So different on the surface, very much the same in the core.Being a career changer brings a lot of questions to the table. Let me save you from the discomfort of having to judge how much of a reasonable move it is to become a UX Designer after spending 10+ years in Arts. 10 Things that Acting and User Experience Design have in common: 1. Carrying out a research 2. Letting go of preconceived ideas 3. Empathizing 4. Advocating for someone else 5. Paying attention to detail 6. Getting surprised by the unexpected revelation 7. Designing a human experience 8. Storytelling 9. Presenting 10. Letting go of not working solutions + BONUS 11 - Teamwork How can you play a believable murderer or create flawless digital solutions? By understanding how does the character/user feel, what does he want, what is he afraid of, what does he dream of, what does he hope for and what does he try to achieve. With no judgment. 1. Carrying out a research UX Designer researches the market and the people he is designing for. An Actor researches the role before starting to learn his lines. Both can't work without knowing the Persona. 2. Letting go of preconceived ideas Before research, both Actors and Designers have some idea of what it is to be that specific ‘other person‘. Once they have researched, both can confirm: ‘Ok, I was confused, forget what I thought I knew, and let's work with what I know now‘ 3. Empathysing with others Do I need to even mention it? You can't be any good at acting or design if you don't care deeply about other people's emotions. 4. Advocating for someone else Designers advocate for their persona's behavior, needs, and goals. Actors advocate for their roles. (If an actor ‘judges’ the role he plays, you will feel it and won't believe him. Believe me ;)) 5. Paying attention to detail Details matter. Is a button too small? Is a gesture too big? We all measure every step along the creation process very carefully. Because we know how much of an impact it could have and how easy it is to lose people's trust or attention. 6. Getting surprised by the unexpected revelations Don't people understand the design? Is the director happy about something you thought he would hate? Do people laugh when you thought they would cry? Every hour spent testing feels like an hour of rehearsals - you try out new things, you check whether they work, you let yourself be surprised. 7. Designing a Human Experience Working with an entry point and success criteria. Task accomplished? Standing ovation at the end of the piece? We have both mapped out the experience flow, and we know where do we guide people. 8. Storytelling Storyboard? Script? It's all about the story you tell. And how you tell it. 9. Presenting It's like being naked in front of the others - vulnerable and ready to get rejection, judgment, uncomfortable questions, justification of your choices. We still do it, because we believe in the meaning of the work we have done, and we hope it will influence other people's life. For good. 10. Letting go of not working solutions Not getting attached to things that don't work is such an important part of both Designers' and Actor's jobs. For the sake of the end-product quality, we all let ‘genius‘ ideas get flushed in the toilet. + BONUS Actors are being often portrayed as egocentric creatures in love with themselves. Still, if you have enjoyed a theatre play or film, it is because everyone plays for the team, and relies on others to do the same. In the Academy, we fall backward in the colleagues' hands to develop trust and responsibility. Isn't that what a Product team is doing too? Or am I getting it -all- wrong? By Alissa Atana
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