved me. Years ago, I designed based on feedback alone. I trusted user interviews as my compass. Then, a product I built flopped hard. Lesson learned: words don’t equal behavior. Here’s what works for me now: ⟢ Analytics Over Interviews: Actions reveal more than words. ⟢ Customer Segmentation: Design for real usage patterns, not assumptions. ⟢ Usability Testing: Watch them use it, see where they struggle. User stories inspire; data guides.

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❓ I have a question for product designers ❓ How do you understand that you’ve reached a certain grade or level in your career, such as transitioning to a senior role? Do you rely solely on performance reviews, or are there other ways you evaluate your growth? And what if there’s no formal performance review process? I’m asking because I often get questions about assessing one’s grade or level. So, I’m curious — do you have a similar need or interest in this topic? Let me know your thoughts!

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Diversity in design isn't just a buzzword—it's a business imperative. 🌈 As a hiring manager, I've seen firsthand how diverse teams boost creativity, product quality, and profitability. I believe in building teams that reflect our users and bring fresh perspectives to every project. How do you ensure fairness during the hiring process when you have to look at portfolios? Here is my perspective on the challenges of inclusive hiring. #DiversityInDesign #InclusiveHiring #TeamBuilding

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Research is a function of strategy.  "According to CB Insights, over 90% of all products fail, most commonly due to no market need." Leave yourself time to ask big questions about whether any actually needs your product or service before you decide to launch it. #UXstrategy #UXresearch #Marketresearch

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A designer's true seniority is not determined by their title, but by their proficiency in both execution and strategic thinking. The trait of a truly senior designer lies in their ability to seamlessly navigate between these two critical roles. 😊

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I wonder if they'll roll back pricing if they start losing market share to AI tools. My prediction is that in the next year, Figma will still be essential for UI design, but only for polishing UI. Also, they will experience pressure from other tools that go straight to building in code in addition to creating the UI. #ai #ux #uxui #productdesign #figma

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We’re often taught a linear process when it comes to building software, right? Discovery → Define → Design → Release But what happens when you land a job right in the middle of that process? After countless decisions have been made? What do you do? --- I’ve seen so many new designers expect to start a job and hit the ground running. 🏇 They want to impress everyone. 🤿 They’ll jump straight into designs.  🏅 They’ll expect to contribute to meetings. 😖 Then they’re surprised when no one listens. --- Building great software is hard. We know that. Not only is the code complex. There may be tons of flows, features, screens, components, and copy to think about and keep track of. Then there are the hundreds of conversations, debates, arguments, and decisions that went into coming up with all the code, flows, features, screens, components, and copy. That’s all well and good when you were there from the beginning, but how often are we actually starting all of this from scratch? The chances are good when you land a job you’re replacing someone who recently left or you’re part of a growing team. Either way, a lot of these decisions have been made and you need to help execute. If you *really* want to help execute, you can’t start from the middle. You need to start from the start. ✅ Starting from the start is about understanding the context. ✅ It’s about breaking up bigger problems into more digestible chunks. ✅ It’s about looking back at everything you know you know. ✅ It’s about getting a better sense of what you don’t yet know. 🎯 Here are a few key takeaways: ▶️ You’re likely going to end up in the middle of a process: When you start a new job, you’re most likely going to end up on a team that has already started work. Spend the first month getting to know the people, the processes, and the overall context. ▶️ Don’t rush into it: You *could* skip the context and jump to one specific solution, but you may be totally wrong at best, or risk hurting your credibility with the team at worst. You won’t get fired for doing your due diligence. ▶️ It’s a marathon, not a sprint: You’ve often got time to take a step back and consider the larger problem. You may not have months or even weeks, but even if you’ve only got a few hours, do what you can to get the context before settling on a solution. ▶️ You won’t have all the answers: Unless you’re a software team of one, your team will have insights you aren’t aware of. They may have additional context and additional insights. Reach out to your team and see what they have to say. ▶️ Avoid confirmation bias: Chances are good you’ll have some ideas in your head. There’s nothing wrong with that. But be sure to avoid confirming your suspicions or validating your ideas simply because they’re your ideas. Be objective and open to anything. --- So the next time you’re faced with a big problem, take a step back and start from the start. #UXdesign #SoftSkills

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Do you want consistency between designers and front-end developers? Use of design tokens. When everyone uses the same terms, it simplifies things for both teams. Here's Google's introduction to design tokens and how you can implement them: https://lnkd.in/gpWMwqVz

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