INTERVIEW - HOW DOES IT WORK IN DESIGN?

It's a pleasure that today I bring to my blog one of the professionals in the technology field that I most admire, Mariana Rita. We've been working at the same company for some time?(Doutor Finan?as)?and my fascination for Mariana as a friend and co-worker is not a secret. Since she joined the company, she has stood out not only for her charisma, proactivity but also for her naivety presence and her excellent work. She is an expert in design, UX and UI, Design and Web Development teacher at Escola Superior de Comunica??o Social and she came today to help me on my blog with an informal conversation about what she does and how she inspire others to board in this fantastic area. Let's start!

“I don’t know where I’m going from here but I promise it won’t be boring” - DAVID BOWIE

Who is Mariana Rita?

I never know how to answer this questionMy habit is to answer about me as a professional, I find it's hard to talk about myself beyond work. I think I'm a very peculiar person in my way of being and thinking. The truth is that what I put into my work comes from my way of living. I'm naturally an organized and methodical person (as long as I can remember). My mother tells me that my way of playing with Legos, as a child, was to take them out of the box to put them back in order (dream childhood, right?). I genuinely enjoy working and producing things. I can't go too long without doing anything.

When did you realize you wanted to be a web designer?

I think I never imagined that I wanted to be a designer. It was something that happened naturally. I don't remember a moment when I thought “this is what I want to do!”, because until today, I don't know if it's exactly in these roles that I imagine myself for the rest of my life. The appreciation for design emerged in university, in?Audiovisual and Multimedia degree?at ESCS (where I teach now). I went to the university thinking that I would be expert in 3D and I ended up dedicating myself to design. After I had two or three design classes, I realized that it was what most motivated me and what come out naturally. Throughout the degree, I started to enjoy branding projects and was increase the pleasure for the design when I started projects in web design when I had classes in web/multimedia design programming. Now, that I think about it, design makes sense to me because it's a way of organizing the world. We organize through colors, shapes and typography.

Personally I'm an organized person who likes coherence, and also as a worker I like to organize the world around me through design. However, after having a classe namely “User Psychosociology”, I realized that the design made even more sense to me from the user point of view. It was then that I realized that?UX design?was my jam. If we design an interface (for example) without thinking about the user, then it's not even worth trying.

What does a designer do?

Above all, in a generic perspective, a (graphic) design professional communicates. In my opinion, the purpose of this design, that we are talking about, is always to communicate something. Whether graphic design, communication design, multimedia design, interface design, …, the purpose is to communicate something to the person who will receive the design product.

The communication happens whether we are designing a logo that represents the brand's identity, whether we are making a poster with information for an audience, or even that we are designing an interface that will be used by someone.

To answer in a direct and practical perspective, a design professional draws. Those draws could be vectorial, raster, by hand, whatever. However, it's a little more complex than just drawing. The design stage happens halfway through the design process. Designing any product always involves prior investigation and definition of concepts. What does this mean? A designer doesn't just make a logo for a brand (for example). Before even starting to sketch the logo, there is a lot of theoretical work behind it.?Firstly we investigate – we will see references, do benchmarking?, we see what is being done, what has been done, what has worked in the past, we see how other people have solved similar communication problems.

Then, based on previous research and investigation, we define what we want to communicate. In case we are making a logo, we need to define exactly how we want to communicate based on the brand identity – what are the brand values? Mission? What represents? What's client positioning? What audience do you communicate? How do you want to be seen in the market? What is your personality? Your communication tone? (and I could go on with more questions). Only after thinking about all those questions the designer will start the stage of sketching and testing. For the most curious, take a look at the double diamond or design thinking. Shortly, the designer's role is not only to execute and design, but also to think about what (and how) he will communicate through drawing.

What technologies or tools are used in this field?

Notebook and pencil are a designer's best friend?– whether to design effectively, or to plan and think. Vector design or prototyping software are widely used, such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe XD, Figma and Sketch (they are the best known). Project organization and planning tools are also very useful, such as Trello and Milanote. For the research, platforms like Behance, Dribbble and Pinterest are very useful to collect references.

What is your favorite programming language and why?

I don't have a favorite programming languageespecially since I work mostly with HTML and CSS?and none is considered a programming language. However, I particularly like to use?Sass or Scss?by the strategy it requires to write everything efficiently.

How long does it take to become a professional in this field?

It depends a lot from person to person. A good designer has a very rich visual culture. This means that a lot depends on the person's background and their sensitivity to the visual aspect. Some people are more “fit” than others, so the time to become a professional varies from person to person. In addition, it also always change according to the commitment and interest of each one.

What do you think will be the trend in this area in the future?

My opinion (which is worth what it's worth) the companies will increase more on UX design. This area of design is something that brings value to brands and the relationship with their customers. I believe that there is a growing appreciation of the role of?UI/UX designer and the UI/UX developer?and, in the future, there will be greater demand for these professionals.

Do you like what you do?

I love what I do. I love the process of working in a project from start to the end. I like thinking, I like the materialization of thinking in something real and visible – the design piece itself -, I like to see the project finished and the feeling of purpose achieved.?I especially like when I know that what I'm doing is going to make someone's life easier?. And, in terms of teaching, I really enjoy transmitting all this to my students.

What advice would you give to someone who is starting in this field?

To do a lot of research, see other works, go to exhibitions, see what is being done in the area by the best professionals. Read a lot, investigate, always try to deepen your knowledge. Analyze the work you've done, understand what you can improve in the future. Being a designer is not watertight, we always have space to learn, to change, to grow and become better professionals and communicators. Always try to improve.

Any other questions you'd like to answer?

Yea! Question: “Have you been able to explain to your grandmother what you do professionally?” No! She still has no idea what I do, but she's so happy for my happiness

Full Article: https://fernandogiroto.com/en/entrevista-como-e-trabalhar-na-area-de-design

Interviewed: Mariana Rita