{"id":458225,"date":"2021-11-03T03:43:15","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T03:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/welovesalt.com\/news\/2021\/11\/ux-journeys-jetstars-ux-lead-max-ricca-3\/"},"modified":"2023-08-25T12:39:57","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T11:39:57","slug":"ux-journeys-jetstars-ux-lead-max-ricca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/welovesalt.com\/news\/inspiring-interviews\/ux-journeys-jetstars-ux-lead-max-ricca\/","title":{"rendered":"UX Journeys: Jetstar\u2019s UX Lead Max Ricca"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the coming months, we\u2019ll be catching up with some of Melbourne\u2019s UX Leaders about how they got into the industry, and what tips they have for people looking to get into UX or progress their careers in this \u2018UX Journeys\u2019 interview series.<\/strong><\/p>\n

First up, Salt\u2019s Principal Consultant Jo Corner<\/a> from our Melbourne office caught up with Max Ricca<\/a>, UX Lead at Jetstar.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jo:<\/strong> Hi Max, thanks for taking some time out to chat with us!
\nFirstly, I\u2019m curious to know how you got into UX in the first place?
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Max:<\/strong> When I was at university, there was no such thing as \u2018UX\u2019. I was studying as a Graphic Designer and Art Director in Europe, there were social media campaigns, and we were working on website architecture and e-commerce, we knew we had to have the right user journey, but UX wasn\u2019t formulated like it is today, and no one was doing user testing. But the more I worked, the more that became the future.<\/p>\n

I remember when my boss came back from New York and was like, \u201cGuys look at this, it\u2019s called an iPad\u201d \u2014 it wasn\u2019t even on the market in Europe yet. It was the time of the big financial crisis, TV ads and campaigns were dying, agencies were falling down as they didn\u2019t have clients to work on, and suddenly those small agencies that did websites started to flourish as they were selling a new thing.<\/p>\n

I was lucky that I made my move early, as soon as there was a change into digital, I was like, \u201cLet\u2019s play with these new devices \u2014 what is the user journey?\u201d We started user testing very early on, it wasn\u2019t groundbreaking, but it was something new, and I was like, \u201cI\u2019m interested in this stuff!\u201d<\/p>\n

How have you seen the industry change since then?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

There was a focus on finding generalists who could do everything all at once, rather than specialists which you see more and more these days. Also agile, that’s been the big shift. I still look for someone who is an all-rounder for my team, as it is more suited to the agile ways of working.<\/p>\n

Having someone that can get involved at any part of the process is a big plus for me.<\/p>\n

The market trend now seems to be people focusing on one side rather than the other, I feel like there are a lot of people who don\u2019t want to move out of their comfort zone, for instance, someone says, \u201cI\u2019m a UXer, I\u2019m not touching the UI\u201d which makes me sad because when we talk about designing an experience or designing a digital product, you can\u2019t really separate UX from UI, so saying I\u2019m not touching any UI means I don\u2019t want to be part of the rest of the process. It\u2019s an entire journey, we should look at the journey holistically.<\/p>\n

This is from my personal experience as I have always been focused on learning as much as I could. If I was paired with an iOS Developer, I was trying to read what they were writing in code just to understand, just to be curious, so it\u2019s hard for me to justify hiring someone who only specialises in one bit or the other. There will always be someone who is stronger at one end or the other, and that is where we strike a balance between having a specialist or having someone strong in UX or UI, but happy to do everything.<\/p>\n

Why do you think there is a push towards specialists?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s good if you can allow yourself to have multiple designers in one area, in pairs, that would be amazing but it\u2019s limiting if you have a small team. For instance, we have a small team, so we can\u2019t do that. In big companies where you have a lot of products, it could be a bit of a struggle to have two dedicated designers on each product.<\/p>\n

How did you get to where you are now?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s about building up experience, right? The big trend I\u2019ve seen (and this is everywhere from when I was an Art Director in a small agency in Europe) is a lot of interns and people fresh out of university and just starting in UX, who are acting like they already know everything and aren\u2019t willing to learn. That\u2019s not a good approach in any kind of work, it\u2019s just that Designers may be more affected as we might treat what we do as our baby, like, \u201cIt\u2019s so precious to me, no one can touch it\u201d rather than thinking, \u201cHow can I improve this?\u201d My advice would be, \u201cNever stop learning\u201d, I\u2019m still learning new things all the time.<\/p>\n

What tips do you have for candidates who are just starting out in their UX career?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Take as much as you can from each job, use the workplace as a learning ground.<\/li>\n
  2. Find a good place to work and don\u2019t worry about salary, a lot of people think, \u201cI\u2019m a UX Designer, I need to earn X amount\u201d but my advice is to find a product you like, it\u2019s the experience you can take out of that job that will make you grow career-wise. And then the money will take care of itself.<\/li>\n
  3. I\u2019d also say sticking in one company for a bit is good but don\u2019t be afraid to change, you won\u2019t be exposed to as many ways of working if you stay in one company for years and years.<\/li>\n
  4. Participate in any contest you can. Anything that gives you something you can show as part of your CV or folio.<\/li>\n
  5. Finally, and most important is the portfolio. Once you have the tools, build up a portfolio. You don\u2019t need to have a job to do this. If you\u2019re just starting out and you don\u2019t yet have a folio, I\u2019d suggest you identify any product in the digital world or any website, and start analysing and reshaping it, revision a new journey for that website or service, and put that in your folio. That shows willingness, it says to me \u2014 I really want to do this and that\u2019s why I\u2019m investing my own time in this. Choose products you would like to work on, it also tells the people you\u2019re interviewing with what your passion is. That was the advice I was given 10 years ago and it\u2019s still relevant.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What do you think makes a good portfolio?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    The portfolio needs to be online. I started with the books of A3 paper. But this is 2021, it needs to be digital, that\u2019s it. It also shows me you care to put effort; you really care about what you\u2019re doing, and you want to show it to people, and show it in the right way. A PDF is always A4, it\u2019s not the right way to show me. Anyone can build with the tools that are available online, you can build it in two hours \u2014 what takes the longest is preparing the assets. Online portfolios are more shareable, and they give you more visibility. I hate scrolling slide by slide on a PDF, it also tells me already that the best way you have to present something is a PDF.<\/p>\n

    In our team, we would never present on PDF. Everything is digital, we would use Miro board. If you use PDF, you\u2019re not showing that you\u2019re up-to-date with the tools.<\/p>\n

    What makes a candidate stand out in the interview process?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Apart from a good folio and the relevant skills for the role, culture fit is always the deciding factor. There are different cultures with different teams. For me, the passion needs to be there, I like strong-willed people who are still able to listen. You need to have the chance to shine of course, but you do need to be able to sell yourself.<\/p>\n

    Are there any future trends or tools on the horizon that people should look out for?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    I\u2019m bad with tools, we\u2019re still using Sketch! We\u2019re moving to Figma though. The thing is tools keep changing, and we have so many files and so many products that sometimes the migration effort just doesn\u2019t justify moving everything as maybe in six months the original tool will have the same feature. But with Figma, from a design system perspective is more powerful, we are making the jump now it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n

    As voice (Google Home, Siri, Alexa, etc.) gets bigger and more widely used, I think there will be more that we have to consider from a UX perspective, and it\u2019s going to be a different UX, it\u2019s going to be a serviced UX, it\u2019s a third dimension.<\/p>\n

    Also, there is going to be more virtual reality. Since COVID-19 took over, more and more is happening online. I have friends who have got into bike simulators and driving simulators, and they race against each other online, so what is going to be the next step? Who knows? But there will need to be more and more UX considerations needed as the technology advances.<\/p>\n

    Things must be super busy with you at Jetstar now everything is finally opening up! What can we expect in the coming months?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    To fly more! With domestic and international borders set to open, our focus is on all those digital tools we need for us to be back in the air. We\u2019re trying to be one step ahead of the government. With Australia, Japan and Singapore phasing different approaches for different rules, it\u2019s a bit complicated. We need a platform where we can easily share COVID-19 tests, vaccine passports, etc., the focus needs to be on making it easier for people to fly again.<\/p>\n

    From the data, we know people can\u2019t wait to fly again. There\u2019s a lot of exciting plans in the roadmap for the next two years\u2026 watch this space!<\/p>\n

    What are the biggest challenges your team are facing?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Not being allowed to fly! We were a big team before and unfortunately, we had to scale back to be a small team with a focus on lean ways of working. We\u2019re working on a design system, to make it quicker and easier to implement changes across all platforms. There\u2019s also a big focus on accessibility, to make flying accessible for everyone.<\/p>\n

    Thanks Max! Flying again sounds heavenly.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re looking for your next role in UX or to grow your team, email Jo Corner at jcorner@welovesalt.com<\/a><\/strong>.
    \n\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \n

    Are you an employer who needs some help with hiring digital talent? Visit our Employer page<\/strong><\/a> to submit a short brief and we\u2019ll be in touch shortly.<\/p>\n

    Looking for a new Creative job? Check out our current opportunities on our job page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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