Bern Ruiz: Being a Product designer
Based in Mexico City, Bern is a Product Designer with more than 8 years creating products for the event and live streaming industries.
He’s been managing user-centred design teams for 3 years, and he loves creating and scaling products from scratch.
What’s your official job title, and what’s the most straightforward way to explain what you do?
I'm a product designer, and that means I'm responsible for balancing user needs and business goals.
What does a normal day look like?
This is something difficult to describe. At my current job, my day starts with meetings to understand the current problems, learn what other teams are doing, and plan our next steps. Then I try to use the rest of the day designing solutions, looking out for consistency and validating my work with the team.
What's the most enjoyable part of your job?
I really love that I'm always thinking about goals and scalability, that is, questioning and creating strategies so a product can evolve and grow without losing itself in the process with countless features. I really like being able to work with different teams across the globe and find new ways to collaborate!
What did it take to get to where you are today?
Lots of tears and sleepless nights. Kidding. I've been working as a Product Designer for almost 9 years. I read a lot. I made mistakes in the process. I worked on my resilience to stay focused in the midst of changes and critical times. I learned to do several jobs from Product Design, Branding Design, Motion Graphics, Project and Product Management, and Design Management.
I really pushed myself to keep learning and growing, even though I wouldn't probably fit the usual designer profile. Being open to these constant changes made me explore things I'd never thought of doing before. I became more analytical and more collaborative... And then the pandemic hit.
I got a job at Microsoft this year, and getting that job was one of the most challenging experiences I've ever faced. Sent countless resumes, had lots of interviews at different places, and waited for an answer that most times would never come. After lots of critical times and self-doubt for months, I pushed myself to learn from the last interviews, and be better next time. And finally, it happened!
I don't know if I made the right choices through all these years, but I'm pretty happy where I am right now.
What are the main digital tools you could not do without?
Figma & Figma Jam 100%. For everything else like planning, documenting, and stuff like that, I can be more flexible.
Any advice for people wanting to do a similar role to you?
Some tips that really helped me grow as a designer:
Understand the power of collaboration to get the best results for every project you do
Question everything
Try to get as uncomfortable as possible by doing new things
Never settle
And finally, what do you enjoying doing outside of work?
I love music, but kind of an obsession to discover music that pushes the boundaries of the human soul... most times I end up listening to some twisted, extreme, and disturbing pieces of metal music. Another thing I'm passionate about is Paleontology! I say Paleontology because it's not just only dinosaurs, but all prehistoric creatures. It's amazing to learn about them and keep track of the latest discoveries!
Where can we keep up to date with you?
Website - designbybern.notion.site/designbybern/Bernardo-Ruiz
Instagram -www.instagram.com/designbybern