How Mara Shifted Gears from Graphic Design into UX

Mara Ramsden discovered product design when she started incorporating UX basics into her work at a creative agency.  Leveraging her background in graphic design and new skills from UX Academy, she’s now made the switch to a full-time UX design role. We recently chatted with her about her UX Academy experience and what she’s up to in her new role as sole designer at teledentistry company MouthWatch. 

What were you doing before UX Academy and what inspired you to get into UX design? 

I worked at a creative agency, and I got a bit of a taste of what UX is and the logic behind it. And I found I liked that more than graphic design, which is what I was doing. I feel as I get older, I think more logically than necessarily creatively, and I find design logical. And the pay increase that comes even with a more intro position—that does not hurt.

What was it like coming into UX Academy, especially having some past UX experience prior to enrolling? 

I already knew some of the processes and workflows, but UX Academy provided me with different ways of thinking about them. Although I come from a graphic design background, one of the first projects in UX Academy involved designing an ATM for a child, which is not the type of design I had ever considered before. So, it really got me thinking about what a user would want and need and all that would be involved. 

UX Academy was the first step for me to break some bad habits that I had developed doing UX work without really being a UX designer. It was a valuable learning experience to sit back and think the way that you need to think for these kinds of projects.

How was your experience working with your mentor? 

I actually had two different mentors, one for the first phase of the program and then another for the second, as my first mentor had to step away for some time. They were both great and distinctly different in good ways. The first one, Brandon Surya, really challenged me and challenged my thought process. He’d pose questions and reframe things without giving me the answer or doing the work for me, which allowed me to come to a conclusion or a solution myself.

I found my career coach particularly helpful… She gave me a lot of good feedback and challenged my assumptions about the process of finding a role, and gave me a lot of really good advice.

And then my second mentor, Tom Green, provided me with a better perspective on what the reality of working as a UX designer would be like. So they were both super valuable. 

I also found my career coach during Career Services, Soli Moshfeghian, particularly helpful. I was happy to work with her because she’s also a woman, and I think that women in the industry can have a different experience than men. She gave me a lot of good feedback and challenged my assumptions about the process of finding a role, and gave me a lot of really good advice.

How about your role now? Where are you currently employed and what are you doing in your role?

I wanted to find a role somewhere where responsibilities are spread out across a large team so I could gain my footing and not have to take on the responsibility of a sole UX designer, which is the exact opposite of where I ended up! 

I work at MouthWatch, a teledentristy company. I’m the only designer on the team—but everybody that I work with is very supportive and we're all kind of figuring this out together. Having autonomy, but also support and friendliness from the team, is such a different culture. It’s a lot of work, but it has been really fun and rewarding. 

What does your day-to-day look like in your role? 

Currently, I am working on redesigning the provider experience—I actually just finished up the patient experience. So essentially that means the provider dashboard: their intake processes, things like sign-in and sign-out screens, and different types of user flows. 

With patient experience, you have a lot of competitor analysis, but with the provider experience, it involves a bit more research and collaboration in general. I attend a lot of meetings, and every day I’m looking at these niche types of issues and potential solutions for them. It has a lot of unique challenges, things that I've never thought of specific to the medical industry, like compliance and insurance considerations. But it’s been so great. 

What would you say is your favorite thing about working in UX?

I’d say talking to people and identifying problems that end up being an obvious pattern and then solving for that problem. I enjoy the process of really thinking about a problem, coming up with a variety of solutions, and then picking the best one, instead of just assuming what the problem is and then creating a solution right away. I like the careful, step-by-step problem-solving of UX. 

Do you have any advice for people who might be considering a career in UX?

My suggestion would be to look at what industry you want to work in, whether it's health care or fintech, and look into the industry first and see what kind of cultures exist in those spaces. It can help you decide if that’s an area you’re going to excel at, which is important because it is competitive.

I feel like I'm actually making a difference. At previous jobs, I felt like I was just pushing pixels. This feels like it has a purpose.

I have to admit that I was scared when I was looking for a job because I had gotten laid off and I was getting worried that I wasn't going to find anything. It's hard to take that leap and decide to move into a new field. But once you find something you're really passionate about, and you get there, you're like, ‘Oh my God, I'm so much happier here’, you know? 

I feel like I'm actually making a difference. At previous jobs, I felt like I was just pushing pixels. This feels like it has a purpose.

Check out some more student stories below:

Designing a New Creative Career: From Marketing to UX

Erik Peets’ Journey at Apple: From Customer Service to Product Design

From Medicine to UX at Pinterest: Leveraging Existing Skills in a New Design Career