I consider producing content as a serious thing. Since this year, I've decided to make 2 videos per week. That was my goal, and it still is. But in last two months, I stopped doing it. Why? In this podcast, I'm going to share why and how I stopped making content on my channel in last 2 months, and use the time to write a book. Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and fa...
Oct 21, 2021•15 min
It's not easy to give a speech in front of 100 people as an introvert, with your second language. I'm happy that I did it, but even happier about the things I've learned. In this podcast, I'm sharing a few things I've learned from 4 public speeches I did recently: Sincere beats seriousity. Don't start from scratch. Reflection as a habit. Preparation is gold, and practice is diamond. Team work makes dream work. Enjoy the progress. *** Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and work...
Oct 18, 2021•13 min
How many books you can read in a month? If can read 1 book per week, you can read 4 books in a month. I got 10 books done in April, with a full-time job, a four-year-old to take care of, a YouTube channel, and a podcast to take care of. How did I do it? Check this podcast for details! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: ...
May 11, 2021•19 min
As a UX designer at Vodafone, things at work are challenging, complex, and exciting. My habit is to review things I learned at work regularly, and as I worked at Vodafone New Zealand for a couple of months already, here are a few things I learned at work. Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Bear...
May 03, 2021•11 min
One of the common questions from a self-taught designer is: what If I’m not good enough to learn design? What if I’m not good enough to become a designer? What if it was a wrong choice? I know it as I've been there, and it's totally ok. In this video, I'll share a few tips that helped me went through it, and finally became a confident designer. Hope these tips can help you as well! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos abo...
Apr 27, 2021•11 min
You borrowed a book from library or from your friend. When reading it, you found it was so good that you want to take notes. But how to take notes from borrowed books? You can't write or doodle on the book, it's not yours. Here's an easy, flexible and productive way to take notes from a book you borrowed, without damaging the book for sure! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between ...
Apr 19, 2021•8 min
In the book Mindset, Dr. Carol Dweck shows the importance of a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset. Why is a growth mindset essential for UX designers? As a UX designer, you should be bold enough to admit things you don't know and believe you can find the proper solution for the problem you are working at. In another way, the UX discovery stage for designers is a trial-and-fail process, which requires a growth mindset so you can reflect on what you've learned and adapted it to your design...
Apr 15, 2021•8 min
Be a closer, or be a loser? In my opinion, always closing the thing you plan to do, even in the way you are not satisfied or proud. If you are not a closer, you are a loser. That's why I recorded this video in my car on a rainy evening.
Apr 13, 2021•9 min
Philip Mills, the founder of Les Mills International, recommended me on my LinkedIn Profile. It was such an honor to have a recommendation from one of the top leaders in the global fitness industry. How did I get it? Check the video for details!
Apr 08, 2021•10 min
E-Myth is an excellent book about business, especially for helping small businesses grow without them burned out. I like the book's structure by telling a story about Sarah, a small pie Store owner struggling to survive on her own business. She worked 12 hours per day. She gets used to working as a technician rather than an entrepreneur. The author met Sarah as a mentor to help her to think about things from a different perspective and improve the shop business step by step. This is a great way ...
Mar 29, 2021•14 min
Why do we need a UX portfolio? And how to prepare the portfolio that can get you hired? In this video, I'll share a few tips about portfolios for UX designers and product designers, so that you could know how to start to build your own portfolio to help you get the design job you want.
Mar 24, 2021•10 min
A few years ago, when I move to New Zealand from China, as a designer without local experience, references, and didn't even speak the language properly, I had a big question: how can I start? I think it's not only my question but probably the key question for all the people who would like to work somewhere else from his/her home country: yeah, how can I start? Because I've been experienced this struggle, I was impressed when I learned Michel Ferreira's story. Started from Brazil, Michel extended...
Mar 02, 2021•1 hr 2 min
The NZ COVID Tracer app took an essential part during the whole COVID-fighting process - more than half of the people in New Zealand using the app to help save people's lives. The app was developed and delivered by RUSH, an Auckland based digital agency, which only took six weeks from concept to launch. It's a once-of-a-lifetime opportunity for a designer. What are the stories behind the scene? Who are the people doing the design of the app? In this episode of Bear Academy, I have the pleasure o...
Feb 17, 2021•1 hr 9 min
We all received emails like this: "Thank you for applying this role, we really appreciate your time and effort putting on this. Unfortunately, you will not go to the next stage. All the best and good luck to your job searching." It's a bad reply, isn't it? Actually, no. And, there're no bad replies at all. In this short podcast, I'll share a tip that you can always get some useful information from the reject replies.
Jan 21, 2021•13 min
Onboarding a new job could be overwhelming - you might look calm on your face, but totally freak out inside. I have some experience of onboarding new jobs, new projects in different countries, and I found there are things in common, no matter where and when. Basically, you need to be clear about 3 things: information, resource and expectation. In this video, I'm going to share a few tips to help you do better when you get a new job. YouTube: https://youtu.be/_DJ9raUIywY
Jan 16, 2021•9 min
In 2020, I managed to read 54 books, marking the sixth consecutive year of maintaining a pace of one book per week. Curious about which books I read, my recommendations, and my reasons for this reading habit? Check out the video to find answers to these questions. Here are ten books from my 2020 list that I highly recommend: Digital Minimalism - This book helped me regain control of my attention and time from undeserving distractions. Siddhartha - A captivating fable about life and the universe....
Jan 05, 2021•13 min
When I planned to change my career to UX a few years ago without local working experience and academic background, I created a strategy with 4 pillars and succeed. If your career goal of 2021 is to land a job in the design-related industry, this strategy might work for you as well.
Dec 25, 2020•8 min
This might be an unpopular opinion: designers should learn how to draw, and it's even more important in the digital age. I have three reasons: ✅ Better communication - using sketch or doodle to communicate is a great way. Architecture designer uses this approach for decades. ✅ Better observation - by learning and practising drawing, you will learn how to observe, which is very helpful for your user research and discovery. ✅ Understanding UI fundamentals - UI trends are changing, but the basic of...
Dec 06, 2020•13 min
"In New Zealand we have so much potential, but we still have this belief in number 8 wire innovation. It’s a total myth and seriously limiting, especially when it comes to achieving future prosperity. We need to start taking ourselves and how we approach design more seriously, if we’ve got a hope of remaining competitive in such a rapidly evolving world." Brendan Jarvis As a new immigrant designer, I feel so resonate of the quote above, and can't help to think about how we can cope with the new ...
Nov 29, 2020•1 hr 2 min
Imagine you and family went to a tropical island for a three-night trip, and you were trapped on the island because of the pandemic, not a few days, not a few weeks, but nearly nine months. How about that? A few months ago, I read a post from a designer I followed on LinkedIn. That was his true story. Peter Atcheson is a Digital Product Designer from South Africa. After accidentally stayed in Fiji for eight months, he founded a design studio and dealt with the uncertainties in the best possible ...
Nov 08, 2020•1 hr 18 min
"As a guy who dreams of becoming a great designer, I got a design job and worked as a designer every day. I got myself in the party, and now what? How could I become a senior designer? What are the pitfalls that I need to avoid? What is the roadmap for my career? And, back to the basic, how to define a senior designer?" These are some common questions from the designers who want to improve, and I have those questions too. Only other senior designers could answer these questions, I mean, real sen...
Nov 01, 2020•1 hr 2 min
Xero, a company with 3000+ employees and 2 million users, was identified by Forbes as the World's Most Innovative Growth Company in 2014 and 2015. Their design team consists of 57 product designers, 13 researchers, and 2 content strategists working from Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the world. In this podcast, I talk to Zac Sanderson Harris, Product Design Manager - Design Manager (Systems) at Xero, about Design Systems. In this episode, you will learn: What is a design system? How ...
Oct 16, 2020•1 hr 2 min
