Talking UX, Career and AI with Adam Symonds, Senior UX Researcher
By
Digital of Things
June 28, 2024
We live in the age of podcasts, interviews, and conversations that make the evenings better, work lighter, and life funnier. At Digital of Things, getting to know the team we work with, and developing real relationships has been second nature. This time, we thought we’d let you in as well :)
We sat down with our newest teammate, Adam, a Senior UX Researcher, to discuss his thoughts on the UX industry, his career journey, and his experience working with us.
Definitely, not Eve’s Adam we are talking about :) Meet Adam Symonds, our UX research expert who recently relocated from the UK to join us in Dubai. Here’s a snippet from our coffee chat.
“I learned about UX research during my University years. I used to get higher marks in this subject. I got my degree in the Digital Media domain. Also, I find humans incredibly complex but very interesting. So that was the route that I wanted to go down. I wouldn't change it for the world. There needs to be more researchers in the UX industry.”
Looking back over the past six or seven years of experience, Adam reflects that the industry has evolved significantly. He notes that roles and responsibilities have similarly evolved during this time.
“I truly believe that you can't be all of those things - UX researcher, UX designer, UX writer, and more. I think you can have some knowledge and you can know how to do those things and you can perform all of those things to a high level, but you can’t be an expert in all of them. All roles need to be respected as individual arts. They are master of their role.”
“AI can’t do what a human can do.”
Adam pointed out that AI lacks project management and client management skills. You can upload notes or transcripts and use AI tools for insights, but Adam believes AI won't surpass human capabilities. It can’t conduct in-depth analyses without project context, including constraints and client mindset, areas where human input is crucial.
It was super quick and friendly. Digital of Things is the leading User Experience agency in MENA. Everybody sort of knows everybody in one way or another. I had a super relaxed first coffee meeting with Sudipt, CEO of Digital Of Things. It felt more like a conversation and not an interview where the panel roasts you with too many questions. I then met with Brooke, COO of Digital of Things, and again had a very relaxed conversation. I was then invited to the office to present back some work that I had previously completed. I loved the interview approach - friendly and chill.
If I had to describe my experience working at Digital Of Things in 3 words, here is what I would say:
Knowledge, Policy, and Leadership.
Everyone at DOT is an expert in their domain. You can learn a lot from each other.
I love the flexibility we have. All work policies are very human.
Everybody is very passionate about what they do. Brooke & Sudipt’s leadership creates a brilliant and fun work culture. The quality of work we do here is amongst the best in our industry.
My weekend revolves around Formula 1. I'm a huge Mercedes fan. George Russell, If you are reading this get me some tickets, please! I also love spending quality time with my loved ones.
Well, that was a wrap. Stay tuned for more stories from our team at DOT!
