Up-skilling with Interaction Design Foundation
How the Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF) helped me build confidence professionally and personally after a 7-month hiatus
In November 2016, I had the opportunity to live in Singapore for 7-months. At the time, I was working as a full-time freelance web designer under my limited company which was later to become www.cariboucreative.co.uk.
Naturally, I jumped at the chance to visit Singapore again, not only because I was a little bored in my current role, but because Singapore was a place I had visited several times before and felt there was more to discover on this tiny island at the southern tip of Malaysia.
My situation was slightly different from the average tourist's because we were going to be staying with my girlfriend's family in Punggol. My son's 3rd birthday was the day after we arrived and the fact we didn't have any schooling obligations for at least another year meant that it felt like the perfect time for us to visit. We had rented out our house in the UK, secured accommodation and started to think about all the places we wanted to visit whilst we were in South East Asia: Penang, Thailand and Australia were all included in our itinerary.
Photo by Karl Solano on Unsplash
Out of work, Out of mind
Breaking away from the job market by leaving a well-paid job behind played on my mind for the weeks leading up to our departure. With the promise of remote working not coming to fruition (due to reservations with my employer at the time) making me wonder if I had made the right move.
I look back now with no regrets, because a part of me relished in the fact we had the time to discover this amazing part of the world - and no excuse but to pack in so much in in our 7 months there.
Such a long break from the creative scene meant I would have had to work harder when I got back to the UK, in order to keep my skills relevant.
UX Design as a career path was what I wanted to pursue and it became my long-term goal.
Fast forward to June 2017, and I was back on UK soil. Luckily, I managed to secure my old contract in Manchester and whilst there, a colleague recommended me to an online learning platform called The Interaction Design Foundation. This platform suited me perfectly as it allowed me to learn at my own pace, without the pressures of final exams at the end of each course.
The mix of open-ended and multiple-choice questions alongside a variety of articles, exercises and video webinars was ideal as it fitted around my busy family life. Once I enrolled on each 6 to 8-week course I could study at my own pace without apprehension of imminent deadlines and revision for exams.
Now we are in 2023, I am undertaking my 6th distinction in Visual Design: The Ultimate Guide. My journey has not been quick. With a hiatus in 2020 I have to keep reminding myself that 'slow and steady wins the race'.
Photo by Amélie Mourichon on Unsplash
Paul Gooder - Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF)
I feel a lot more confident both in my personal life and in my current role as a senior CRM designer. The UX courses I've studied have allowed me to understand timeless design principles, psychology and how we all think as customers and consumers in the digital arena.
My side project www.charactertoystore.com, an online Shopify store selling plush toys and gifts, has benefited too from the courses, mostly by my favourite course so far: Psychology-of-e-Commerce - How to Sell Online.
Interested in User Experience Design?
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Join like-minded students in a collaborative environment to gain industry recognised certification so you can forward your career.
Whether you are just starting out in the field of UX or you want to further your User Experience journey, I cannot recommend IxDF highly enough.
You will feel encouraged and nurtured as I did, within a collaborative environment with constructive feedback to open-ended questions as well as through active participation in discussion forums, which I found empowering both on a professional and personal level.
Paul Gooder - UX and Digital Designer
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