Badr Ismaili

Where are you from? Where are you based as a UX/UI Designer?

Utrecht, most cozy city in the Netherlands.

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What led you into UX/UI design?

To my surprise, I excelled in art classes during high school. That led me to have an interest in creative online work. I came across websites like Newgrounds.com where users can upload their animations and games created in Adobe Flash. As a teenager, I was captivated by how easy it was to share your creations online with a fast audience. I also wanted to create interactive fabrications and share them with the world. Thus, I started learning Flash and ActionScript, the programming language for Flash, and made interfaces and interactive gimmicks by myself. Since then, I wanted to do nothing else.

What does a typical day look like for you?

If I'm lucky and there are no restrictions due to covid-19. My morning starts with the regular morning routine, and then I rush off to the train station. To commute to one of the offices in Amsterdam or Rotterdam. At the office, I grab a power bar filled with nuts and dates accompanied by a cappuccino to kick off my workday.

Next, I make a plan for myself for the day and start working in my favourite tool, Figma. After making some designs and having meetings, I commute back home.

In the evening, my girlfriend or I make dinner. I love to cook — I try another cuisine bimonthly. We often watch First Dates or Sex Education during our meal, and afterwards, we take a stroll in the city centre.

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What is your current desk setup?

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And your workstation setup across devices?

I work on different computers and operating systems, so having a needless cloud experience is very important for me as a user.

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What challenges do you face as a UX/UI Designer?

Focus is personally something I struggle with. It would be no surprise if my doctor is telling me that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. So, I chunk my work in pieces and write it in a to-do list, in which I give myself time to work on a specific task, giving myself time in between to let my brain dwell for a while.

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What's the most exciting part of being a UX/UI Designer?

I thoroughly enjoy daydreaming about new concepts and new design solutions. I'm getting so pumped by it that I want to jump straight into Figma to design what I just have imagined. And, often I do.

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What tunes do you listen to while designing/working?

It varies. Last weekend, I've watched the film, Last Night in Soho and the score is superb. So, I'm currently into that.

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Share three suggestions for budding designers?

1. Always start small –– Clients and also designers like to come up with fancy features. It's fun to brainstorm and come up with ideas. But most importantly, you've to narrow down to what is most important.
2. Just do it, don't hesitate –– Make a quick sketch or even a prototype to test your idea before you put it away.
3. Connect with peers –– I've worked for a while as the only interactive designer at my previous company. Now and then I did make some designs, but most often I was doing research and came up with concepts. I lost my goal to become a good designer. When I joined Memorisely I learned a lot in a short period of time, but also got my enthusiasm back to be a better designer, because I was surrounded by studious peers and a smashing teacher. This boosted me up and prepared me to make my next step to work at a Digital Agency.