The library at ECU Joondalup.
After exploring university courses in Western Australia, Aryana Eraman landed on a Bachelor of Design at ECU, majoring in Graphic Design.
While a possible scholarship was also an incentive, Aryana believed ECU's course was the most aligned with what she thought she wanted to do.
Discovering UX design
Aryana had never heard of User Experience (UX) Design until it was covered in one of her degree units. Here, she gained knowledge and skills for designing customer experiences, designing for businesses and clients and how to deal with complex design problems.
It was a long way from traditional Graphic Design too. More technical, research heavy, psychology heavy and generally more complex. She was hooked!
The IBM internship
Aryana's marks were so high for UX Design that her tutor Dr. Chris Kueh recommended she apply for a UX Designer role as part of ECU's IBM Internship program.
Supervised by a Design Lead for six months, this internship solidified her understanding about how to approach complex business problems using the methodologies and ways of working she had learned in class.
The icing on the design cake was being offered a full-time position at IBM after she graduated.
Aryana now works as an IBM Business Analyst, as the sole UX/UI Designer for a major mining company client.
The best study experience
According to Aryana, the best part of her study experience was the support of her Design tutors.
"Every single one helped me when I needed it, encouraged me when I needed some motivation, gave the best advice for job related questions and opportunities, and several times advocated for me to participate in work that was outside of my degree," she says.
It was the kind of help that gave her two jobs and one voluntary project with a team of designers during her years at uni.
Oh, and a career she didn't know she wanted but really loves!
