What first inspired you to pursue a career in UX Design, and how did your path lead you to GoDaddy?
I studied Design at University. Since I began my career, I have always been interested in how the conceptuality of design can be applied to digital surfaces, and how we can translate the usability and intuitiveness of physical objects and products to the digital world. UX Design provided the perfect path to pursue this interest while adding another layer to my work. It allows me to apply these learnings to create better experiences for a large audience, especially those with specific needs or requirements who may not have the time to navigate the complexities associated with sophisticated systems and products.
Before joining GoDaddy, I worked in different industries, from health tech to technology agencies, and startups to large organizations. Working across the spectrum of UX disciplines helped me develop a broader perspective on design while continuously expanding my knowledge and skill set. I joined GoDaddy a year and a half ago, where I’ve been able to put all this knowledge into practice and keep honing my skills, while still being able to learn something new every day!
Working at GoDaddy, especially on the monetization team, has helped me develop skills that I wasn’t able to fully explore in other workplaces, like communication skills, tying design decisions to metrics that help both the users and the company, cross-teams collaboration, and bringing new ideas to the table that not only improve our experience to the users, but also help shape decisions within the company.
What’s it like collaborating with global teams?
When it comes to working with global teams, I see it as an added value that comes with working at GoDaddy! It’s a privilege to be able to work not only with incredibly talented designers from all over the world, but with developers, product managers and other stakeholders that work in synergy, even if we’re not in the same place.
Finding pleasure in collaborating with people that have different backgrounds and points of view makes working at GoDaddy an amazing experience for someone like me.
What principles guide your design decisions?
Prioritizing simplicity and transparency for our users will always be a principle that I will speak up for. It’s always easy to make design decisions that benefit the business but not necessarily the end users. Therefore, being able to find a balance while being transparent is extremely important, especially in a team like monetization. We weigh in on many variables including pricing, guidelines, legal requirements, consistency, and other elements that make designing for these surfaces very challenging, but rewarding nonetheless. It’s important to remember that we as designers have a responsibility to make sure that the designs we put out to the world are simple enough for anyone to understand them, but clear enough that they leave no room for doubt and dark design patterns to emerge.
How do you stay current with UX trends?
Exploring the patterns we use within GoDaddy is a great place to start! Having different teams and designers spanning across all of our products, it opens the door to discovering new trends! The same design will not always work for two teams, and that’s what makes GoDaddy a great melting pot for staying on top of trends.
Doing industry research and benchmarking is also a great way to discover what’s working out there, and to keep our products fresh and up-to-date with the industry standards. This aligns with one of the core principles of UX Design: Jakob’s Law, which states that users prefer your website or app to work exactly like the ones they already know.
More importantly, we need to make sure that we’re following winning patterns and not just trendy designs that could become obsolete in a few months. This helps our product stay consistent, simple, and also helps our users navigate GoDaddy with ease.
How has GoDaddy supported your personal growth and learning initiatives?
GoDaddy has great initiatives like the Education Reimbursement Program and Professional Development funds that allow employees to pursue their career and educational goals. I recently got admitted to a Masters in Design, and knowing that GoDaddy can help me not only through the reimbursement program, but also provides flexible working hours so I can study and work at the same time is a big relief. It’s a huge privilege to be able to work in a company that cares for the professional development of their collaborators.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Working in technology, and specially in the field of UX Design, means we spend a lot of our time in front of a screen, so I’ve been enjoying activities that help me disconnect for a bit and keep me moving! Lately, I’ve taken an interest in ceramics, and I’ve been practicing hand-building ceramics for the past six months. I also enjoy reading, cooking, and doing things that help me connect with nature and myself.
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