The Company: Each&Other. We’re about UX and UX strategy.
Each&Other. We’re about UX and UX strategy. We help companies create and improve digital products by focusing on what their customers really care about.
We are team of about 15 (ish) researchers, designers and technologists, and we work across UI and graphic design, content, data and development.
The Company: Each&Other. We’re about UX and UX strategy. We help companies create and improve digital products by focusing on what their customers really care about.
We are team of about 15 (ish) researchers, designers and technologists, and we work across UI and graphic design, content, data and development.
Job Description: The job is pretty simple really: We research, we create designs and then we test them to see if they work.
Let’s say we’re working with an online shoe store. First, we’d figure out what gets people frustrated about shopping for shoes online by interviewing people, watching them use shoe sites, and look at shoe stores around the world. Then we’d find ways to address those frustrations and make a better type of shoe website. Simple.
My role, specifically, is to support our team across a number of projects and work closely with our clients to make sure that we’re delivering something that is going to work for their business.
My wife doesn’t bother explaining this and tells people that I’m a vet.
Likes: We have to be experts at becoming experts quickly – we work across telco, financial services, retail, technology companies, start-ups, B2B, B2C – so we have to be pretty nimble. I like that mild panic of having to learn fast.
I also like that the job draws on so many fields: graphic design, psychology, technology, branding, content. There’s always a new field to plunder a few ideas on how to solve a problem.
Career ladder: My career ladder has a few broken steps on it. Before UX, I was trying to figure out how to make a living from writing for a decade. My "novels" didn't work out, journalism paid even less, and founding an advertising-based print magazine in a recession turned out to be a very bad idea. Then UX suddenly became a thing, and it's been all gravy ever since.
I still think that I learned nearly everything that was important working in bars and restaurants in my “wilderness years”.
At this point in my career I’m a generalist, which means I’m obsolete in terms of actually doing work. And my colleagues will no doubt testify to that.
Qualifications: I have a M.Sc in Multimedia. This was a 4-year course about CD-ROMs and Photoshop 5.5. I also have an M.A. in Journalism, which is where I learned how to use semi-colons almost accurately.
Working hours: Usually around 8:30 to 5:30. But it’s hard to stick to a rigid schedule. I try to work at least 1 day a week from home.
We value flexibility here and we trust the team, so everyone can set their own schedules. The only rules are: be there for the 9:30 Monday kick off, and be there for our weekly Thursday training session, and get the work done.
Breaktime: I’m addicted to the Dahl at Two Pups on Francis St. I tend to go these by myself to get some headspace back. And I try to remember to bring my kindle but mostly read whatever global misery is happening in the Guardian.
Social media credentials: I don’t use social media except as a business tool. LinkedIn is the only thing that I check with any regularity.
Onsite or offsite: I usually travel a few times a month, and I’m often jumping between client meetings and pitches so I’m out of the office quite a lot. Our client base is reasonably diverse at the moment with companies around UK and Europe. In fact, I’m pretty sure that a few of our UK clients don’t know that we’re based in Dublin.
Digital strategy/vision: We devote Thursday mornings here to internal crits or information sharing sessions where one of the team will present on a topic, for example accessibility or we’ll bring in speakers from other industries. Our company relies on hiring naturally curious people.
I love Mondays because . . . I get to look at all of last week’s work on the white boards, wipe it off, and start with fresh problems to solve.