Role

Design Assistant

Skills and Tasks

Graphic Design

Illustration

Iterating and refining designs

Providing constructive feedback

Task management

Collaborating remotely

Tools

Illustrator

Figma

Duration

Started in September 2024

My Experience as a Design Assistant at Nielsen Norman Group

My Experience as a Design Assistant at Nielsen Norman Group

As a design assistant, I work with the design team to turn complex UX concepts into easy-to-understand graphics for social media. These designs need to grab attention while staying true to the brand’s identity, which has pushed me to think creatively and strategically about how I communicate ideas.


Recently, I've also been designing flows for NN/g's backend event-management system to help optimize internal functions. I've been and working with developers and asking questions to understand stakeholder expectations and workflows.


This role has been such a great learning experience. I’ve gained new skills in illustration, visual design, and translating content into a graphic that’s both informative and visually appealing. I've also learned how to take and apply critique, iterate to refine my work, and align designs with the established brand identity.


One of the most rewarding aspects of this role is seeing my designs represent the organization to a wide audience. It’s fulfilling to know that my work helps others understand and appreciate UX concepts while continuing to grow as a designer through hands-on experience and collaboration.


Below is a snapshot of some of my favorite posts that I have gotten to design!

Recent Posts

Recent Posts

Co-Author of UI Elements: Glossary

Co-Author of UI Elements: Glossary

I had the pleasure of designing 61 UI elements for NN/g's UI Elements: Glossary article under the guidance of Raluca Budiu! Check out the article here.

Infographics

Infographics

UXers Need To Think Like Product Leaders Social Post

One of my recent favorites for the graphics.

Convenience vs Probability Sampling Social Post

Lots of back and forth on this one to get it right, such as how to show selected vs non-selected people, and different groups. I also created graphics for the full article.

UX Leads Adoption of AI Chat Social Post

One of my recent favorites for the graphics.

Design Thinking Social Post

My first social post, still one of my favorites for the illustrative style I took on and got to see followed in used in many other posts to come.

UX Certification Social Post

I pitched this social post to advertise getting your UX Certification through NN/g's Live Courses in the new year.

KARA RIVENBARK

KARA RIVENBARK

KARA RIVENBARK