Meet Ziva Xu: A Human-Centered UX Designer 

First impressions are closely connected to design. Design is what attracts our attention, solves our problems, and makes us want to purchase a specific product or service.

But not just any design – this is all achieved through UX (user experience) design. 

If you were ever wondering what a UX designer really does or what kind of skills they possess, you’ve come to the right place. 

One of the members of our .ME family is Ziva Xu – an aspiring UX designer determined to give the users what they want. 

Let’s meet her! 

Who Is Ziva Xu?

Ziva Xu is a UX designer from Washington. As a recent graduate, she is currently on a job hunt and looking for a full-time position. She got her degree in Human Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington. 

If you’re wondering what exactly human-centered design is, we’ve got you covered. The notion refers to the practice of putting real people, their perspectives, and their emotions at the center of the development process. It describes a design that is more intuitive and focuses on the user. The aim is to create an end product that offers a real solution to problems your audience is facing. Basically, human-centered design is the design created by people for people. 

So, based on her career of choice, we see that Ziva cares deeply about the humans around her. She wants to create designs tailored to give straight answers to actual problems. She uses her design to actually help people. And we think that’s beautiful. 

Being a human-centered UX designer surely makes Ziva feel she is doing something important. Something that truly matters. Something that will leave a lasting impression and, ultimately, make the world a better place. 

However, design is not the only thing that makes Ziva’s heart beat faster. Ziva is also an avid human rights promoter fully aware of the issues international students face. She uses her voice and skills to help close the cross-cultural gap. She also uses every opportunity she can to empower women and encourage them to join the tech world.  

A UX Designer Who Puts People In Focus

As a human-centered UX designer, Ziva tends to work on projects that deliver user-focused improvements. 

One of her first jobs was that of a design director at Panopath Education and Technology. She was in charge of designing a wide variety of items, including tote bags, posters, books, and banners. She was also the person behind a number of successful branding strategies.

As a marketing and design intern, Ziva devised marketing strategies and product-oriented campaigns in the field of artificial intelligence. Her campaigns were particularly well received by audiences across various social media platforms.

Her latest position as a UX designer and researcher for Dropbox gave her plenty of opportunities for professional growth. She worked on creating a mobile-first file organization system developed based on user habits. The aim of the system is to address user pain points discovered after conducting thorough UX research. In addition, Ziva worked on the animated project presentation video, as well as poster design for Dropbox. 

Besides working towards a UX designer career, Ziva has dedicated a significant amount of time and effort to volunteer work and social impact activities.

As part of her volunteering experience, Ziva started off as a mentor in the International Student Mentorship Program. Not even a full year had passed before she became the president. She quickly became responsible for a student body consisting of over 70 students. Her main goal was to instill leadership skills in international students. She was also at the head of marketing and organizational structure, working toward increased visibility and widespread recognition. 

Moreover, Ziva was a student representative, advocating for international student welfare regarding university budgeting and policy decisions. She also spent more than three years as a student researcher at the University, conducting her very own three-week study focused on design justice in HCI pedagogy.

What Kind Of Skills Does A UX Designer Need?

The first and foremost quality a person should possess in order to become a UX designer is a problem-solving mindset. You need to be able to spot the problem, analyze it, and offer an effective solution that will put the user first. Also, you should master the art of explaining complex notions in a simple manner. Knowing how, when, and where to do your research is a must. 

In addition to personal qualities, you need to have proper education and the skill set that goes with it. Grab every opportunity to learn, and make sure to enrich your institutional education with some hands-on experience. That’s how you gain the most comprehensive knowledge and increase your chances of landing an amazing, highly-paid job. 

Together with her impressive education, Ziva has quite a few essential UX designer skills she brings to the table. She is experienced in UI/Interaction design, user research, data analysis, data visualization, graphic design, and web design and development. She is also knowledgeable about the most fundamental designer tools and languages. Those include Figma, Adobe CC, Python, Ruby, Java, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Git, CMS web design, and others. 

For a more detailed overview of how she managed to put her skills to use, check out her personal website – zivaxu.me. 

Parting Words

A UX designer is the one who ensures that the product or service is of value to the end user. It is up to them to design a highly-functional and approachable product that meets user needs and requirements. A product that delivers. 

Our Ziva Xu does exactly that. 

Her designs solve problems, provide meaningful experiences, and empower users. What’s more, her engagement in social impact activities reveals that Ziva is a true human-centered designer. 

And we cannot be more proud of her!