A DAY IN MY LIFE AS A UI/UX strategist IN MAVERICKS🎨

Hello!

I’m Xin Yi and welcome to a day in my life as a junior UI/UX strategy consultant at Mavericks Consulting! Before you read on, here’s a quick disclaimer: no two days at Mavericks Consulting are ever the same and honestly, that’s what I love most about my job. Every day brings on a new challenge, problem to solve and an opportunity to learn. This constant variety is what makes my life here at Mavericks Consulting exciting as it challenges me to grow not just as a designer, but as a consultant and problem-solver.

Now, let’s get to the exciting part and start the day!

9:00 AM: Getting Ready

My day always starts with a visit to one of my favourite spots (and I’m sure it’s the same for my fellow Mavericks) in the office—the pantry. It’s well-stocked with a huge selection of snacks and drinks to ensure that everyone is well-fed here! Today? I’m craving a chocolate granola bar to pair with my iced americano. 

Afterwards, I open my laptop to catch up on any Slack messages and review my Trello board. Trello is one of the many vital tools in how we work as it reflects our agile way of working, allowing us to track and manage tasks transparently and flexibly. 

10:15 AM: Daily Stand-up

It’s time to sync up with the team so that everyone knows what each other is doing! What we usually do is simply update each other on what we did, what we’re currently doing and planning to do. This simple yet powerful collaborative practice ensures everyone is aligned and on track. 

10:30 AM: Learning and Growing 

One thing that sets Mavericks Consulting apart is how much growth and learning are prioritized and encouraged. Every day, I give myself an hour to just keep up with the latest UI/UX trends, read design articles and explore case studies. Here, growth is never stagnant. As a fresh graduate who just started her working adult journey, this constant learning has been invaluable as I feel like I’m actively evolving alongside the industry!

11:30 AM: Sprint Prep 

A new sprint is coming, so it’s time to prepare for it! What I strongly believe in is to always focus on the “why” before the “how”. Hence, I always start with understanding the problem and the importance of solving it. Throughout the sprint, I closely collaborate with developers and BAs daily, gaining diverse insights. Many people assume that a UI/UX designer is the only one who makes the design decisions—but they’re so wrong. At least in Mavericks Consulting, everyone’s opinions matter and the cross-functional input ensures that we build the right product and build it right. 

1:30 PM: Weekly Stand-up With the Social Media Team 

After having a delicious lunch with the team, it’s time for the weekly stand-up with the social media team to discuss our plans for our social media catalogue for Q1. This is a refreshing shift from the usual UI/UX work and it allows me to get to know other Mavericks in the company!

1:45 PM: Project Consultation and Feedback with the CEO

Honestly, one of the most unique experiences that I am thankful for in Mavericks Consulting is the direct access to leadership. Today, I had a meeting with George and we reviewed a redesigned flow and copywriting of our product video. A common misconception is that UI/UX is all about designing beautiful interfaces. I cannot emphasize enough how wrong that is. In reality, it is all balancing business goals and user needs. No design is “beautiful” if it doesn’t convert sales, solve a problem and make an impact.

3:00 PM: Workshop Time!

Facilitating workshops is a crucial part of what I do. They help identify pain points and solve complex problems with simple working solutions.

6:00 PM: Pang Gang!

Time to clock out for the day! 

6:15 PM: Movie Night (Zootopia 2)

Tonight, I’m attending a movie night event organised by our company! This is one of the many team-bonding activities we do in Mavericks Consulting and it feels so good that work-life balance is prioritized here. P.S. Honest thoughts after watching the movie—I really do not think Nick and Judy are just best friends.

See You in the Next One!

Although I only joined Mavericks Consulting last year, the culture and people here have made me feel comfortable in asking questions, taking ownership and growing professionally! I’m truly grateful that this is my first full-time job experience and I love how everyone here embodies the Mavericks spirit in building scalable simple working solutions and making a real impact in our clients’ businesses. Here’s to building more right products and building them right!