James Leddington shares his experience of being a UX Designer – the best bits about the job and advice for anyone interested in the role…
What does your role entail?
I’m a member of a User Experience (UX) team, where I focus on the interaction and the flow of a given journey, from the user’s perspective. I analyse business requirements and feasibility while considering time and budget constraints. Additionally, I focus on understanding user behaviours and the context of the service I’m designing.
What does a typical day look like for you?
A lot of my time is spent collaborating with my team and engaging with stakeholders. Together, we aim to understand and define the client’s problems and needs, ensuring the effective delivery of the project. I also have discussions with the team about my designs – establishing what is achievable towards the delivery of the product and what can be achieved within each sprint. Research activities are carried out to understand the context of the user groups we’re designing for, and measuring our designs against the user’s perception and needs. I work closely with the Content Designers to design interface interaction and flow patterns (within the services we’re building) using the GDS design system as a guide to inform this.
What’s the best bit about your job?
What I enjoy most is being a part of a collaborative team. Working together, we’re able to solve problems for our communities as well as deliver a positive impact on the business landscape, which is really satisfying.
What’s Mercator Digital like to work for?
Mercator is an open and friendly community, with great social events throughout the year. We’re allowed to come to work as ourselves and encouraged to have a laugh along the way!
Any advice for people wanting a job like yours?
In this career and role, continuous learning and the application of psychology is crucial. Additionally, adopting a holistic mindset towards product development is important – being able to recognise the complexities and conflicting factors involved in product development. You must be able to consider the business landscape, technology, and available resources when implementing a design. However, you are also the ambassador for the users you are designing for, so taking a human-centred design approach when the opportunity arises is vital. You need to be able to educate stakeholders and colleagues, showing them the external world from the user’s point of view – ensuring user insights have a strong influence on the decision-making process for the product.