400+ hours. , 1 filled notebook and (maybe?!) the end of intuitive design...

I am currently 8 weeks, 400+ hours (or there abouts), and exactly one brand-spanking-new (and now completely full) notebook into my User Experience Design Immersive with General Assembly.

To say it’s been intensive is an understatement. If there were a metric for tea consumption per wireframe, I’m confident I would be breaking world records at this point.

For those of you exploring the field or currently in the trenches of a pivot, I wanted to share what it actually feels like as I move from a founder-led “intuitive” approach to a a more structured, research-driven UX methodology. It’s essentially like learning to see the world again—but this time, with the “Inspect” tool permanently turned on.

The Reality of the Deep Dive

I’ve spent the last two months knee-deep what I now know to be the “Messy Middle”. For me that looks like -

• Understanding the nuance of User Research: Realising that my “founder instincts” are often just polished assumptions. Learning to kill your darling ideas is a prerequisite for good UX and iteration is your friend.

• Learning the importance of Information Architecture: It’s not just about where the button goes; it’s about the mental model of the person looking for it and this has been a totally new concept for me.

• Undertaking Rapid Prototyping: Transitioning from “How Might We” sessions into “Here’s How It Actually Works” in Figma has been a particular highlight and lights me up Every. Time. we hit the ideation stage.

• Acknowledging Human Support System in order to make it work: By this I mean the “real world” logistics. I have two young kids and this journey just wouldn’t be possible without the village of family and family holding the fort while I’m submerged in Figma files daily from 9-5 and commonly then deepening the dive from 7-9/10/11…

  
  

A “Pinch-Me” Partnership

This transition has been made possible through being accepted onto the scholarship programme funded by Adobe. To be backed by such a creative powerhouse while I shift my career is a responsibility I don’t take lightly.

That, along with the huge leap of faith in following my instincts into a new career trajectory (Eeep) is what has fueled this appetite for learning so far, and will be what continues to burn my motivation as I find my way through the dark.

A massive shout-out to my instructor Nirish Shakya. His real-world case studies and thoughtful insights have been invaluable in anchoring theory into practice. He has a relentlessly calm way of bringing us back to the ‘human’ in every situation and reminding us that we should be finding and solving friction for real people, always.

To my fellow career-changers:

I’m definitely seeing the transition from “Ops Brain” to “Design Brain” less of a replacement now and much more of an evolution. I’m finding that my years of untangling business systems are actually a huge asset in UX and our real world experiences, from whatever field they have come from are our unique superpowers if we know how to use them wisely.

As I move into the final four weeks of this immersive, I’m starting to map out how these new frameworks I am learning will sit alongside my operational strategy experience. It’s about finding the “Operational UX”, a sweet spot if you will, where business efficiency meets user delight.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a “Monster” named Figma to get back to and quite a few case studies to write up.

Are you currently pivoting into UX or maybe thinking about the switch? I’d love to hear how you’re managing the “Information Overload” phase. Let’s compare notes (or tea preferences) in the comments.

#UXDesign #GeneralAssembly #CareerPivot #UserExperience #DesignThinking #AdobeDigitalAcademy #InProgress.