Crafting the Path to Mars: Lessons from Rodin’s Sculptural Journey

Today feels complex, and I need to simplify it. If you’ve been following my posts, you know I’m conducting stakeholder research in informal social settings to exchange time and knowledge. This is aimed at creating a new economic engine to fund a manned mission to Mars, as I believe current socioeconomic structures are failing.

At the same time, I’ve identified three companies with well-written senior UX Designer job descriptions, and I’m redesigning my portfolio to position myself for a career with them. If I’m not intentional, these two threads could diverge from the cohesive vision I’m trying to create. My portfolio is the key to weaving them together.

I need to craft an effective design portfolio that intelligently engages every visitor in contributing to a manned mission to Mars. Remember, the purpose of a design portfolio is to demonstrate to potential clients why they should hire you for their projects.

Now, for an unexpected twist: the sculptor Rodin didn’t start by creating award-winning sculptures. He honed his craft by working on projects like the ornamentation for the Brussels Stock Exchange.

Let’s examine the ornamentation on the stock exchange. This work was done by someone striving to make a living, with their craft being a labor of love. Rodin submitted models to gain commissions and relied on small pieces to generate income and build his reputation.

From this, I see two important lessons:

1. Contributions to Society: Great societal contributions may begin with creating ornamentation that tells the story of economic institutions, which looks very different in our digital world. Most financial applications are not ornate; users engage quickly to accomplish tasks and then move on to what matters most to them, making their interests the new ornamentation of financial institutions.

2. Consistency in Quality: Establishing a consistent quality for organizations that can distribute your work is essential.

These threads converge in Rodin’s life: for a User Experience Designer aiming to facilitate a mission to Mars, personal flourishing through the visual representation of that mission is crucial. This requires consistently delivering small pieces of work through organizations that can amplify their impact.

In my last blog, I mentioned three companies: Thalamus, SourceGraph, and Cribl.

• Thalamus is brave, imaginative, and collaborative.
• - SourceGraph is deeply organized.
• Cribl encourages employees to bring their whole selves.

All three need User Experience Design.

Now, the challenge is to craft a narrative that illustrates how my creative skills are the ornamentation they need to enhance their effectiveness and notoriety. I plan to anticipate their product goals and demonstrate how my previous work aligns with those aims.

While I’m eager to dive into design, I must first analyze these three companies and reflect on my findings in a way that resonates emotionally.

THALAMUS

Thalamus seeks a designer who can collaborate with experts in epidemiological and clinical research for their application, Connecting the Docs. They aim for intuitive user flows, as evident from the courses available during account signup, like those for guiding doctor recruitment.

SOURCEGRAPH

SourceGraph wants to empower anyone to code by removing inefficiencies through AI. They expect someone to co-lead a product feature within six months, indicating a structured approach.

CRIBL

Cribl transforms information for IT and Security and is looking for a designer to handle foundational design tasks.

Comparing them all

Thalamus clearly articulates their need for intuitive flows, SourceGraph emphasizes co-leading features, and Cribl specifies essential tasks. Each organization could benefit from insights into what the others prioritize. Initially, I was drawn to Thalamus’s values and SourceGraph’s structured plan, but after deeper examination, Cribl aligns best with my background. Their well-defined tasks seem like the ideal environment for me to flourish, much like Rodin did, and Cribl functions as a data engine — essentially what we’ll need for Mars. Efficiently organizing information will be crucial for achieving that goal.

Thus, my task is to effectively showcase in my portfolio how my previous experiences demonstrate the skills, communication, collaboration, and education they seek.

They mention Axure, which I’m proficient in, and InVision, which is shutting down. This leads me to believe they will require a new, fast collaborative tool like Figma, which I am currently learning.

(Article content edited by ChatGPT)