What it *really* takes to be a Product Designer

[@JustAGrl007]

Thank you for making these videos! I'm considering making a career change into tech at almost 40 and these videos are really helpful. Don't see many people who are my age and look like me but I'm curious. I feel like I've reinvented myself every decade.

[@HelloImAlexa]

You’re so welcome!! I feel the same way too honestly. Never too late to try something new. Wishing you the best 💪

[@rachelk4805]

Hey person who looks like me! We are everywhere! Your life experiences don't make you less valuable to a company.

[@sgnotlewis]

I like that the divider frame's background color, your nails, your jacket, and the Fiji bottle are all the same color. Subtle and nice. I like it.

[@HelloImAlexa]

hehe thank you!!

[@hazeljeon9558]

So well summarized. I wish I knew these 3 core elements when I first started my career. Thank you for always sharing the most helpful content in such a clear and articulate way!

[@HelloImAlexa]

Oh yay! You're so welcome :)

[@honey3762]

this is a realistic and helpful video, thanks for making content like this

[@HelloImAlexa]

Awe well thank you for the feedback and letting me know!

[@Elizabeth-mf3dn]

Yay another female product designer! I keep seeing UX Designer videos but I’m a product designer

[@mohamedrazeenmeconomics9900]

Well rounded video.

[@johncliffalvarez6513]

I’m an illustrator and senior graphic designer who has been a product designer for a year. My question is, can an introvert with social anxiety still be a successful product designer? I’m very detailed oriented and very ambitiously driven. But when it comes to presentation or public speaking in general, I struggle greatly.

[@HelloImAlexa]

Hi there! I have many friends and colleagues who work in tech (Product Designers and otherwise) who are introverted and wildly successful in their careers. Yes presenting your work is a skill you will need to develop in this sort of career but nothing you cant work on and figure out in your own way. I have a few videos about this topic actually; start here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6Hdp4acbayXqq8si=nLry1dVbNlms9m8K Hope this helps!

[@johncliffalvarez6513]

@@HelloImAlexa Thank you so much, Alexa. I’ll check it out!

[@yamithaux]

loving the content. Thanks for the knowledge sharing!. btw, My home amazon Alexa triggers every time when you introduce your self in the video

[@HelloImAlexa]

So glad to hear you love the video!

[@furquan101]

Some great tips, love the tip around story telling. I've been doing a lot of writing and strategy work recently which i've been enjoying.

[@HelloImAlexa]

yay! so glad to hear. What sort of writing work? Maybe next video idea? ;)

[@ivychen5320]

Thanks for these tips!

[@giovanniviscardi4455]

Very informative, and good stuff, andiamo

[@kawaiihikari0]

SD represent 😊😅

[@nomad1517]

How did you survive before getting into a successful position? I'm assuming most people worked at a restaurant, a home goods store, or had multiple jobs before getting any good money. What do you think is a really good side job to sustain yourself with?

[@HelloImAlexa]

I did design internships in college which led me to getting a full time position right out of college. I think a lot of people who transition into the role from other industries or after working in other jobs or careers do take other jobs while making the switch -- just like any industry where you may switch. Product Design roles can pay really well depending on where you live and I've personally really enjoyed the work. Hope that helps!

[@ukoekpenyong8752]

Hi Alexa, love the video and I want to get into product design but I have a hard time getting any roles because I don't have experience. what do you recommend?

[@HelloImAlexa]

Hi there! So glad to hear you enjoyed the video. If you don't have any experience yet, step number 1 is to get yourself some experience! Personal projects, school projects, freelance design projects -- all of these will get you experience. For me, I usually need guidance to learn something new so if you're like I'd recommend taking a design program at a university or checking out one of the design bootcamp options out there. I have some resources on my website which you can see in the video's description. Good luck!

[@ukoekpenyong8752]

@@HelloImAlexa Thank you for replying, I will do those things. keep on making these videos, they are so helpful :)

[@AP-zp6vo]

Do you provide design services?

[@designchief]

I provide design services

[@nomad1517]

Is product design a sustainable career? Or is it one of those things were it's really hard to find a position?

[@HelloImAlexa]

I do think product design is a sustainable career! It also a competitive industry and can require years to master to get really good at it.

[@smilli6415]

whats are top figma skills you need that you cant live without or most used in Ui jobs ?

[@katscandance]

What steps in career should I take before I become a product designer

[@HelloImAlexa]

You'll need to learn the craft of design and then be able to apply the skills you've learned to create projects which you can put into a portfolio and use for job interviews. If you'd like to meet 1:1 to chat through anything specific to your situation I over coaching services through Superpeer (linked in video description) otherwise I offer a lot of free resources and insights on my channel. LMK if you need anything!

[@kawaiihikari0]

Question you live in SD I live in the IE couple hours away is it possible to get a fully remote product design job?? I’m transferring from web design with a couple years experience but I’m wondering do people get out of state jobs in SoCal or within CA the same state we live in? Are they willing to go through that process ? I know it’s varies from company to company but in general ??

[@HelloImAlexa]

Hi there! There are lots of remote tech jobs in the US. Remote is remote -- I don't think the state would matter much unless it explicitly states a region on the job description. Hope that helps!

[@ChrisJackson-ht4un]

Hi Alexa, I will love to be a product designer. I don't have any skill or knowledge about it. Can you please recommend a program I can take to start learning and build the skills?

[@HelloImAlexa]

Hi there! You're welcome to check out the resources section on my website for my recommendations on where to start learning: alexaleighh.com/resources Good luck 💪

[@AniimiiMusix]

Alexa, i really need your help to build me a strategy to get into this field. Is there anyway I can communicate with you? It would be a great help. Thanks!

[@QuranCD]

HI! What programmes can I take in university to become a product designer? :)

[@HelloImAlexa]

Hi there! I have my university recommendations on my website. You can check it out here: www.alexaleighh.com/resources

[@icksv5529]

0:03 No it is not cool at all. Businesses pick for PD thinking they will be able to master the UI profession, the UX profession and also some of the PM, and many PDs actually think they can, which is simply impossible on one side because you are not going to work simultaneously on all these aspects and on the other side because it simply ignore how human brain works, which is progressively and fast removing from your mind all that you do not use on daily basis, this is not just the reality but a science based fact. The idea of the PD borrowed from industrial design and adapted to the digital world, it's a functional illusion as much as combining two professions to get the UX/UI title job, which again pose the same problems. The final result is teams made of PDs and zero UX and more than often you can see the results of this, basic ux mistakes in the product. We went through this with the Fullstack Developers, where businesses thought they would have had a master of Backend and a master of Frontend, with some Fullstack Dev pumped up by this idea playing like if they could really master Backend or Frontend like a Backend or Frontend Developer. Disclaimer: I was a Web Designer in 2000 and PD in 2015 before dedicate to UX.

[@HelloImAlexa]

This is definitely not a conversation for KZbin comments but obviously we disagree. I got my first professional digital Product Design role in 2013, graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design in 2014 (where I also had many friends in the industrial design discipline), and learned much of what I know from people who have been in the tech industry far long (decades) before I was personally in the industry so I do have lots experience and knowledge to share on this topic. Regardless, thanks for sharing your perspective!

[@icksv5529]

​@@HelloImAlexa we disagree because utube do not have a policy about what is a conversation for utube comments or not (seriously??). My comment has nothing to do with what you have studied. Said this, if you know UX to the point that your skills are the same of a UXer and at the same time of a UI Designer, that's fantastic, but it doubt it so, not for you but for the reasons above, on one side because I doubt you do one week of research, one week of ui, one week of strategy, one week of research and so on, it's not how it works, neither if you work in solo, 'cause you may have a project with 3 months of research in which you do not touch UI and when you start your brain will take time to recover UI knowledge you didn't apply the previous months. Having a degree in Industrial Design discipline it doesn't really mean knowing UX, it depends. It is the content of the university course that matters, months ago I was talking with a person who spent €30k for a master in design and the UX part was so little that a udemy course was talking more about UX than the master, but recruiters and businesses see "master in design" and so they think she knows UX. Bottom line, the comment was not about you, if you think you can master UX, UI and some PM task at the same level of those who does just that, that is amazing. My post was about the current situation, which is exactly the one described in my first comment, a lot of PDs and lack of UX within them.

[@HelloImAlexa]

What? I don’t think KZbin comments or most online threads are good for long form, in depth discussions because a lot can be misunderstood. I don’t even fully understand your argument - you’re questioning my ability as a Product Designer and having both UX and UI skills? And timing of projects differs depending on the project and scope; you don’t forget UI skills (or really any skill that you’ve mastered) in 3 months - or even longer. From my experience, the Industrial Designers learned a lot of similar processes when it came to developing products, they often had a digital component to it as well but their role and that career is a different one. So of course, if you’re not looking to get into that career then perhaps don’t go that route and spend that money. A self paced Udemy course is incomparable to a 4 year degree at a design school. And then from my experience, I think most people trying to start careers in Product Design lack UI design skills while you’re argument is that they lack UX? Again we disagree and that’s definitely not what I’ve observed. I stand by my original point that I don’t think KZbin comments are a good place to hash out disagreements and I still don’t fully understand why you seem so upset. Wishing you a good holiday this year and wish the best for you and your career.