48. A Former Architect’s Journey to UX Design with Aneta Kmiecik

48. A Former Architect’s Journey to UX Design with Aneta Kmiecik

Episode 48
1:10:17

Professional careers like Architecture, Medicine, and Law are highly skilled technical careers that require a lot of cognitive labor. They have strict rules and regulations around who can practice and how they are taught.

Why should UX be different?

I’ve been fascinated with the idea of comparing and contrasting UX Design to other professional careers. Professional careers like Lawyers, Doctors, Architects, and Accountants, all have strict rules and regulations around how the schools teach the discipline, who can practice, how they practice, and what industry standards look like.

For better or worse, UX Design is totally different.

I was really excited to get a chance to talk to Aneta Kmiecik, a former Architect turned UX Designer about her perspective on both sides.

Aneta shared some insights about what skills are transferrable and the differences between designing for a digital and physical space.

I also got to practice some Polish.

Topics:
• 06:05 – Aneta’s journey to UX
• 09:34 – What were the transferable skills?
• 14:53 – How do Architects iterate?
• 21:51 – Buildings are built for permanence
• 28:39 – Architecture gatekeepers
• 31:43 – It’s a lot easier to become a UX designer than an Architect
• 42:53 – Inconsistency across the industry in UX vs. Architecture
• 47:14 – Software consultancies are totally different from Architects

Helpful Links:
• Connect with Aneta on LinkedIn
• Follow Aneta on Instagram @ux.aneta

This Week’s Audio Book

Check out Out of Architecture: The Value of Architects Beyond Traditional Practice by Jake Rudin and Erin Pellegrino

The book guides architects in exploring careers beyond traditional practices, highlighting the disconnect between architecture education and the real world. Through a blend of client and author stories, it showcases architects who’ve found fulfilling roles outside traditional practices. It’s a valuable read for those in the field, especially those contemplating a career shift. And I don’t know, for me It’s fascinating and a little comforting to know that this type of thing is not exclusive to the UX field.


Aneta Kmiecik
Content creator helping beginners become UX Designers

About Aneta

Aneta Kmiecik is a Senior UX Designer at Knowit, a Nordic consultancy firm where she supports organizations from Norway in digital transformation. She is an ex-architect who transitioned to UX in 2018. She is structured, transparent, and dedicated to design. After hours she writes about her experiences in the UX industry on Linkedin and Instagram page – ux.aneta. She also mentors designers on ADPList.



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Jeremy Miller

Designer // Host // Mentor

I’m Jeremy. I’m a product designer from New Orleans. Here are some things I want you to know about me:

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