Collaborate with other designers and developers to build your experience

Discover how to identify influential colleagues, foster mutually beneficial connections, and transform workplace acquaintances into allies who can advocate for you and your team across the organisation, creating a powerful internal network that enhances your career prospects.

Learn how to build an effective professional network that opens doors to new opportunities. Discover why networking isn't just a necessary evil but an intentional relationship-building process that creates valuable connections.

Finding like-minded design communities provides essential support in a challenging industry, with small local groups offering the most relatable connections. These communities create meaningful relationships that help you feel seen and become a better, happier designer throughout your career.

A well-maintained LinkedIn profile with professional photos, clear headlines, and recommendations acts as your digital first impression and complements your CV and portfolio.

In reflecting on the past year, the author shares key lessons learned from 2024, marked by achievements and setbacks. The importance of slowing down to prioritise tasks, trusting one's instincts in decision-making, and embracing uncertainty within a professional environment are valuable insights. Ultimately, the author views the year positively, recognising the growth and knowledge gained despite challenges.

How to leverage your UX skills to create a better portfolio

Being a Data-driven designer empowers you to identify problems and make informed decisions by leveraging user feedback, analytics, and cross-team insights. Venessa discusses how to become a data-driven designer.

Venessa shows you how to advocate for users in a business setting with a lack of user testing. Covering how to: understand your users, gather metrics, connect data to business goals, and compare/present the data to advocate for design changes.

Venessa discusses the importance of staying relevant in an ever-evolving design industry

Venessa discusses essential factors to consider before accepting a job offer, including the quality of management, career growth opportunities, alignment with personal values, and the company's commercial health. Venessa emphasises the importance of treating job interviews as a two-way process, where candidates evaluate the company as much as the company evaluates them.

Venessa emphasises the importance of showing your design process in case studies. Documenting each step, from sketches to final outcomes, helps to show hiring managers how you think.

Diverse design teams enhance creativity, product quality, and profitability. To achieve this, hiring managers should use inclusive job postings, standardised evaluations, and collaborative assessments. The focus should be on "culture add" rather than "culture fit," aiming to build teams that reflect the diversity of product users and bring varied perspectives to the design process.

I am frequently asked about my predictions for the future of UX. I believe that designers will continue to solve problems, but the scale of the challenges they face will change.

Nessa’s knowledge bombs are a series of short bite-size bombs of advice that I have learned over my career.

Discover the top three things I've learned in three months since joining a legal-tech company.

I spoke with Penny de Valk last year, and we discussed her tendency to step outside of her comfort zone and how her tribe empowers her.

This year I ventured into the realm of public speaking. It was a big challenge for me, but it was something that I wanted to master. Here are my learnings after a year of speaking.

Nessa’s knowledge bombs are a series of short bite-size bombs of advice that I have learned over my career.

When speaking to other design leaders, the discussion often moves to the value of design. Reflecting on this, I asked myself why are we still having this discussion. In this article, I explore why that is and what designers can do about it.