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Ask us: Head of Product Design and Research for SAP Learning (17 Oct 2022 – 21 Oct 2022)

David_Chaviano
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert

Hi All,

Welcome to “Ask Us”, an opportunity to submit questions to an expert or leader in SAP over the course of a few days to better understand what they do, how they work and what development path they followed.

David_Chaviano_0-1661503513811.png

Between 17 Oct 2022 – 21 Oct 2022Danielle Barisic, the Head of Product Design and Research of https://learning.sap.com/ will be here to answer your questions about being a designer at SAP, her career background, best practices on how to start your journey as a designer and anything else you can think of!

Post your questions now or during the active period to get a response from Danielle. Have fun!

Regards,

David

10 REPLIES 10

former_member40651
Associate
Associate

Hi Danielle! Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. As someone who uses design principles every day, I'm curious about how we as a company can be more mindful about the accessibility of our designs and communications, both internal and external. Can you recommend any trainings or resources where we could learn more about how to create inclusive design? Thank you!

Hi emerylittle, thank you for your question! This is a very important topic that deserves a lot more attention in all design communities. Thankfully, over the past few of years, we're seeing it raised up as top priority and a fundamental mindset all designers must have. 👏👏👏 The SAP Design Inclusive & Accessability team has some great resources and I recommend starting with this blog post: https://blogs.sap.com/2022/05/19/beyond-checklists-growing-our-inclusive-experience-mindset/

Please feel free to ping me on Teams if you'd like more internal links to their resources. ✌️ 

former_member40474
Associate
Associate

Hi Danielle, I have been mentoring high school and university students for a few years and I do see an increase in interest for Interaction Design and UX/UI related programs. I am keen to hear your thoughts on:

- Your advise to students looking to join these programs

- For students already in such programs, what should they do during their studies to enhance their employability when they graduate?  What kind of internships should they aim for?

- AND which industries/areas have a high demand for interaction/Ux/UI designers?

Thank you!

Hi JeanLoh, thank you for mentoring students! 👏 

For students interested in joining Interaction Design and UX/UI related programs, I recommend connecting with someone in the field and putting theory to practice. Below are some great resources for conducting user interviews (a regular task for most designer roles these days). I recommend leveraging "A Day in the Life" research activity to better understand if a field is the right fit for them:

For students already in these fields, I also recommend practice. Get out there and run your own projects in fields or on topics that you're interested in and would like to make a positive impact.  You could even take a stab at redesigning a favorite or not-so-favorite website or application. Here are two great resources with direct links for getting started:

As for industries/areas that have high demand, I think it's fair to say all, because of the fast pace of technology. I would say business software over consumer during the current times, emerging technologies on both sides, as well as emerging virtual experiences with in-person experiences. 

Thank you for your questions!

David_Chaviano
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert

Hi Danielle,

I just thought I'd sip my own champagne and take the opportunity to ask a question to! 🙂
From your point of view, is design something that be be learned from scratch? Or is there a raw intuition that needs to be present first which can later be developed? 

Hi David, Great question! I do believe that there is raw intuition that needs to be present. Intuition is our ability to understand something instinctively and a designer needs this to be able to find creative ways for solving problems. Raw intuition though shouldn't be isolated from other forms of knowledge, such as data. Being a good designer means knowing when to utilize your raw intuition over data, and vice versa.

Thank you for your question! 

Hi Danielle!

Although I currently work more with illustration and infographics, I've been trying to slowly broaden my skillset into UX/UI and I'm wondering if there are any current trends that are leading this area and designers in the space should be aware of. And a second question is: how often should one update a design, or what is a good sign that it needs updating? I like to keep things fresh and intriguing for the user, but would not want to over do it...

Thank you very much for your time!

Hi JuanPablo, creating illustrations and infographics require a lot of talent and skill. This is great experience to bring into UX/UI design. 

I'd actually like to answer your question by providing a go-to article of mine called the Top 10 UI trends every designer needs to know. Not all of these trends are current, but they are all important for UI designers to know especially because not all trends are relevant for what you might be working on. It's important as UX/UI designers, to be able to judge when to use what. This comes with practice wearing our many different hats of problem-solver, researcher, illustrator, systems thinker, and more. 

UX/UI trends that I'm particularly in favor of these days fall into the Inclusive & Accessible category and motion design. Check out SAP Design on medium for more inspiration. 

Good luck in your journey! 

 

former_member39133
Associate
Associate

Hi Danielle! 

Though I'm part of the SAP team like David, I'm also taking an opportunity to ask some questions 😉 I'm very curious about your perspectives on:

What has been your most rewarding experience in Product Design? What about on SAP Learning?

What are some of your sources of inspiration for design? Anything in particular that's been cool lately?

Thank you!

Hi Sab_C, 

It's very hard to choose just one! I have had many rewarding experiences as a product designer. If I had to choose, it's the cases where the most value was gained or where I was witness to the direct impacts on a single user. I can think of this one time when I was in the field (a construction site to be exact) and I was watching a worker use the mobile application I had designed. He was so thankful for how easy it was to use technology to document and submit the work progress he made that day. He told me, because of the application he was able to get home earlier and spend more time with his kids after work. I still get a little choked up on that one. 😉

When I'm designing a digital product experience, I will draw inspiration from similar experiences to learn what others have done well and not done well. I will also draw inspiration from other tools and experiences that I know the target user group already uses.

I also like to get random ideas from places like muz.li and designboom for all kinds of innovative solutions. My instagram feed is full of all sorts of creatives and really inspires me when I get a chance to check it out. Someone really cool I came across the other day is an amazing photographer who uses time and technology to capture beautiful photos of nature: https://reubenwu.com/home

What are you go to sources for inspiration?

Thank you!

Thanks for your questions!