![\"UX](\"https:\/\/uxstudioteam.com\/ux-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/AdobeStock_60501103-720x477.jpeg\")
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As a UX researcher, I am constantly looking for patterns. Can we define a UX personality type? What attributes help UXers do their job on a daily basis? Has this job shaped their personality? I organized a loose discussion with three of my teammates to learn more.<\/p>\n
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Once upon a time, three young people wanted to change career path. At UX studio, Luca Morovi\u00e1n and Rui Ramalhete work as designers and \u00c1gi Kiss as a researcher in UX. They each have taken an interesting road. Do they have a UX researcher or UX designer personality?<\/p>\n
Their personality traits helped them during this journey, and they also changed themselves. They agreed to share some bits of their stories to help answer the question: does an ideal UX personality type exist?<\/p>\n
![\"Agi,](\"https:\/\/uxstudioteam.com\/ux-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Screen-Shot-2018-02-26-at-0.53.05-1-720x244.png\")
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I wondered how and why did these three decide to jump into UX? Had they always aimed to?<\/strong><\/p>\n Rui<\/b>: “I was studying economics in high school and didn\u2019t like it that much. One day when I was 17, my sister saw me creating a presentation for class. She realized something artistic in me as I prepared the slides with care, made them beautiful. I paid much more attention to that than the actual contents.<\/p>\n A few weeks later, she took me to her workplace, a publishing office, to see the graphic designers at work. It fascinated me! I thought, \u2018Okay, I definitely want to do this instead of economics.\u2019 I started over with arts and have never worked in anything else since.”<\/p>\n \u00c1gnes<\/b>: \u201cMy story is a bit different. I was working as a researcher on social marketing campaigns that helped people avoid road death. I wanted to change career path, so I started applying for different positions. During an interview, they asked me whether I knew anything about UX research<\/span><\/a>. I didn\u2019t have a clue about it at the time it, but somehow it caught my attention. Then after the interview, I started reading about the subject, and I felt it really close to me and my personality. That\u2019s how it all began.\u201d<\/p>\n Luca:<\/b> \u201cI always had a problem calling myself a designer. I studied special education and disability studies, so I always felt like a cheater. I thought \u2018I\u2019m doing it for fun, but I\u2019m not a real one\u2019.<\/p>\n I\u2019d already worked as a UX designer when I was invited to a meetup titled \u2018I am a designer\u2019, with big names invited. The first speaker was Miklos Kiss<\/a>, a famous Hungarian designer \u2013 and I came after him. I felt very anxious, thinking to myself: \u2018Who would be interested in me after his presentation?\u2019 I tried to relax and somehow I managed to finish my presentation.<\/p>\n After the presentations came a panel discussion, and to my utter surprise, people were most interested in me! Maybe they could relate to my story more than the others\u2019, I don\u2019t know. There, I thought \u2018Okay, maybe I\u2019m a designer\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n They all started with UX as a second choice, as if they had somehow slid into UX along the way. So, in my quest to understand what makes a UX personality, a UX researcher or a UX designer personality,\u00a0 I wanted to find out more about how their characteristics relate to this job.<\/strong><\/p>\n Rui<\/b>: \u201cI know it sounds weird, but it was stress. I really stress out about a lot of things. As a user, a bad experience with a product or service really makes me angry and discouraged to try it anymore. If I try to use something and it fails, I stop using it after two seconds and go for a better product that deserves my time. I wanted to do something about this problem. I wanted to make products that actually work well.\u201d<\/p>\n Luca<\/b>: \u201cTo me, accepting that everyone experiences things differently was very hard but liberating at the same time. I had had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities, and there I had to learn that some people see the whole world completely differently! I learned that it works like that in UX design as well: you cannot design something that only you think works \u2013 you need to accept that it does not necessarily work for others.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00c1gnes<\/b>: \u201cIt was a process for me. Three interesting things have always held true about me as a person:<\/p>\n I\u2019d had them in me before, and it thought, \u2018Hey, UX is a field I could use these in\u2019. And I was right.\u201d<\/p>\n My final question dealt with how working in user experience design had helped them improve their skills, personality, and everyday life. Is the UX personality made rather than innate?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00c1gi:<\/b> \u201cPatience is the most important thing that I have learned. Before I became a UX researcher I was really impatient. I was rushing in every conversation, saying \u2018go, go, go!\u2019 \u00a0inside my head. Now I\u2019m different. I take my time to understand.<\/p>\n I also learned \u2018ultimate answers\u2019 to every question do not exist. I had always thought that if I finally found a solution for something, that it\u2019s the right one. If I found it, I won’t\u00a0need to think much, just start applying it. But there are multiple paths you can go down and none are perfect. You need to take time and evaluate them.\u201d<\/p>\n Luca:<\/b> \u201cI always had problems with not knowing everything. I used to get easily frustrated when something went unplanned. Here at UX studio<\/span><\/a>, I needed to accept that we have very little knowledge of a subject when starting a new project, and that\u2019s OK. There\u2019s no need to freak out because we\u2019ll learn new things along the way. Fortunately, I started using this \u2018knowing of not knowing\u2019 approach in my real life as well. I try new things, I learn \u2013 and realize that nothing bad happens if I don\u2019t know it all at first.\u201d<\/p>\n Rui: \u201c<\/b>I learned a lot about communication. <\/b>I used to talk only when I needed to. Doing this job had a great effect on my communication skills because I have to do it on a daily basis with clients. I learned that everything I want to communicate can be summarized and divided into smaller chunks of information. This way, others don\u2019t get bored and I only talk about what\u2019s really important. Now, talking to strangers or giving a presentation comes much easier to me.\u201d<\/p>\n My colleagues\u2019 insights showed that no such thing as one \u201cUX personality\u201d exists. UX forms a way of thinking that comes with the notion that we don\u2019t know everything and we need to communicate openly in order to find the best solutions for problems.<\/p>\n One common trait these three UXers all share, they have managed to take a lot away from this job \u2013 they have learned things that can be used in other fields of their lives. When it comes to working UX, personality matters only to the extent that you should be able to acquire this mindset; everything else can come with time.<\/p>\n Thanks, \u00c1gi, Luca and Rui for taking the time to help me out! \ud83d\ude42 <\/b><\/p>\n Product Managers seeking help with user experience or wanting to learn more about our product design process should check out our free e-book, <\/b>Product Manager\u2019s Guide to UX Design<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n![\"UX](\"https:\/\/uxstudioteam.com\/ux-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/UX-Personality-Luca-I-am-a-designer-720x538.jpg\")
2. What parts of your personality helped you become a UXer?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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“Your version of reality makes up only one little part of the whole world.”<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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![\"UX](\"https:\/\/uxstudioteam.com\/ux-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/UX-Personality-Agnes-Kiss-teaching-720x450.jpg\")
3. How has this job shaped your personality?<\/b><\/h2>\n
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“The mind-blowing parts of a conversation come when you pay attention and listen calmly.”<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
![\"UX](\"https:\/\/uxstudioteam.com\/ux-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/UX-Personality-Rui-retreat-720x480.jpg\")
Conclusion: does a “UX personality type” exist?<\/h2>\n