My background

My design journey began in high school with a passion for animation that gradually evolved into a more structured path through graphic design. Initially, this creative outlet was simply a hobby consisting of school projects and design work for friends and game-related ventures. As I entered college, my design work transitioned to freelance projects, establishing a more professional foundation while I simultaneously pursued engineering and programming studies.

The formal educational path in programming provided valuable technical understanding despite my preference for visual rather than code based creation. This unique combination of design sensibility with technical comprehension would later prove invaluable in my UX/UI career trajectory.

After completing my programming degree, I joined a small startup company in Romania with just four to five employees in a city near the Danube River. Over nine years, our organization expanded dramatically to approximately 120 team members. My initial focus centered on branding and graphic design under the guidance of a senior designer who helped establish best practices and accelerate my professional development.

Within two years, I transitioned to UX/UI work, leveraging my technical background to inform design decisions. This foundation allowed me to incorporate motion graphics into my skill set while building a comprehensive understanding of digital product creation over the subsequent seven years.

My challenge

As I sought to progress from UX/UI designer to product designer, I encountered several significant obstacles:

  • Knowledge validation needs: Despite years of practical experience, I needed to verify that my self taught skills aligned with industry standards and best practices
  • Information source reliability: The abundance of design resources online created uncertainty about which methodologies and approaches were truly authoritative
  • Skill gap identification: Without structured assessment, identifying specific areas for improvement proved challenging
  • Time constraints: Balancing intensive project delivery deadlines with professional development limited learning opportunities
  • Team knowledge diversity: Our design team members specialized in different aspects of design, from research to UI, creating knowledge silos

These challenges collectively highlighted the need for a more structured, validated learning approach that could effectively complement my practical experience while accommodating real world time constraints.

Finding my solution

My journey to more structured learning began when a mid level designer on our team introduced us to Uxcel as an engaging way to develop design skills. Despite initial time limitations due to project deadlines, our team eventually incorporated the platform into our development process.

What made Uxcel particularly valuable was how it facilitated knowledge exchange among our design team. Different team members specialized in various aspects of design, from research to UI, creating natural opportunities for cross functional learning as we shared insights from our respective focus areas.

The platform transformed our individual learning efforts into a collaborative growth experience. We regularly discussed new concepts and exchanged perspectives on different approaches to design challenges. This collaborative dimension significantly enhanced the practical application of theoretical knowledge.

Beyond formal courses, we found tremendous value in the interactive elements of the platform, particularly the arcade style games that helped sharpen our ability to identify design patterns and solutions quickly. These gamified components made consistent skill development engaging rather than feeling like an additional work obligation.

What distinguished this learning experience from previous approaches was its strategic integration with practical work. The bite sized nature of the content allowed me to focus on specific knowledge gaps when needed, creating immediate practical applications for new concepts.

Rather than requiring months of theoretical study before practical application, I could quickly identify relevant methodologies for current projects. As I explain, If I have a project that I need to work on and I need to look in an area like user research, I could go right away to Uxcel, explore that module, and within two hours know what methodology to use and why that is the best approach. That is the win.

This just in time learning approach proved particularly valuable during my extensive interview process for my current position, which involved five to eight stages of assessment. The comprehensive product design knowledge I had acquired through targeted learning enabled me to demonstrate expertise across multiple dimensions of the discipline.

The learning process itself was designed to enhance retention through deliberate challenge. As I note, all the tests or courses are quite comprehensive and structured in a manner that actually forces you to make mistakes, prompting you to review the information again. The questions are created to require careful attention, which significantly improves knowledge retention.

Effect on my career

The structured, targeted learning approach directly contributed to significant career advancement:

  • Career progression: Successfully transitioned from a UX/UI designer at a startup to a product designer at a major UK fintech company
  • Interview performance: Successfully navigated an extensive 5 8 stage interview process at a leading organization
  • Knowledge application confidence: Developed ability to quickly identify and apply appropriate methodologies to diverse design challenges
  • Team contribution: Enhanced capability to share insights across specialized design domains
  • Validated expertise: Gained confidence in skills through independent verification of knowledge

This transformation would not have been possible without filling critical knowledge gaps through strategic learning. Many of the product design concepts that proved essential during my interview process came directly from the focused learning modules I had completed.

Having experienced multiple learning platforms, including Coursera and more comprehensive offerings like the UX Design Institute, I found distinct advantages in the Uxcel approach for working professionals.

Unlike more extensive programs requiring six months of study for a single knowledge domain, the focused, modular approach allowed immediate application of concepts. As I observe, I understand the need to learn something in detail, but dedicating that much time just to learn one thing is impractical when you can learn most effectively through experience, doing, and experimenting.

The risk with traditional comprehensive courses is information overload without practical application. I believe you will forget most content if you are not using it immediately. The advantage of focused, bite sized learning is that it provides immediately applicable knowledge when needed for specific projects.

This approach aligns with how designers actually work in professional environments, where specific methodologies and approaches are needed for current challenges rather than attempting to master the entire discipline before application.

Advice to other professionals

For designers seeking professional growth, I emphasize several key strategies based on my experience:

1. Focus on knowledge application over accumulation: Identify what specific knowledge you need for current projects rather than attempting to master everything at once.

2. Choose learning approaches that match your workflow: Look for resources that provide immediately applicable insights rather than requiring months of study before practical use.

3. Validate information through multiple sources: When information appears consistently across different authoritative sources, it builds confidence in its reliability and applicability.

4. Balance theoretical knowledge with practical application: Understanding principles is important, but the true test comes in successful application to real world challenges.

The journey from graphic designer to product designer demonstrates how strategic, application focused learning can transform career trajectories when aligned with practical experience and collaborative knowledge sharing within a supportive team environment.

This approach to professional development does not replace the value of hands on experience, but rather enhances it by providing structured frameworks, validated methodologies, and focused skill development that directly applies to current and future work challenges.