Highlights
UX Cabin Team Member Spotlight with Jean Kaluza
In this blog, we will focus on some of the highlights from this podcast episode!
How frustration and curiosity uncovered a role in UX research - with Jean Kaluza
In this episode of The Product Design Podcast, Jean Kaluza joined Seth for the second UX Cabin Team Member Spotlight! Jean is a founding member of UX Cabin and has been working with Seth for about two years. Her detailed approach to UX research helped create the foundation for UX Cabin to build successful products.
How Jean uncovered UX Research
Jean started in design when she was in high school, where she was part of a tech-prep program. This program gave her basic knowledge in graphic arts and sparked her interest in websites.Early in her career, she was "the designer that could code," but she did not enjoy coding.
She found herself often working on minor bugs on websites that were not well visited. She often wondered why she was spending her time making these minor fixes instead of addressing the more significant concerns about increasing traffic to the website.
Eventually, a coworker told Jean that she could find a role that focused on asking these questions. This tip led her to read the book Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug, and she quickly became passionate about learning everything about UX research methods. She would then fix the bugs and took it one step further by proposing additional fixes rooted in user experience research, which would make it easier for the user to find the website.
Her passion even led her to be a speaker at a conference to lay out how she believed UX research could help so many companies with their websites. After the speaking appearance, her career took off!
Why Jean enjoys leading UX research at UX Cabin
At the top of her list, she shared her excitement to work with such a talented team. She shared how working with clients is more straightforward because she always "knows a guy" who will execute with ease because they are so gifted in their niches!
A really cool aspect UX Cabin, is there are so many, giant talents here. We all kind of have our own little niche of what we do and can provide to the team.
Another point Jean discussed was how our team works together to support one another while being realistic and understanding that we span the globe. Seth's remote first mindset has attracted top talent because it offers the flexibility that so many people want in their careers.
Jean prioritizes flexibility because working from wherever accommodates her love of travel and to gain more life experiences.
Less comfort, more life - Jean's favorite quote
She has supported the growth of UX Cabin over the last two years while living in or visiting Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Florida, and Ohio.
Advice for those in product design who may not have found their niche yet
Jean offered several tips during our time together, and these are the top points to help you find your niche in product design:
Thank you so much, Jean!
Our Team Member Spotlight with Jean gave great insight into how questioning the status quo helped her uncover her UX research passion. This passion led her to become an expert and brought her to UX Cabin along the way. Thank you, Jean, for being such a significant part of our team and leveraging your expertise to strengthen our team!Make sure to listen to the complete episode, which includes an in-depth discussion about Jean's career path and lifestyle, over at The Product Design Podcast.
Don't forget to follow Jean to watch as she continues to use her passion to impact the evolution of UX research. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and her website!
Where to find Jean Kaluza
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