People@Proxiad – Stefan Petkov
Q: Let us start from the beginning of your Proxiad SEE journey. How did you join our team?
I was referred to the company over a year ago and started with the redesign for the main project I am still working on alongside a more senior designer. This experience was a valuable introduction to both the subject matter and working on a larger scale than any of my previous projects.
Q: Tell us more about your role as Junior UI/UX Designer
As a Junior UI/UX Designer, my role is to find the correct problems to solve, both from usability standpoint while also having business needs in mind, and afterwards propose a solution to those problems. I do this through research and communication with different stakeholders from our team and outside of it. Most often, my work’s deliverables are high fidelity mockups or prototypes. I used to work with a senior designer who acted as a mentor to me, but currently I am the only designer on my team. This has left me with much room for growth and self-expression as a larger part of the decision-making process is left to me. Despite this change, collaboration between teams is easy, so now I talk with my previous mentor almost every week to validate our ideas and help each other.
Q: What do you find most challenging about the position, and how do you overcome them?
The most challenging parts for me are knowing when you have done enough research to make a final decision and how to communicate that decision to technical and non-technical stakeholders. From my point of view, these two skills are essential, so I can never be sure of my ability to be the best at them – they can always be better. The best solution I have found for both is to spend more time with the product I am working on, with the users of that product and the development team. I find common practices and methodologies for research and early-stage design discovery to be a good starting point, but once I get to know the project better, my workflow becomes unique to it.
Q: Tell us more about your hobbies and how you like to spend your free time.
I spend most of my free time traveling, hiking, drawing, or playing board games with friends. Social activities like events and meet-ups are a favorite of mine and having any of my hobbies with other people is always a pleasure.
Q: You have mentioned that you love to draw and paint. Could you tell us more about your hobby and what it taught you?
It has been a hobby of mine since I started high school, which is why I fell in love with design and visual communication. In recent years, I haven’t done it as often as I used to since I started working as a designer, but on the rare occasions I do, it always recharges me.
Design and art have more than creativity in common – to create a “masterpiece,” one must explore an idea and get acquainted with it before creating what is best. In design, this is an exploration of ideas, and in art, it is the countless sketches and drafts done before you are finally happy with the result. One important skill drawing taught me is to be patient and explore as much as you need if you want to have a good final product.
Q: Can you share a good memory that you had in the company?
My favorite memories are from some of the events the company has organized. We had a few quiz nights and football matches, which I really liked, as well as Tepe Jambore (a marathon in Plovdiv) in which we participated. The best part about these events is that you get to spend time with interesting people and have a good time together. I have neither participated in a marathon nor been a football fan, and I would have never discovered that I like them if I did not want to spend time with colleagues outside of work.
