Crafting Good User Experiences: The Fusion of Art and Technology - Grayson West, S4, Ep. 1

In today's episode, we are joined by Grayson West, Design Manager at Michigan Software Labs. He is forward-thinking leader in the realm of design, advocating for human-centric experiences. Demonstrating his leadership style, he seamlessly combines visual design and human-centered principles to create efficient systems.
Discussion points:
~ Can you share your creative background and the key experiences that have shaped you into the design leader you are today? 1:27
~ Did you feel any pressure as a designer at The Omni Group to adopt tools like OmniGraffle when they were gaining traction in the design community, especially considering the presence of motion graphics in your work? 6:09
~ How have your life experiences, diverse travels, work across different domains, and the creative influences from your childhood impacted your approach to user experience design? 9:19
~ Rapid Fire Round 11:24
~ How do you navigate the challenges between adhering to UX principles driven by data while seeking creatively satisfying outputs in a field? 16:07
~ Does active engagement and cross-functional communication among UX, developers, and business analysts significantly impact product ownership and success from start to finish? 21:34
~ If you have to give young designers coming into the industry any advice what would that be? 27:50
Show notes -
~ Before the iPhone, software was designed to be very capable for many users. However, with the iPhone's introduction, there was a shift toward a user experience focused on excelling in one or two key aspects within a software experience.
~ Traveling across Europe and Asia exposed me to diverse cultures, fostering an inherent empathy that influences my approach to solving user experience problems. It taught me the importance of simplicity, ease of use, and catering to diverse needs.
~ We need to take small incremental steps forward in our craft, whether it's in Figma, the way we approach design problems, or a wide variety of other aspects. Every day, we can strive to push ourselves forward, continuously improving and owning our craft.
~ The more designers acquire technical knowledge and language, the more likely they are to bring truly creative ideas to the world and users.
~ The one thing I've learned in nearly 20 years in this industry is that software development is a massive collaboration. It doesn't rely on one or two individuals but rather a team of people coming together to build a product. The more you collaborate, engage in open conversations, and show vulnerability within your team, the better the product will be.
~ Two pieces of advice: Get up to speed with technical documentation - focus on iOS and Android documentation, familiarize yourself with Apple's Human Interface Guidelines and Android's Material Design Guidelines, and expose yourself to popular web frameworks. Secondly, remember the visual aspect of our job - we need to consider and follow design principles.
Links -
LinkedIn: / graysongwest
Company website: michiganlabs.com/