Meeting with Emmanuelle, UX-UI Designer at UX-Republic.

 

Meeting with Emmanuelle Mailhes, Product Designer at UX Republic.

I met Emmanuelle during a mission at Ubisoft where I had the chance to discover a jovial person who always listens.
On assignment for almost 10 months, she shares her journey, her methodology and her passion, as she calls it, for the design of digital products.

Hello Emmanuelle, can you present your background in a few words?

I have 6 years of experience in the design world. Previously, I was Artistic Director in a communication agency. Then, over the years, I started to get interested in UI and UX. That's why I wanted to change company, to specialize in these two areas. So I arrived in March 2020 at UX Republic, I'm celebrating my two years soon.

Today, due to my current mission, I consider myself more of a Product Designer.
Because, although I had targeted UX or UI missions, the majority of my missions were to work on the whole of a product. So also work well on UR, UX, UI and the definition of a strategy that encompasses the product. It is in this type of organization and role that I recognize myself the most.

Currently, you are on a mission, can we say that it was this mission that created this shift?

Yes exactly. Before, I had mainly had “firebreak” assignments but with this client I am more composed and I have more time to design. It is this type of product-oriented mission that drives me. Moreover, it is a mission that has developed a lot. This Product Designer profile that I support is interesting because design has everything to contribute. It is a role that allows you to perform a small 360° around a product. And it's true that I've always been a “360” person. Even in an agency, I did print, motion design, web and project management. I adapt according to the challenge.

Do you consider yourself as a multidisciplinary person? That should help you as a consultant?

Yes, when I commit to a mission or an internal position, I start from the principle that we must fulfill the task entrusted to us and if I see potential to go further, I give myself the means to propose things. The idea is to be proactive and be able to develop the position, the mission, the challenges, the objectives. Tell yourself that you can do more.

We often ask a designer to be curious, can we say that's your way of being? As much in the knowledge as in the way of doing.

Completely ! And you see, lately I've been interested in articles about the role of a Product Designer. To discover everything about this role, especially what can be expected to know where to position myself. And I am attentive to what is happening in the world of digital and new technologies.

With digital technology constantly evolving, are you ready to see your job evolve further over the next few years?

I don't formalize myself to a role. I know what I can bring and I continue to evolve. In digital, things are changing so fast! Between my studies and where I am today, there is almost a “no man's land” that was created when I was not that old! It's a profession of passion and without the curiosity we were talking about, it would be difficult to follow. I meet designers who may have lost their flame and I see that they stop very quickly, they don't go looking for the little extra. I find it a pity. This flame I still have and I hope I can keep it all the time. That's what drives me.

Precisely, aren't you afraid of asking yourself too many questions and not knowing where you are or of wasting time?

I am an organized person. If I feel that I have too many things on my mind, I stop for a moment to write down what I have to do and I do everything in due time. Thanks to my past in an agency where everything is very fast and where you have to deliver things for the day before in general, I had to offer solutions quickly. I managed to ask myself questions but without lingering too long. As a result, at each stage I ask myself the question “What is the goal?” and from this question I make the way.

With this “retroactive” way of thinking, do you manage to challenge your work?

I get there to a certain extent. I think for everything, there are a thousand ways to do it. So it's good to challenge but you shouldn't do it too much otherwise you'll waste too much time. You have to challenge effectively. Especially since we are often in an agile context where, thanks to iterations, we can test things and make several versions. Thus, we can correct if we detect an error or if user tests give us another direction.

Do you also have this curiosity and this need to challenge in your work methodology? In the workshop for example?

Very often. A few days ago, I did a small group workshop with 5 participants and it didn't go as I would have liked. I questioned myself so that next time I could propose another organization.

You are a person who questions a lot I have the impression?

Yes that's exactly me!
It is a quality as a defect for me. I tell myself that I haven't thought of everything when sometimes it would be enough to offer another session to achieve an objective not achieved during a first workshop.

Do you feel responsible for the viability of the product you are working on?

At times, yes. But I try to take a step back because we are part of an organization and a team where the objectives are shared. It is thanks to this hindsight that I manage to be less hard on myself.

Currently, at your client, how is your team organized?

There is a design team dedicated to the web. For my part, I am in pairs for the co-construction of the two applications (BtoB and BtoC). Most often we work together to bring out ideas and challenge ourselves.

For me, designing is teamwork. By being several, we activate creativity, it is difficult to have it alone. We have an effervescence of ideas that allows us to move forward.

On a mission, you don't always have to work as a team. Is this an organization that suits you or do you prefer to work alone on a project?

Personally, I prefer to be surrounded by a team. This is a request I made to my manager at UX Republic. I appreciate being able to collaborate with other people, sharing the same vocabulary, challenging my ideas and also being able to act with a pair or a team. There is often a complementarity which takes place which makes it possible to support each other.

What made you want to join the UX Republic teams?

I wanted to continue working for different clients, as was the case in the agency where I was, but with the desire to be in a recognized company in the field of digital design. And it's true that being surrounded by experts in the field was an opportunity for me to develop my skills. And, something brand new for me is being invited to company parties and meeting people who work in the same field as me.

Was the Training Center something that made you choose UX Republic?

I am self-taught. I have always trained on many different subjects. But it's true that having access to training made me want to. It's a chance to be accompanied and acquire vocabulary and skills that can then be reused on a mission.

It should be noted, however, that you participated very actively in the animation of our team of consultants, during the health crisis.

What are your favorite actions among those you have organised? And what are the ones you plan to put in place in the coming months?

I am still thinking about future actions. I haven't decided anything yet. But it is true that I would like to continue on this momentum. The health crisis has taken us far apart and all these small actions have brought us closer. The idea is also to offer moments to depressurize the mission and share our passions and hobbies through discussions on our Slack.
I am currently thinking of a new format where we could discuss or debate on a specific subject.

UX Republic is also a training center, what training have you been able to follow?

I had the opportunity to follow two training courses since my arrival :

The “UX Design” training where I was able to review many notions that I already knew and discover information on User Research. It was very interesting to review the theory and the basics. I like to write trainers' turns of phrase to inspire me to evangelize with clients.

Lean UX training: this is a methodology in its own right. So far, I have not been able to apply it in its entirety, but I have had the opportunity to rework workshops and targeted methods to apply them on a mission. I am inspired by outlines. I have a palette of tools and then I adapt according to the context.

Emmanuelle, we've almost finished our little exchange, before leaving us, I'd like to ask you 7 quick questions:

UX Design or UI Design?

Product Design!

iOS or Android?

Android without hesitation!

Sketch, Figma or Adobe XD?

Figma! For the recurring evolution, the collaboration and the Design System part.

A sector of activity for which you would like to work during a future mission?

Either in the field of health or volunteering. Being able to tell myself that the application I'm working on will be useful on a human level is an inspiration to me. I find it so beautiful to make applications accessible to people with disabilities. And as a result, technology bends to us and not the other way around! For example, Xbox sells controllers so that gamers can play with motor disabilities. This is an approach that interests me, just like web accessibility.

Music or no music when you work?

Oh yes all the time! I'm listening to a lot of lo-fi hip-hop right now. It's very soft, very laid back. I adapt my music according to the tasks. Once I had to translate a brochure from French to Dutch, so to concentrate and isolate myself I put on some hard rock. Result: 0 fault, within the time allowed! Music motivates me and lifts my spirits. Music helps me breathe. I do everything in life with music: I shower, clean, cook, garden, DIY, paint, … everything!

A book, a film or a documentary on digital that marked you and that you would recommend?

The first documentary that comes to mind is “Inside Bill Gates' Brain” which I saw not long ago. He is a person who invests a lot and who has succeeded. It funds to achieve an idea and help a cause.

A designer you follow on social media?

I am not anyone in particular but rather accounts of groups and collectives. For example, UX 308 on Instagram. On the other hand, I am a lot of artists, but not in digital precisely.

There you go 🙂 We're done! Thank you again for our exchange Emmanuelle! Do you want to add something that we haven't covered?

The only thing that is close to my heart to clarify is that we must not forget that “design” is neither more nor less than the definition of “drawing” and “purpose”. That is, the thought connects the pencil.

We are designers, we conceive a thought. We don't make art. Art is free of interpretation. While our design is dedicated to responding to a problem and not to interpretation. We're not here to make something pretty, but something useful and good! There is a real reflection behind our profession.

 

 

Image sources: https://undraw.co/illustrations

Alexa Cuellar, UX Designer @UX-Republic

 

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