How a Love for Math and DIY Led Me to UX Design
2015: Me with the DIY desk organizer that I made
For my first blog post – aside from my obligatory introductory post – I want to talk about why I am so intrigued by UX design. It may be a confusing, winding, and unfinished story, but stick with me.
As I mentioned in my last blog, I discovered UX design in the fall of 2023 in a class called Foundations of Interactive Media (MEJO 187) with Scott Geier. Prior to the first week of this class, I had never even heard of UX design.
But let’s take it back a little more. Growing up, I was the typical 15-year-old who had very little perception of the real world and what it takes to become an orthopedic surgeon. Yes. An orthopedic surgeon. A complete 180 from UX design and Hussman.
It’s almost comedic looking back on it now since I really only said that because I thought it would be the easiest path to being "rich". Trust me, after multiple STEM classes, 18 seasons of Grey's Anatomy, and a little bit of research, I now know that is vastly far from the truth.
All this to say, I had no idea what I wanted to do after college. As a matter of fact, I didn’t know what I wanted to do until I was 20 ½ years old (AKA last fall)! I tried multiple majors and minors and tried to convince myself that this was the path for me and this is where my everlasting-universe-calling purpose lies.
But deep down, I knew I didn’t actually like any of them. I was honestly just tired of telling people, “I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up” and for their immediate response of, “You have plenty of time, you’re still so young!”
Flash forward to my junior year in MEJO 187. I’m learning about UX design principles, HTML, CSS, Javascript, Adobe XD, how to use AI to my benefit, coding and designing web apps, accessibility concerns, and so much more. It was a whole new, shiny world to me. Except this time I genuinely liked it.
For the first time in my college career, I genuinely looked forward to going to class every Monday and Wednesday. I looked forward to sitting down and tackling the project that would take me multiple 8-hour sessions to complete. I looked forward to the challenge of the next project or assignment.
I LOVED it.
But it made me wonder– Why do I like it so much?
It’s nothing like I have ever done before, yet with a little (or a lot) of hard work, it felt natural to me.
Until one day, after having a casual conversation with Mr. ChatGPT , it dawned on me.
Growing up in grade school, I always loved math. If someone asked me what my favorite subject was, my answer was always math without any hesitation. It felt easy to me. I always liked how the teacher would teach me a process to apply and if I applied it properly, I’d get the right answer. This was satisfying to me. I am also a problem solver. I tend to find myself constantly trying to solve problems around me whether they are personal to myself or not. And math is just that – solving problems. Except as opposed to “real life” problems, these actually had a confirmed right or wrong answer.
Although I liked this right-or-wrong, problem-solving concept of math, I have also always been very creative.
I grew up a DIY-er (DIY = Do It Yourself). When I needed a desk organizer, I made one out of cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, duct tape, and hot glue. When I wanted a cute case for my iPad or a new wallet, I looked up a YouTube video and made one out of hot pink zebra print duct tape. If I got bored with my room’s wall decor, I looked on Pinterest and crafted the decor myself.
These are just a few small examples from my childhood, but my creativity has always been prevalent.
Circling back to my friend, ChatGPT , a conversation with it made me realize that UX design is the perfect combination of both problem-solving and creativity. I’m able to use the structured, process-driven part of my brain where I can follow the rules of design systems and principles while also flexing my creativity to come up with innovative, user-centered solutions.
It’s like math, but instead of one right answer, there are multiple ways to approach a problem, and each one offers a chance to improve and refine the previous versions.
UX design is both challenging and rewarding. It doesn’t feel like work because it blends the best of what I naturally love doing. And now that I have discovered it, I am running full speed, knee-deep with no looking back.
🌟 Taylor
