The 27-year-old is taking a future-oriented education with online studies: - Being part of a design process and finally seeing a finished product seems very exciting to me.
Benedicte A. Dørmænen (27) studied User Interface Design at Noroff Online Studies last year, which she really enjoyed. After seeing that several companies were looking for employees with expertise in both UI and UX design, she decided to increase her expertise by also taking a degree in UX design.
– I like creating something from scratch, and being part of a design process and finally seeing a finished product seems very exciting to me. At the same time, it's a very forward-looking profession, says the 27-year-old.
A typical day as a student
Benedicte chose to study online, as all the campuses are some distance from where she lives.
– We just bought a house and didn't want to move. At the same time, online education gave me the opportunity to work alongside my studies, which meant I didn't have to change jobs. It's very flexible as I can take my studies with me everywhere, which is perfect as we love travelling, she says.
It's very flexible as I can take my studies with me everywhere. Benedicte A. Dørmænen
The online student says that a typical study day usually starts when she finishes work at around 13:00. Then she makes herself a cup of coffee, puts on some music and starts reading over the day's module. She does some assignments and talks to the people she works with on discord, while making sure to take breaks from her studies in between.
– I'm lucky to have my own little office at home, so fortunately there's not much to distract me there. Of course, it's tempting to do anything but read sometimes, so I usually go out for ten minutes to get some fresh air and then try again afterwards.
📷: Benedicte's exam assignment in UI design.
The most exciting part of the programme is user testing
Benedicte is happy with how online studies works. She finds that it's challenging enough to be exciting, but at the same time it's not too much and too difficult to be demotivating.
I think it's interesting to see other people navigate around the app or website I've designed.Benedicte A. Dørmænen
– The tasks are manageable and you get good help from the teachers along the way. We can ask the teachers questions in Discord by sending them either by private message or in a shared group. We always get comprehensive and very encouraging answers back. Every week we also have a Q&A session, where we meet the teachers on zoom and can ask questions.
– What do you find most interesting from what you've learnt so far?
– This is a difficult question, as I find the whole programme interesting. But if I had to choose one thing, it would have to be user testing. I think it's interesting to see other people navigate around the app or website I've designed.
She continues:
– Something that makes sense to me might not make sense to someone else and it's really interesting to see how differently people interpret things. It's both fun and sometimes frustrating to try to solve the problems you find during a test, she says.