Kiran Seahra

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

I'm London born and bred with Indian roots - I fled the crazy hustle and bustle of the city almost 4 years ago and headed to Manchester, England, where I'm now based

Me at dinner! 👇

Snow covered park 👇

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What inspired you to pursue UX/UI design?

I fell into it when I applied to be an apprentice at Market Gravity, the, then proposition design consultancy based in Waterloo, UK. They helped clients imagine what their product could be like, which involved designing videos, posters, mobile prototypes, storyboards. This exposed me to considering how any user would process all this information and designing in a way that makes it easy and seamless for them. I then moved to a mobile-first development agency into a UX/UI role and I thoroughly enjoy what I do. Being the eyes and ears of the end user is really rewarding for me. We've done a few user testing sessions and look to increase this.

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What does a typical day look like for you?

1. Wake up around 7:30.
2. Freshen up and go for a walk, ideally before I turn on my phone. Don't forget to track it on Strava! Come back and have a herbal tea or coffee.
3. Jump on our design stand up. It's usually for 15 min but it's a fun social one to have a chat and start the day on a high by seeing people.
4. Check if anyone needs me on slack or email then review my to-do list.
5. If I have time I'll do a quick body scan via my Chrome Calm plugin.
6. Shortly after we have project stand ups! And we work using the Scrum methodology so Jira and Figma and requirements!

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

Pre covid I struggled with multi tasking across 2 projects - being honest in terms of when I can complete work by, I didn't really think to myself in the moment "can I really do that task?" or "can I do it at a later date?" So I learnt not to say yes immediately.

Not being heard or having dominating voices in the meetings, making it feel like there isn’t a space for you to talk. The solution to that is to identify a pause long enough to say something and speak with clarity.

After covid I struggled with focusing, mental chatter, motivation, confidence, active communication. I solved these by tapping into music, using the pomodoro timer technique, leaving my desk to walk, cycle or skip once or twice a day. A walk before I sit down to work I've found makes for a better day and a better me.

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What work or project are you most proud of?

Working on the Discovery and Design of Street News, Big Life Group’s authentic news app. Have learnt how important it is to have a goal in mind and be working towards it consistently. Have also learnt how the Scrum process control framework is an effective process to deliver an app.

What is your current workspace setup?

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What are your go-to or "must have" apps?

Calm. Strava. Spotify. Figma Mirror. FitOn. Checkers.

The onboarding journey of calm is one I often muse over when designing apps. It works really well, tapping into the Sunk Cost Investment psychology principle.

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What tunes do you listen to while designing/working?

Rainforest music. Spa music. Lo-fi beats. I either listen on Spotify or my Calm chrome plugin.

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Share your best three suggestions for budding designers!

1. Communicate with clarity and consider the impact you want your message to have.
2. Ask questions. No question is silly.
3. You will discover your passion. Keep exploring.

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