Grace H. Park

Hello, I'm Grace H. Park. I'm the creator of "Spill the Beans" and am currently a UX Designer who is open to work. I like to draw, paint, and make videos in my free time, and I enjoy going on hikes with my dog Benji whenever it's not too hot.

When I was in college, I never knew what field I wanted to pursue but I always knew I wanted to help others through my craft. I researched online, tried to connect with people on Linkedin, but still, I didn't know exactly what I was looking for. I couldn't find a page or a site where real-life experiences were shared from industry professionals easily and accessibly and decided that it would have been helpful if one existed. A lot of people actually emailed me asking me to share how I got into the field of UX/UI and I realized that real experiences and advice from those who were further along their career were extremely insightful for those starting off. What better way to learn about a craft than from the people around you. That's when I decided to combine the skills that I accumulated over the years to publish my own site and create Spill the Bean(s)!

P.S. It's spilltheBEAN.org since spilltheBEANS.org was taken 😂

As a UX designer, I'm in charge of making sure individuals can navigate through a product as seamlessly as possible using research to back up my decisions. For instance, making sure the checkout experience on a site is intuitive to decrease bounce rate and meet business goals. In short, UX Designers address a problem, dive deeper into "why" the problem arises using research, ideate multiple solutions, test the proposed solution, and rinse and repeat. Also, there's a lot of public speaking that you must do since you'll have to present your ideas to stakeholders and explain step-by-step how you came to your proposed solution.

After college, I went into marketing for one year and wanted to look into another career path. I heard about the emerging field from my brother who was already a UX designer and took the jump by enrolling myself in a boot camp from there. I went to two actually, General Assembly for 1 week and UCI's Continuing Education program for 6 months.

UX was intriguing since it combined two things that I felt I knew a little bit of. UX relies heavily on research and since I studied Psychology at UCLA, I felt like I could use my major to combine research with creativity. Also, the idea that my designs would be based on data rather than subjectivity increased my curiosity.

It was rough. There was a lot of radio silence and very little interviews. I applied to as many places as I could and it took around 5 months for me to get a job after graduating. It was pretty discouraging and daunting if I'm going to be honest, but you got to keep pushing and taking each day one step at a time.

My previous CEO actually found my portfolio through Angel List and reached out to me via email. It's crucial that you keep working on your portfolio and getting it reviewed/revised as many times as you can since that will be the first impression that any recruiter or hiring manager will see. Make sure to make your design decisions as clear and easy to follow so recruiters can see how you think. Lastly, make it your own style and try to have fun with it! Your portfolio should be a reflection of your individuality and uniqueness.

Curiosity, Detail-oriented, and Team player.

Even the smallest step forward will have lasting effects. A small progression forward will eventually add up to something greater if you stay consistent.

Google, read, ask, and continually be curious to learn more from others. Although the road seems long and unknown, be courageous, believe in your skills, and keep pushing forward, it'll all be worth it in the end.

Also, JUST DO IT. Give it a try, whatever it may be!