Pursuing a career and being an expert in a field we have no formal education or academic background in may seem like a daunting task to most of us. Being a UX designer with no experience is no exception. However, time and time again, we have come across exceptional people who defy the odds of such expectations and successfully transit into the field of UX, despite having little to no prior experience or education in UX design. Cindy is one such person who succeeded in becoming a UX Designer after 40 and her story is exceptionally special as she transited at an age where many would have thought it was too late to make any changes in their lives.
Who is Cindy?
Cindy is a 48-year-old Art Director/Graphic Designer turned UX Designer from our very first batch of students for the 4-month UX Career Accelerator last year. Together with the rest of her batch, she managed to successfully transition into the UX industry within 3 months after her graduation and is now working on freelance UX jobs as a freelance UX Designer. We asked her a few questions on her time here with us at CuriousCore and to get a better understanding of how she was able to become a UX Designer after 40.
Her thoughts on UX
“Hi! I have been a multidisciplinary designer with more than ten years of experience. I started my career in branding and visual design. I enjoy creating beautiful aesthetics but always felt that there was a missing link. Then I transited over to the UX industry and Voila! It was an incredible journey after and I’m stoked that I can put my design thinking and skills into beautifying solutions, helping companies improve their digital experiences from a user-centred perspective.
And best of all, being able to see the impact on others life was such a gratifying moment. To recharge my artistic mojo, I travel and take the moments to soak in the beauty in our world. It fuels my passion for design and new media. Always open to new adventures and new frontiers.”
– Excerpt from Cindy’s Portfolio.
1. Why UX?
Coming from a graphics background, design has been in my blood. Design can be something more than just aesthetics. I feel that design can help people in their daily lives.
2. Why CuriousCore?
I heard of CuriousCore at a time when I was really looking for how to learn to be a UX Designer. Creating a portfolio and helping career switchers like myself were just a few of the things CuriousCore mentioned to provide for us students, which attracted me to their course.
Best of all, we are exposed to real clients, getting to work with them not only locally but globally as well. We also got to meet with guest speakers and current industry practitioners. These are the things that are not found in textbooks and made me decide to sign up for CuriousCore’s UX Course.
3. What were you most nervous about before joining the UX Course?
I was nervous about how intensive it was going to be as Daylon told me that it would be intensive. It ended up being even more intensive than I had expected!
4. What were the highlights of the 4-month UX Career Accelerator?
My first understanding of UX is that it is a long process but I did not expect it to be such a profound and in-depth one. In the sense that it not only involves the end-products but also focuses on going in-depth into the research segment of the process. I learned what type of questions to ask in a UX design interview and UX research best practices which eventually paved the way for me to create a better user experience for the users of the real clients my team and I was working within the UX Course.
Some of her examples:
Quantitative Research done by Cindy and her team
Affinity Mapping done by Cindy and her team
Screenshot of Cindy and her team conducting User Research Interviews
Mahina App mock-ups done using insights from User Research
5. How did CuriousCore support your career transition?
During the course, I got referred by Daylon to an additional project from a government organisation. This helped me to carry out my first UX design project as a freelance UX Designer. I can’t wait to see it get launched soon!
6. Any advice to future students at CuriousCore as an alumnus?
I would say, don’t procrastinate. Just do it and try it. If I can do it, I don’t see why any of you can’t. The thing about learning is that there is no end to it. As long as you have the passion, you will really be driven forward. 3 words to round off this experience would be: intensive, insightful and rewarding.
I would say, don’t procrastinate. Just do it and try it. If I can do it, I don’t see why any of you can’t.
— Cindy Yeo, 48, Freelance UX Designer