San Francisco, USA πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ
unmute
#050

Lilibeth Bustos Linares

Memorisely Bootcamp Teacher

I'm Lili, a Lead Product Designer at Bttr, but also a teacher at Memorisely. I love to bike and illustrate, which is why I created souldoodles.org to keep inspiring others!
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Where are you from? Where are you based?

I'm from Colombia and I'm based in San Francisco, CA.

Here is a snap of San Francisco (SF), very close where I live and I bike every morning β€” Twin Peaks.

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What led you to Memorisely, and how did you land a spot on the team?

Curiosity and luck! I was looking at Zander's Instagram, and his videos are excellent. Also, his energy attracted me to see what else he was talking about. After finding out about his bootcamps, I decided to schedule a call with him and learn more about it because I wanted to improve my design thinking. We chatted, and I later attended the monthly Mingle event, where I taught all the participants about arepas (an exceptional dish from Colombia)! I love the energy and community. I joined the Greenhouse (a branch of the Memorisely Community) and started having more conversations with different designers. I saw the opportunity to become a teacher and thought it would be nice; yet, I still didn't apply. Zander and LA asked me to apply, and after progressing through the initial interview, I was tasked with teaching a live class about IA in Figjam. I later received the great news of joining the team. Best opportunity ever!

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How has previous experience impacted you and prepared you for this role both personally and professionally?

I love to teach and connect with people. When I first moved to the USA, I taught Spanish classes. Formerly, I volunteered as an English teacher in an orphanage back in Colombia. When I decided to switch careers, I studied a lot; and, of course, having someone who knew more than me helped. At the same time, while I was doing my program at Berkeley, I always imagined myself teaching design and inspiring others one day. From Visual designer, to UX designer, and now Lead Product designer, this gives me some experience to guide more designers. I think teaching is a gift β€” to be able to connect with more people who trust you to guide them.

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Talk to us about your experience working in a small, remote start-up environment?

When I decided to become a UX designer, I wanted to work remotely so bad, mainly because of my past work in SF where I needed to drive every day for about 40 min back and forth. The commute made me tired, and I wanted to have the possibility to work and travel anywhere I wanted! So I moved to Sweden before the pandemic happened, and that accelerated the remote work. I have been working remotely for probably two years now, and I love it! With Memorisely, we keep our conversation going every day. Now, we start to have online experiences. I love having the possibility to be in Sweden and still working with my team based in California, New York and the Memorisely team around the world. I have to say that sometimes it will be nice to see and hang out with my team in real life β€” for more than one hour, which is essentially the max you can do online.

Learn UX/UI live β†’

Walk us through your typical day?

  • I wake up at 6 am, make my bed and usually go for a bike ride with my friends.
  • I have most meetings in the morning. So, I get ready, make tea, start my day seeing what is in my things to do, and check the Figma comments or slack messages.
  • Lunchtime is around 12 β€” I usually make some salad.
  • I book some calls with my Memorisely team and see what else we need for the upcoming classes.
  • I doodle to relax in the afternoons if I have a late meeting.
  • After I finish my workday, I take time to plan future content for Memorisely and Souldoodles.
  • Bonus: I go out with my friends or have them over at my place. If the weather is nice, I bike again to Ocean Beach.
  • I usually go to sleep around 10 pm. I call my boyfriend in Sweden, and then go to sleep!

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The most exciting or unique part of your day-to-day at Memorisely?

I love how we communicate β€” we try to be very honest to each other, but positive energy is always going around, which I think is very important. We are preparing all the materials for our classes, and I received different books to gain more knowledge to teach my future students. We are also brainstorming how to continue helping the design community and world in general, which is fascinating. I LOVE my Memorisely team.

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What's your best advice for overcoming challenges in the workplace?

You must show up the way you are. Of course, having a good attitude matters and not being rude or anything. However, it is best if you are yourself and able to listen to your collages. We all suffer from imposter syndrome. I hosted and event with an art therapist, where I learned who to name this 'imposter', draw and leave outside my room every time 'it' wanted to come and attack me with negative thoughts. I have known over the years that sometimes people are having a bad day, but that doesn't mean you are the problem. It is hard not to take things personally; but, in the long term, the less you let that energy effect you, it will be better.

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Care to share your work space setup?

Right now, I'm in Sweden. This is how I usually work when I'm traveling. I love this stand made of wood, I try to keep it simple and neat.

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And your go-to or must-have apps?

Grammarly β€” English is my second language. I still need a second eye every time I text my friends, post on Instagram, or anything.

Duolingo β€” I'm learning Swedish, and Duolingo is amazing! It has a very easy and friendly user interface.

Spotify β€” I need music to be able to work. I love listening to podcasts as well.

Strava β€” since I try to bike a lot, it's very encouraging to see the miles I rode along with the route.

Google calendar β€” seems silly, but I add all my plans, work, and everything else in my calendar to make it happen (even meeting with my friends). Which they sometimes think is funny.

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What product recently blew your socks off?

Being in Sweden, I have been learning many things about their culture. Every single Swedish have these two items in their home and they are very useful and simple.

1. Shoe Horn to avoid smashing your finger while putting your shoes on.

2. Cheese slicer β€” a Norwegian invention, but everyone in Sweden has it.

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Share your "can't live without" productivity tip or hack?

If I want to make it happen, I need to have it on my calendar. Plus, I leave my phone away from my desk, so I'm not consistently looking at it.

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Name one thing you recently learned that surprised you.

Since I will be teaching Accessible Design, I knew before about the importance of this topic. Still, I didn't know that 47 million Americans have a disability of some kind, and 650 million worldwide; which, is around 10% of everyone in the world! The sad part is that many platforms are not thinking about creating experiences accessible for everyone.

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What's your favorite thing to do outside of the virtual office?

I love to bike, illustrate, take photos and cook for others.

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Share your current go-to tunes for?

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Three pieces of advice for breaking into the UX/UI Design field?

  1. Show your work
  2. Connect with more people in the community - Build connections
  3. Don't compare yourself with others - be authentic

Thanks for reading my story!

San Francisco, USA πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ

Lilibeth Bustos Linares

Memorisely Bootcamp Teacher

Fancy a coffee?

I'd love to grab a coffee and chat about
Memorisely Bootcamps
Switching Careers
Portfolio Review
πŸ—“ Book time to chat

Ready to become a UX/UI designer?

As you'll have gathered, we're open and honest and would love to have you join our next UX/UI Bootcamp!
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