Stefano
Lead UX Designer
Q: Where you are from?
Malta
Q: If you knew it was going to be your last meal, what would you eat?
A blue cheese burger with fries and a Creme Brûlée for desert.
Q: What led you to pursue a career in your current field, and how has your professional journey evolved over time?
A – Realistically I would have to say that it was my parents pushing me towards software development that eventually evolved into a passion for user interfaces. But nowadays I think that it was always my love for technology, video games, design, and human behavior that shaped my career path in the end.
B – My career path evolved from being a Web Designer doing designs on Photoshop and Illustrator and coding the HTMl and CSS myself, to being deeply involved with the psychology behind user behavior with interfaces and technology.
Q: What was the most challenging project you worked on in your career? How did you overcome any obstacles to achieve a successful outcome?
A – The most challenging project I have ever worked on was a rebrand of a major iGaming operator were my role was to create the user journeys from one brand to another and transition users as smoothly as possible with as little churn as possible. It was a massive undertaking with multiple phases across a full year.
B – The biggest obstacle was making sure that users who entered the domain of the old brand and got redirected to the new brands URL actually knew that this was a transition done on purpose and tha they understood the reasoning behind it.
Q: What motivates you to come to work every day, and how do you stay engaged and enthusiastic about your job?
The people I work with, the environment, and the products I am working on are the biggest motivators for me.
Q: Can you share a defining moment in your life or career that has shaped who you are as a person (rather than a worker)?
There are plenty actually! The top two would have to be moving to another country all alone and leaving everything I knew for 30 years behind. And the second is the birth of my son. Both of these events were life changing in different ways and have had a huge part into shaping me into the person I am today.
Q: How do you maintain a work-life balance, and what activities or hobbies do you enjoy outside of work?
Thanks to the way we work I am able to have a well balanced life where I can enjoy time with my family and even get a few games of airsoft during the week.
Q: What do you hope the future of work looks like? (Please give an example of a challenge you see today, and what a solution might look like, or a specific thing you hope for in the future workplace)
The future of how we work is already here actually. AI has already started helping out a lot of different fields, and with major players investing in VR and AR I look forward to the next wave of technology advancements that we see designers like myself looking into a new dimension of design that was only possible in movies until a few years ago.
Q: What advice would you give to someone starting out in your field or looking to grow to their utmost potential?
Ask questions, show interest, meet people, and surround yourself with like minded people. Oh and one last thing, don’t be restricted by the tools that you use! Be a UX/UI designer don’t stove to be a Figma or Sketch power user.
Q: Where you are from?
Malta
Q: If you knew it was going to be your last meal, what would you eat?
A blue cheese burger with fries and a Creme Brûlée for desert.
Q: What led you to pursue a career in your current field, and how has your professional journey evolved over time?
A – Realistically I would have to say that it was my parents pushing me towards software development that eventually evolved into a passion for user interfaces. But nowadays I think that it was always my love for technology, video games, design, and human behavior that shaped my career path in the end.
B – My career path evolved from being a Web Designer doing designs on Photoshop and Illustrator and coding the HTMl and CSS myself, to being deeply involved with the psychology behind user behavior with interfaces and technology.
Q: What was the most challenging project you worked on in your career? How did you overcome any obstacles to achieve a successful outcome?
A – The most challenging project I have ever worked on was a rebrand of a major iGaming operator were my role was to create the user journeys from one brand to another and transition users as smoothly as possible with as little churn as possible. It was a massive undertaking with multiple phases across a full year.
B – The biggest obstacle was making sure that users who entered the domain of the old brand and got redirected to the new brands URL actually knew that this was a transition done on purpose and tha they understood the reasoning behind it.
Q: What motivates you to come to work every day, and how do you stay engaged and enthusiastic about your job?
The people I work with, the environment, and the products I am working on are the biggest motivators for me.
Q: Can you share a defining moment in your life or career that has shaped who you are as a person (rather than a worker)?
There are plenty actually! The top two would have to be moving to another country all alone and leaving everything I knew for 30 years behind. And the second is the birth of my son. Both of these events were life changing in different ways and have had a huge part into shaping me into the person I am today.
Q: How do you maintain a work-life balance, and what activities or hobbies do you enjoy outside of work?
Thanks to the way we work I am able to have a well balanced life where I can enjoy time with my family and even get a few games of airsoft during the week.
Q: What do you hope the future of work looks like? (Please give an example of a challenge you see today, and what a solution might look like, or a specific thing you hope for in the future workplace)
The future of how we work is already here actually. AI has already started helping out a lot of different fields, and with major players investing in VR and AR I look forward to the next wave of technology advancements that we see designers like myself looking into a new dimension of design that was only possible in movies until a few years ago.
Q: What advice would you give to someone starting out in your field or looking to grow to their utmost potential?
Ask questions, show interest, meet people, and surround yourself with like minded people. Oh and one last thing, don’t be restricted by the tools that you use! Be a UX/UI designer don’t stove to be a Figma or Sketch power user.
