The semester began with an overview of AI. I found a lot of joy in a speculative project we did where we developed a future-based narrative and then designed something for it. The narrative was based on a prompt given to us by Helen. My prompt: “A Bizarre Future Related to Surveillance.” I wrote about a future where the government was slowly transforming all people into aquatic dolphin-like beings to better adapt to rising sea levels. They had put cameras everywhere and were watching us transform. I designed something like a Google Maps equivalent platform for underwater travel.
That was really fun but then we got to the meat of the semester. It was the deepest dive into real UX work I had ever done. Working with LAS was a complex and ultimately very rewarding project. We were working in a space that none of us really knew much about. Also because of the confidential nature surrounding analysts’ work, there was a lot we weren’t allowed to know either. This project gave me a ton of confidence to go into UX and product design job interviews and feel like I can really talk through the process comfortably. There is a lot to learn still but I am feeling much more confident than I did a year ago.
