From Automotive UI to UX/UI Designer: The Next Level

Introducing Maximilian Novikov. He holds a degree in Communication Design and previously worked as a UI Designer in the automotive industry. After losing his job, he quickly realized that without real UX know-how, the doors to new roles remained closed to him.

Without further ado, he decided to power through our online program for UX/UI Design. Now, he has thoroughly polished his portfolio with fresh UX projects and is ready for a full-time job as a UX/UI Designer.

Tell us a bit about yourself: Who are you, and what is your professional background?

I did an apprenticeship as a media designer for image and sound, then studied communication design, and then worked as a UI designer in the automotive industry for six years. So, I really focused exclusively on UI design, with a lot of exploration, which also involved a great deal of graphic design.

Why did you decide to learn UX/UI in the first place?

Things are going pretty badly in the automotive industry right now, and I was laid off. During my application processes, I noticed that I just wasn’t getting a job and that I lacked this UX background. I mean, I have a good handle on UI design, but I'm missing that UX background—and right now, everyone everywhere is looking for UX designers. So, I decided that I needed to acquire skills in this area.

What motivated you to pursue this further training?

Well, I looked online to see if there were courses or further training programs for this. That’s when I found "neue fische," and I really liked your curriculum. I also saw that it covers exactly what all the job descriptions require you to know. So I thought, "Yeah, that's perfect, I'll do a training program with you guys."

How do you like the program so far?

Honestly, absolutely great. It hits exactly what I wanted to learn. Everything is completely covered. It’s an extreme amount of material—I genuinely feel like an entire UX/UI degree has been squeezed into four months. But it’s not overwhelming either. The teachers support you really well. You also have a lot of peers—fellow students—and we all help each other out, which makes it a lot of fun.

Could you tell us about your capstone project?

Yes, there are three of us. We bounced ideas off each other and found each other that way because our ideas aligned. Now, the three of us are working together on a capstone project. We're making a camping app that focuses more on socializing while camping. Right now, we're exchanging ideas, building concepts, and doing all the UX first. Over the next few weeks, we'll build the UI design for it.

What are your expectations after graduation?

Well, the good thing is that we always have a Career Day on Wednesdays, where we could build up our resumes. At the same time, the training program also includes a course module on building a portfolio. That was very important for me—to have a portfolio where I can put a lot of UX designs so that I can apply for jobs effectively. Thanks to this portfolio, I'm hoping I can find a job pretty quickly now.