G'day Alisha & the Pretzel Lab team. My name is Flynn and I'm excited to show you why I'll be a great addition to your Product Design team.

I hope you have as much fun reading this page as I've had creating it.

What you don't see on LinkedIn

Much like a pretzel (first pun of many), It's been a twisted journey to arrive at my career as a UI/UX (Product) Designer. My Landscape Architecture & Town Planning scholar was built around some of the most large-scaled, emotionally-charged and empathy-driven design approaches. In one project I travelled to north Japan where the 2013 tsunami hit; and dedicated my time and energy to solving devastating human issues in a natural disaster town planning scale.

After learning what UI/UX Design was from my software engineer and life partner Samko; I instantly fell in love with this idea of finding the resolution between people and how they interact with the world.

I worked hard and I've gained extensive experience collaborating with cross-functional teams in a fast-paced environment. I now know how to lead projects, conduct client kick-off meetings, manage and present to stakeholders and collaborate with engineers and developers. Most importantly I am critical of myself; and in situations where I've lead projects, I consider it an opportunity to learn from incredibly perceptive people. I'm proud to be a work-in-progress who's excited to listen and learn, and expect the same from my coworkers.
What initially drew me to Pretzel Lab was a research project around the vagueness and somewhat purposefully misguiding language surrounding council policy. Being from a small town I'm a huge fan of community-based interventions and our interactions with design and policy as a citizen/pedestrian.

The reason why I think I'll be a good fit for Pretzel Lab is because I've always had a soft spot for design consultants. I enjoy establishing relationships with new and interesting people and maintaining them beyond projects. I am a bit of a people-pleaser; which I feel is what you need when you're dealing with clients that have varied needs and expectations. I also learn the most from connecting with people from a variety of companies and engaging with how and why they do things.

My recent claim to fame was being the project leader of my own team of developers in a
24-hour Hackathon. The experience was as exhilarating as it was caffeinated and by the time I had to present our pitch to the judges I looked a bit like Beaker from ‘The Muppets’.
‍Here's the project.

Design Process with Examples

Here, I'm going to show you my relationship with my design thinking process along with examples of challenges I have faced as a designer.

Like most people that studied at GA I was religiously taught the double diamond method. And as reliably formulaic as the double diamond is, I think it's still flexible enough to expose many design probabilities and variables. And that's what excites me.

I've referred to two case studies that I've used as an example:
Lifeblood App: Encouraging users to have a more positive attitude towards donating blood.
‍
ConsultXperts: A two-sided marketplace aimed at connecting experts with jobs through an online platform.

1. Explore

Empathy and creativity is the core of what I do as a designer. And what better way to investigate a problem area is by talking to the user. I'm the kind of bloke that can have a conversation with a brick wall; and after a few wines, I've done-so.

It's also an opportunity to properly familiarise yourself with the product/client. Sometimes your working on a job where the process or unique selling point just flies over your head. This is an opportunity to really flesh that out, even draw from analytics or comparative analysis.
1.1 Client Kick-off Meetings
1.2 Recruiting User Interviews
1.3 Interviewing Users
1.4 Initial User Flows

2. Discover

Ah yeah. This is the stage that can seem so enduring that when you finally reach the problem statement (or JTBD), it feels like you've scaled the highest mountain... If that mountain is a pile of post-its or a crashing Miro board.

By far my favourite part of this process is when you land on a persona. Being a narrative-based person and a bit of an emo; I draw strength and inspiration from knowing that our primary user has an identity, a need, and a goal.
2.1 Insights & Trends
2.2 Personas & Archetypes
2.3 Journey Mapping & Storyboards
2.4 Problem and 'How Might We' Statements

3. Ideation

Me at my most caffeinated. What I appreciate most about ideation is that it's an open-minded, brainstorming sesh that inches itself towards a solution. It's also that feeling of acceleration when I pick up a sharpie and reboot the Figma.
I like to prototype quickly, I like to test frequently. No-brainer.

Ideation is also an opportunity to test ideas with the user and make sure we're going in the right direction and solving the right problem. Sometimes you become so cerebral that you keep adding solutions to a design without testing it.
3.1 Design Studio: Crazy 8's
3.2 Paper Wireframing
3.3 Card-Sorting
3.4 Figma, Figma, Figma

4. Prototype & Deliver

And lastly is prototyping. Although not really.

At this point you're reaching for the finish line. You're at the end of the process where the only thing between you and that checkered ribbon is validating that you've resolved a user's problem. That you've placed your faith in the process while testing all iterations with the user. Did you experiment enough? Talk to enough people? Is your design intervention intuitive, seamless, does it benefit the user? Does it benefit the client? Does it benefit the product?

Welp... If the answers yes than you've fully embraced human-centred design. Koodos. What's next?
4.1 Usability Testing
4.2 Product Roadmap

I hope I've given you a glimpse as to why I think I'd be a good fit for Pretzel Lab.
I feel like I not only garner the skills required to do the job right; but I also bring a lot of joyful and entertaining qualities that can breathe life into any workplace.
I heard Pretzel Lab is a super fun place to work and I want in!

Feel free to poke around my portfolio and check out my case studies. I'll look forward to having a chat and enjoy the rest of the week.

Thank you, Alisha & Team Pretzel.

Sincerely,
Flynn Barbary
(He / They)
0476 121 211