How Kia up-leveled her skills at 23 years old and went from studying UX to leading UX research at Omaha Steaks

“Working with a small company with just an idea, you realize how essential It is to be successful that you have your users involved in all parts of the conversation. Everything should start and end with a customer in mind.”

The challenge

UX interested Kia, but she had no formal experience or portfolio

Kia was an Interactive Digital Media student at Northwest Missouri State University who wanted to become a user experience (UX) designer. She was eager to apply her studies, but she didn’t know exactly how to get started. All she knew was that UX involved focusing on what the user had to say about a product, and that piqued her interest.

“I always knew I was going to do something strategic that involved working with other people,” Kia recalls. “When I discovered UX, I knew immediately that that's what I wanted to do. I was going to be passionate about that work.”

Like any beginner with self-awareness, she also knew how little she knew. And she was hungry to learn more.

“I had never been part of a product life cycle,” remembers Kia. “How does an idea go from just a couple of people in a room to something that thousands of users are using every day? I had no clue how that happened.”

Kia wanted experience, a portfolio, and to learn everything she could about UX. She wanted to practice solving the kinds of problems UX designers solved, and more importantly, she wanted to know if she would enjoy (and succeed at) UX design. She needed an established mentor who could give her opportunities to level up her skills and connect her to other industry leaders.

“UX is a very new industry. There’s not a lot of formal education on it,” says Kia. “I knew that I needed to gain experience and work with people who actually do this for a living to get an understanding of what this role even looks like.”

“How does an idea go from just a couple people in a room to something that thousands of users are using every day? I had no clue how that happened.”

The process

Building confidence, finding passion, and learning as much as possible

Kia reached out to her college advisor to share her newfound interest in UX design, and her advisor put her in touch with Nick Rimsa, Tortoise Labs owner and product designer. Kia was direct with Nick about wanting to learn how to build and test products. After a few assignments, Nick saw that she had raw talent and was eager to learn. They started working together to rapidly develop Kia’s skills and build a portfolio.

“I felt like Nick and the Tortoise Labs team believed in me, so I believed in myself. And that confidence just changed everything for me,” says Kia.

Over the course of three months as part of the team, Kia worked through every step of the product life cycle, from defining a hypothesis, listing customer requirements, and creating visual design mockups, to interviewing users and making improvements. She learned everything she could about how to take a product from an idea to a sustainable, profitable reality.

“One of the biggest takeaways that I got from that experience was that everything should start and end with a customer in mind. You want to try to eliminate design waste,” says Kia. “You talk to users, discover problems, learn what their needs are, and establish what they want. By understanding what the true problem is, you can start being innovative about the solution.”

Step by step, Kia built up her UX design expertise. She realized her passion for user experience research, and jumped in to sharpen her research skills at every opportunity.

“I wore a lot of hats at Tortoise Labs. It was excellent, because I wasn't exactly sure where I was going to fit in the UX world,” says Kia. “Once I started realizing that I’m passionate about research, I was able to hone that skill. I learned a lot about the customer interview process. Those opportunities ultimately got me to where I am today.”

After spending a few months at Tortoise Labs, Kia returned to school to finish up her degree. With her new expertise, the world of UX and customer research was hers for the taking.

“I wore a lot of hats at Tortoise Labs. Once I started realizing that I’m passionate about research, I was able to hone that skill and I learned a lot about the customer interview process. Those opportunities ultimately got me to where I am today.”

The results

Kia went from studying UX design to leading it, all within one year

Kia graduated with an offer to join the UX team at Omaha Steaks. Within a year, she was leading UX research.

“It doesn't have to take 10 or 15 years for you to get where you want to be,” says Kia.

As a lead UX researcher, Kia is the liaison between her creative team and IT. She designs enhancements for the Omaha Steaks website, app, and future projects. Most importantly, she puts prototypes in front of users, and takes their feedback to heart.

“It's easy to get tunnel vision,” says Kia. “You're designing what you think is right. Something I learned from Tortoise Labs is that it's essential to collaborate, especially for UX. Collaborating on a smaller scale with Tortoise Labs made it easier for me to do in my current role.”

Kia is not only excelling in her current role — she’s thrilled by it. She loves making the user experience better.

“It's very exciting when I'm moderating a study and I start hearing users say the exact same thing in the same part of the test about the same problem,” says Kia. “It’s like the aha moment that we could improve their experience. We could add a brand new feature that they would love, and it would change the way they use the product. To me, that's just such a rush, and I love it.”

Kia’s advice to students who are in her old shoes? Keep learning.

“Never be afraid to ask questions, even when you get into that professional setting and it's really scary,” says Kia. “Always ask because smart people ask questions.”

Kia plans to continue learning, asking questions, and being guided by her customers’ experiences as she designs innovative products that overcome problems for her users.

“Everything should start and end with a customer in mind. You want to try to eliminate design waste. You talk to users, discover problems, learn what their needs are, and establish what they want. By understanding what the true problem is, you can start being innovative about the solution.”

Learn more about our UX process

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