Being a product designer demands a way of thinking that focuses on the broader context of the specific project. I need to consider how my work impacts other areas of the product, how I am aligning with established design patterns, development resources, and scope of the feature, among many other considerations.

Navigating these different considerations is an integral part of being a product designer, and one that provides interesting challenges and opportunities for collaboration.

Wholistic thinking is critical, but collaboration is what really gets the ball rolling to get work done and make meaningful change. Working with other designers to ensure alignment across experiences within the product, understanding and negotiating the scope of features with product managers, as well as understanding technical constraints are all critical for ensuring a work makes it from concept to feature in he most efficient and effective way.

Working for a company that values accessibility so highly is both inspiring and challenging. I have had to learn as I go and have learned to think critically about whether my designs are meeting WCAG standards. I still have a lot to learn in this area, but am eager to continue getting my feet wet in this aspect design so I can continue to design as inclusively as possible.

As someone who tends to thrive in a learn-by-doing environment, I have really leveled up my skills in desisn tools. Pega moved from Sketch to Figma, and I have taken it upon myself to learn bit-by-bit and am now an advanced user. Leveling up in Figma has also helped my design process as I can build out my designs using componentry for faster iteration and design system alignment.