DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / January 9, 2021 / As the world continues to shift digital, many people begin to seek employment in the tech industry, and often, jobs in tech are heavily dominated by men. However, UX Designer, Nandi Manning, is making sure that this reality changes as she grows a UX design community, named UX HER, that is dedicated to empowering women of color in UX and digital product design.
Manning explained UX design as "Something beyond visual design and making apps look pretty. It has everything to do with how the product feels. You have to consider essential things like accessibility and usability in designing human-centered digital products. This is why having more diverse teams in this industry is crucial. There have to be more inclusive environments while building digital experiences."
UX HER was created a year ago and is dedicated to providing women of color in UX design the tools, resources, and community to help them jump start and grow their careers. UX HER provides a supportive online network, e-learning opportunities, and a free job board to help women navigate their careers and find community in the field of UX and digital product design.
"I have been helping bring digital products to the market since 2017 and working in the digital product design and the tech industry for the last couple of years has been very isolating to say the least," Manning revealed, "I felt so alone as the only woman of color in my department, so I began to look for other women in my field online and all of them turned out to have a desire for a similar sense of community. We needed a safe place to talk about our experiences, get career advice, and learn from one another. This need is what drove me to create UX HER."
Manning offers a group mentorship program within the online platform where aspiring UX designers can access tools and resources to help them land their first UX role. The program lasts for eight weeks in total. Within the program, mentee's are taught how to polish their portfolios and garner recruiters and hiring managers' attention. "There will also be a lot of time given for discussion where everyone can talk about their portfolios, resume, or projects. We will also give our mentees access to a library filled with design challenges to use as case studies, which would be beneficial for their portfolios," Manning shared. The Founder also ensures that she is checking in with her mentees daily to keep track of their progress.
On top of providing mentorship and community regarding UX design, Manning would like to stress the general importance of women empowerment in reaching their full potential in terms of their career, "Another major reason why I created UX HER was because I had a very unconventional background for someone in my field. I don't have a college degree, and I got my initial knowledge of UX design from a bootcamp. I would love to remind other women that their dreams are attainable no matter what."