In the picture: Markus Uustalu.
At the beginning of the spring semester, we give the first-year students the opportunity to share their thoughts. Although Mark Uustalu is a first-year digital product design student, he already has representative professional experience in the area as he has worked in the field of design and UX/UI before studying at EKA. I guess you could say that In the case of Mark Uustalu, the statement could be valid “Work hard, have fun and make history” or should I say “Work hard, wear a sombrero and make history.”
Name: Mark Uustalu
Position: UX/UI Designer, Eksamile and MJAU Design
Relation to EKA: First-year student of Digital Product Design
1. What projects are you currently working on?
I mainly work on my company Eksamile.ee. Together with a partner, we created a system that helps people to take the driving test faster, and my part of it is to deal with the development and design of the website, as well as the marketing side which is closely related to design. We are currently developing a system where you can study for a theory exam – this has been a good test from the UX/UI design side because the system must be understandable and pleasant to use but also beautiful to the eye. Sometimes I also do project-based work from my other company, MJAU Design, which involves mostly website development or design. I also sell cat-themed t-shirts, but this project is more like history.
2. What is important in design, what is irrelevant?
In design in general, things that are important are the meaning and usability of the design. What do you do with a product that can’t be used? It’s irrelevant to overdesign a product, it’s not just irrelevant but unnecessary.
When it comes to digital product design specifically, I think the user experience is the most important. It doesn’t immediately mean that the user interface is irrelevant. These two go hand in hand and are inseparable but I think the user experience plays a slightly more important role. I would consider the use of excessive elements to be irrelevant. People often go overboard with making a web page “gorgeous”, for example by adding dozens of colors and illustrations from corner to corner in your design.
3. What is your favorite step in product creation and what does it look like?
My favorite stage is probably gathering inspiration. Who doesn’t like to look a good design, as long as the imposter’s syndrome doesn’t hit you, of course. In general, I go through a few specific pages and just do research from Google – classic examples are Behance and Dribble. Of course, some designers start fuming over these two pages, as there are often designs that are beautiful to the eye but completely lacking in terms of user experience. But I have to say that there are also good design examples, so that’s why I use them. Some other good pages to gather inspiration from are Awwwards and Land Book.
4. What has been your favorite project while studying at EKA? What did you discover during that?
Having studied at EKA for only one semester and some months so far, there haven’t been many of these projects yet for me – there has been only one digital product design project. Since I already have a relatively strong previous experience, this project didn’t teach me too much in terms of design, but I discovered that EKA was still the right choice – the school in general but also the program of digital product design. For the first time in my life, it seems like school doesn’t feel like “school”. I also believe that I still have a lot of room for improvement in digital product design, so I still have a lot to learn.
5. How do you see the role of a designer in society in 10 years?
Very topical. There’s an increasing need for designers and I believe that this need will not disappear. There are many products in the world with terrible creations due to the lack the skills of a designer. The more people educate themselves in this field or hire someone to do the design, the better the products and the easier the life of the user.
6. As a designer, I respect…
helpful people. Anyone who gives tips or learning materials to those in need deserves my full respect. Unfortunately, there are still people in the world who comment with attitude to those in need, “How can you not do that?” etc. If you have time to insults, you also have time to give advice.
Offered food for thought?
You can contact Mark Uustalu for questions to the artun e-mail: mark.uustalu@artun.ee.
