Prachi Mane is a psychologist who has been passionate about UX for the last 15 years and loves user research. She believes User Experience is central to all experiences in life so understanding users is critical.
Working across organizations has helped Prachi understand facets of UX in context to various domains and the ever-evolving nature of user needs with technology advancements is what she finds refreshing about this profession.
How are you planning to celebrate Women’s Day this year?
I will be reaching out to all my women friends to rejoice what they have achieved in their lives.
Would you say there is an under-representation of women in UI/UX design?
No.
What are some personality traits of women that make them better (or worse) UX designers?
The ability to empathize and communicate makes women better UX researchers for sure. We are good at designing our lives taking into considerations multiple perspectives which gives us the ability to think out of the box and be more flexible – making us excellent UX designers too.
Who are some design leaders (male or female) you look up to?
I look up to Eric Schaeffer who I had the privilege to learn usability from during my training at HFI.
As a woman, what’s the greatest challenge you’ve had to face as a designer?
Being able to convince the critical impact UX can bring to very traditional organizations has been a huge challenge. Being a woman UXer the challenge is bigger to explain the benefits to leaders who are more technology-centric.
What, in your opinion, could we UI/UX designers do, as a relatively young and collaborative fraternity, to solve the problem of gender inequality?
We need to unite as a community and bring out success stories of women and men in various walks of life giving a platform to both genders.
Your message to young women looking to make their careers in UI/UX?
The sky’s the limit – UX is an excellent space for women to thrive!
