This class is helping me put my impostor syndrome to bed. The past two weeks have been a productive and rewarding experience. Most notably, I’ve been getting back into making designs in Figma, and this time, I actually know what I’m doing.
Throughout my web design journey, I’ve noticed a pattern. Upon learning about a new tool, software, coding language, or CSS property, I often find myself eager to start using it to create the complex designs I see in my head. Lacking knowledge and experience, I usually have a frustrating time producing a result that inevitably falls short of my original vision. Then, the semester ends. After taking a break, I can typically come back and create much higher quality content than I could just a few weeks prior.
My Figma learning path has very much followed this pattern. In AAD90, I felt very unfamiliar with and underprepared to use Figma. I found that my assignments were turning out much more bland and generic than I had envisioned. This was mostly due to running out of time to add the finer details that a polished design requires.
Now, with a little over a semester of UI/UX design under my belt, the opposite is true. I have mistakes to learn from and experience to lean on. Learning Figma feels like the final step in turning web design from a struggle into a challenge. It was no struggle at all to create my Midterm First Draft, and I’m looking forward to expanding upon it after getting some peer feedback.
I’ve also enjoyed learning about all of the different CSS Layout options. I was a little apprehensive about diving head-first into CSS Grid, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn I could learn the bulk of it in a single afternoon. I also enjoyed the refreshers on Flexbox and CSS Positioning. While I still have a ways to go before I can say I’ve mastered these layout techniques, I feel considerably less lost than I was this time last year. Its very rewarding to be able to complete the challenge assignments with little to no outside help.
I don’t have much more to say about these past two weeks, other than that they were reassuring — I can see that I’m learning instead of just tumbling my way through the assignments. And, most importantly, I’m having fun! I can’t wait to take my knowledge from this class and start working on my side project ideas.
When you feel lost and directionless, Figma will be your guiding light.
Cheers, and happy coding,
Alex