I'M
Monika RoleskA
SENIOR UX DESIGNER
Hi, my name is Monika and I'm a ✨ Senior UX Designer ✨ who spent the last 4 years designing for a Dutch company called Coolblue.
I've also been a mentor at Ladies that UX Amsterdam where I worked with women who want to get into UX design or simply improve their design skills.
UX Design is a passion of mine, as it is a research-based discipline
and it's a perfect mix of data analysis, desk-work, field work,
creativity and innovation.
KEY SKILLS
USER
RESEARCH
User research should always come as the first step in the product development process. It's very common for companies to think of research as something costly, time-consuming and with low ROI. However, diving straight into the design process may result in missing out on beneficial insights that could have a huge impact on the project.
My favourite research method is a shadowing session. In my job at Coolblue I created a shadowing session training course that came with documentation, examples and templates to be used by other designers, developers and people working in product.
STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT
I love the actual design part and pixel pushing but I think my most useful skill is stakeholder management and involving people in my design process. Final design, though impressive-looking, could be pretty useless if it was not achieved collaboratively. In my job I see that this is what a lot of designers struggle with - not knowing how/ when to involve users, developers, product heads and data wizards. It has been something I like to help people with.
Involving people early, hosting brainstorming and sketching sessions, designing openly and collaboratively and giving your designs up for critique is key to make sure pushback is minimal and nobody is surprised about the outcome.
WORKSHOP
FACILITATION
I love organising workshops and hosting meetings with the goal to create an atmosphere of openess and to welcome feedback at the early stages. Though final decisions lay with the designer, making sure people have a chance to have their say, if they wish to do so, is important to me.
Sessions I hosted:
- Shadowing sesions
- Sketching sessions with users and developers in the same room
- Design critiques
- Feedback speed date (loved this one 😻)
- Retrospectives
- Process improvement meetings
PORTFOLIO
Context
In my job at Coolblue, I was working with two development teams that both worked on the same product - a back office software for stock management. Those two applications (web) were pretty complex, consisted of multiple interrelated pages and were used for ordering, managing and recalling stock for our webshop. The goal was to make sure we have the right amount of stock for our selling needs.
My role
During my 4 years at the company, I have worked on many projects that included creating brand new software, migration & redesigns of current software, rebranding as well as constant improvements of the applications. As a senior designer, I spent a bit of time doing side projects that I am very proud of.
Mentoring
In my free time, I have been volunteering as a mentor for Ladies that UX Amsterdam. It is very important for me to give back to the UX community as I still vividly remember my junior days and lovely designers who helped me pave my way :)
Working with people who aim to switch careers and build their personal brand as UX designers is very fulfilling for me and helps me improve my communication, feedback giving and leadership skills.
Here’s what some of my mentees say about our collaboration:
Sonali Gupta
Product Designer @ KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
"Working with Monika has been a game-changer for my career. Her expertise and guidance have helped me hone my skills, understand UX principles, and grow as a designer. Her personalized feedback, patient explanations, and constnt support have been invaluable. I highly recommend Monika to anyone looking to level up their UX design skills!"
Product Designer, Digital Health @ Gerresheimer
"Starting your career in design comes with challenges - making the perfect portfolio, learning to navigate the lengthy recruitment process in different types of companies and even negotiating salaries. I was so lucky to have Monika as a coach during this period, as her support helped me immensely to start my career as a product designer. She advised me on my portfolio, provided great advice with regards to my interviewing skills, and overall established herself as a person I can rely on for anything. I attribute a large part of my early career success to her mentorship skills!"