It takes a community of Creatives — each with different skills, styles, and superpowers — to keep Designity running the way it does.
And each Creative brings their extra special something to the table; the culmination of their experiences, their perspectives, their personality, and a bit of everything they’ve picked up along the way.
Each and every journey is unique and we’re spotlighting one of those journeys today!
Now, it’s time to get to know one of our special Creatives just a little bit better!
Amena T. is center stage today — a UI/UX designer with a serious knack for making things user-friendly and way more efficient!
So, if you’re ready to see how Amena went from graphic design student at Parsons to a fast-rising Designity star, then we’re ready to show you! Today’s blog is your ticket to an exclusive 1:1 with UI/UX designer Amena so you can learn her story, hear her insights, and see some of her amazing work in action!
Pull up a chair because it’s time to meet Amena!
How did you get into UI/UX design? What’s your origin story?
I went to Parsons School of Design and got my BFA in communication design.
At that point, I had no idea what that was, but I really wanted to do graphic design. And then in the courses I took over three or four years I was there we did a bunch of branding, typography, editorial, and was also advertising and web mobile product design — that's what they called UI/UX back then.
At that time, it was 2016 or so, and the terms UIUX were fairly new. I didn't even know what it was, but I took a course in this web mobile product design class, and I was like, “Okay, this is very interesting.”
I'm personally a very technical designer because I have systematic organizational thinking, but I also am creative. So, it's really funny because I need that organization, and I think being in the UI/UX field allows me to blend the two together versus just being creative and painting — which is also great!— I just can't do that; I need some sort of structure.
So, what made you decide to pursue UI/UX as a career?
I guess it was kind of a love/hate relationship because, at first, it was like, "What is UX?" This is very, very psychological; you have to be user-friendly and all these things, and then I got really into it and I did my thesis on app design.
At the same time, I’ve always had that creative side, which is where UI really drew me in. UI lets me focus on the visual experience — things like color palettes, typography, layout, style, and overall aesthetics — and just find creative ways to bring brands to life on a screen.
When I started my first full-time job at an agency, I was an interactive designer — which is just another word for UI/UX designer — I was specifically creating websites on desktop and mobile screen sizes for eCommerce businesses.
So, that's when I got really into the technical side and working cross-functionally with developers, especially front-end. That's where I got into specifically being a UI/UX designer, but also still I want to bring back that creativity.
So, I also like doing graphic design too.
Have you always been into art, even as a kid?
It’s kind of funny — coming from a South Asian family (my roots are in India), there’s often this expectation to follow a more traditional path, like becoming an engineer or doctor. And that’s a totally valid and admirable route.
But growing up, my family had a unique influence on me. They were very business-minded and creative in their own ways. My dad runs his own business, my mom paints beautiful oil pieces as a hobby, and several of my aunts and cousins are journalists and photographers. Even my brothers chose creative paths — one in architecture and the other in product design.
Being surrounded by that energy, I never felt pressured to follow the standard track. In fact, I initially thought I might go into medicine or engineering — mostly because that’s what society and my culture seemed to expect. But something inside me kept pulling toward creativity.
Eventually, I realized it was more than a hobby — it was what I wanted to build a life around. And thanks to the creative and entrepreneurial spirit I grew up around, I understood that it was okay to carve out a different path. To expand the boundaries of what we’re “supposed” to do.
And I’m really glad I did.
So, my passion for art first took place when I took a Fine Arts IB (International Baccalaureate) class in school and started off with painting.
It's weird because I can paint, but not like amazing paintings and drawings. I did a lot of abstract and a lot of acrylics, so that's how I got into the physical designing art part. That also created my portfolio for Parsons.
And then I was like, “Okay, I'm not that great at painting. I don't know if I can do an actual career because it's really hard to have a career in Fine Arts, and you really have to have a passion for it.”
Then my dad told me that there was this thing called graphic design. And I thought, "Oh, cool. What's that?"
And I studied it and saw that graphic design allows you to be technical but also to create. So, that's where it started; just being exposed to a creative background from my parents, and also just being encouraged to follow my passion.
Then later, I was able to get into Parsons and Pratt, and other design schools. I decided to go to Parsons, and I was really happy to just pursue something I was specifically interested in, and then I found web design, and another segue into creativity. So, I found not only painting and graphic design, but also web designing and typography, etc.
That's my journey of getting into UI/UX design.
What was your first creative-related job?
My first creative job was an internship in New York.
I was like, “You know what? I live in New York. Let me take advantage of interning here.”
My first internship was being a graphic designer for this really, really tiny company in the fashion district, and I decided fashion is not my thing — even though I went to Parsons and I was surrounded by fashion majors.
It was a very different perspective, personality, everything you have to be; but I got that exposure in a good way, where I said, “Okay, I don't like this, so now I can figure out what the next step is.”
In my junior year, I interned in the summer in New York in a tech marketing agency, and I was their graphic designer. So, that was my first proper exposure with just design and, of course, being a college student, it was just take whatever internship you need at that point for a job.
But then, during my senior year, I got to be more specific. I was a UI/UX design intern for a tech startup. That was my segue from being a general graphic designer into being a UI/UX designer.
How did your career lead you to Designity?
Right after college — I graduated in 2018 — I was hired by the agency in New York that focused on web design for eCommerce businesses.
That was my exposure working in the real world, working with real clients. And the beauty of Parsons is that my major was communication design, where you're constantly talking about your designs and presenting 24/7. That really did prepare me for being able to communicate literally with my clients.
I learned a lot there, like ADA accessibility and other things I didn't even learn in college. Just the real-world experiences in the last four years, and working again cross-functionally with the QA team, the development team, my manager etc. That was all great exposure.
Then, after four years, in 2022, I decided to leave the agency. I had a great experience and reached a point where I had maximized the learning opportunities available, so I felt ready to take on new challenges aligned with my long-term goals. So, I left, and I started my own freelance business. I decided to freelance in UX/UI design but also bring in graphic design and branding because I did miss that creative aspect as well.
I had been doing that for the last two years on and off, and then I applied to Designity last spring.
I just saw the beauty of being able to just do what you were still doing, but also have more exposure to other creatives out there and more projects. I missed talking to other creatives, and it's not the easiest when you're on your own, because it does take time to communicate and make connections and network, and I missed being in a room with creatives out there.
The beauty of Designity is that it still allows you to do what you want outside of it and still exposes me to other clients and connects me with other creatives in our design community.
Would you say that the community is your favorite part about working with Designity?
Being able to communicate with the Creative Directors. I have a really good relationship with one of them — I built a website for one of their projects.
But just being able to hear their stories the way you're hearing mine and see how they got there. Especially if they weren't a designer before, and now they are. So, that's I think my favorite part is just having that access to a community full of creatives
What is your favorite kind of project to take on?
It's funny because I thought I would like branding — and I do, I have my own personal freelance branding projects — but whenever any emerging job would pop up, I'd think, “Oh, I should take this." And I would, and I did some trial and error last year, and I realized that I just get UI/UX a lot better.
I definitely have the experience and creative knowledge for graphic design and branding, but at the end of the day, you're strong with the thing that you know the most. And I think I've just been proving to myself every time that UI/UX and web design just make more sense to me.
So, I like taking on a lot of projects that work in Figma or XD and need any user experience help apart from the UI; that's just my niche.
What are your most challenging types of projects?
Some branding projects where I feel like I'm not as creative as I thought I was, because there are other people who are stronger in branding. And maybe people feel the same way about me when it comes to UI/UX.
I’ll be excited for a web design project, but this branding one, I'm like, “I wanted to like this, but I don't think I like this.”
So, that was really interesting to experience and also realize on my own.
How do you keep yourself up to date with design and UI/UX trends?
For trends, I follow a bunch of random UI/UX and branding creatives on Instagram and read their tips on this and that. On LinkedIn, I also follow a bunch of product designers, UI/UX designers, interactive graphics designers — they always have resources every day too, like “Here’s the first 10 tips of the week for this or that!”
For more design inspiration, I also follow sites like Awwwards, Behance, and Dribbble.
It's nice to read about, and that's how I keep up with the trends. I'm not confident yet to create my own posts; I would love to eventually, but it's nice to just have their insight — literally, whenever I refresh, I get another person or a creative person liking someone else's post, and I see it. So, I'm always reading a bunch of those articles.
And now, of course, with AI in the picture, I’m playing around with different AI tools and then seeing how that can affect us as creatives. It's very interesting.
I follow Dribble, Behance, all of those. I just look and just see the trends out there and see what people are designing and sometimes, I'm like, “I really like that" or “This is a really cool website,” or “I like this specific blog and how they create a micro interaction of how it floats up whenever you hover.” Just those little things that can really make a big difference.
Is there any insight you can give about current UI/UX design trends?
One of the toughest parts of being a designer is explaining design trends to clients without making them feel like we’re dismissing their ideas. It’s tricky — they’ve hired us for our expertise, but sometimes our suggestions clash with their vision, and that can create tension.
But at the end of the day, bedside manner matters. We’re here to guide them, help them understand the “why” behind our design choices, and show how those decisions can ultimately support and grow their business.
So, I’m sure things like drop shadows were cool in the 90s, but now, drop shadows are out. You want things to be — I wouldn’t really say minimal — but just clean and to the point. Because at the end of the day, especially for an eCommerce web designer, you want to increase conversion rates so, you just want things to be straight to the point and get them to the checkout, and that's the point of the design.
Like, in the App Store, you just want them to download the app, or have a great experience on Instagram or Snapchat, these are the whole points of UI/UX.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I'm a big sleeper.
But otherwise, I love to bake; I love making my banana bread. I have a specific specialty of banana bread.
I also grew up with two brothers, so I grew up very tomboy-ish, and I love video games. It's hilarious because my husband actually has proper competition when playing a video game. We love Mario Party on Nintendo Switch. It's really addicting. I've been playing since the Nintendo 64 in the early 2000s.
My husband and I also love traveling; We just came back from Italy for the week. It was a really nice escape, and so beautiful.
I try to say I like to work out, too. I do like yoga. That's definitely something that really helps me.
I used to love acrylic painting too, but I just don't have the time anymore, because you have to set up and have a studio. My goal is to one day have a house where I have a studio that’s already set up, where you can just go in and just paint.
Is there anything else about you that we should know?
This is really random, but I love doing the Wordle.
I’m a night owl, so I do it every night at midnight.
<div class="c-blog_comp-cta cc-component-2"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-wrap"><img src="https://global-uploads.webflow.com/61cdf3c5e0b8155f19e0105b/63695243d096983691046ac3_Potential-Creative.png" loading="lazy" alt="" class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-img"></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-right cc-dark"><div class="c-blog_comp-content"><div class="c-text-wrapper cc-mb-32"><div class="c-title-4 cc-bold"><strong>Like to work as a freelancer with consistent income?</strong></div></div><div class="c-text-wrapper"><div class="c-text-2">Designity's collaborative model is designed to give you all of the perks of being a freelancer without the income instability.<br></div></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-wrapper"><a href="http://designity.com/creatives" target="_blank" class="c-button w-button"><strong>Join Our Creative Community</strong></a></div></div></div>
Do you have any inspiration for aspiring creatives?
Just do what makes you happy. I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but it is true.
Everyone has their own story. My parents came to America in the 80s, like many others, to give our generation and the future generations better opportunities.
I was lucky to be able to follow a creative path, which isn't super common in my culture. Most of my friends — and even my husband — are doctors and engineers, which is great. But whenever I meet someone from a similar background who's also in the creative field, it’s such a refreshing connection.
I’m incredibly grateful that my parents supported me in pursuing design. It hasn’t always been easy. The creative path definitely comes with its share of challenges, but I’ve never regretted choosing it. I knew it’s what I wanted, and I still feel that way.
What’s even better is that my older brother is an architect, and my younger brother is a product designer, so even though they’re more on the physical side of design and I’m in the digital space, we all ended up in this creative world together. It’s fun to nerd out as a family.
At the end of the day, I’m just grateful to be doing something that makes me happy, and that’s more than enough.
