Initially, it was surprisingly challenging to create work within such a short timeframe. As I’m generally quite fortunate to have lengthier timelines for UX work, I struggled to refrain from overthinking and overcomplicating the designs, while trying to maintain a strong emphasis on UI principles. Additionally, it was fascinating to confront a very precise design problem each day. These challenges frequently included to device-specific issues, which of course meant the consideration of distinct design principles.

Every day, I would receive a short brief outlining the task for the day. Each challenge presented was completely different , focusing on a diverse range of features and functionalities. For instance, I was tasked with designing a car interface, a location tracker, and a user profile. The challenges did not specify colour palettes, fonts, imagery, or content, leaving these choices to be made by the designer. While this creative freedom is exciting, it also presented a significant challenge, as I had minimal restrictions or limitations. To address this, I would select a product, company, or client to align with each brief. This provided me with more structure and enabled me to quickly make design decisions.

Although I'm still in the process of completing this challenge, I've been pleasantly surprised at how effective it has been as an upskilling exercise. There's always a risk of becoming overly specialised in your current role or project, and it's been interesting to be pushed to consider scenarios, platforms, or devices that I haven't had the opportunity to work on as a UX designer.

It's been a refreshing reminder that if the need arises to iterate quickly and produce designs, it's entirely possible. Of course, as someone with a strong background in UX design, I would always advocate for following proper UX methodologies. However, I also firmly believe that the ability to execute visually sound UI designs is no longer optional but rather an essential skill that all UX designers should possess.