Insights Day in the Life of Gurjeet Thandi

Gurjeet Thandi is the Technical Authority in User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) design within our Creative Design practice, and is based in our Birmingham office. Her role is to create, visualise and assess how users interact with our digital offerings. Her days are varied, exciting and full of creativity. We caught up with Gurjeet to learn more about a day in her work life.

27 February 2018

My alarm goes off...
I wake up at 5.30am and if I need some extra energy, I’ll go for a run around the canals. Then I have breakfast, which is sometimes cakes and cookies – automatically cancelling out my run! I pick out my wardrobe – whatever doesn’t need ironing but is colourful enough to make sure I stay awake most of the day. I’m an annoying happy morning person as that’s my favourite time of day.

I’m responsible for…
I’ve helped deliver some awesome projects, some public-facing, like the East West Rail consultation app which was created to help members of the public leave feedback on how work may affect their communities, a task usually done by leafleting. And internal projects like Digital Workbench which is a tool that’s being used in the Networks and Drainage practice to support their effort to measure the success of being ‘total digital’. Everything that my team designs is driven around the requirements of the people who will use the technology. This means creating compelling user interfaces that allow people to clearly and easily engage with what we’ve created. Our team then works with the developers to ensure the smoothest delivery and application of our projects.

I got the job…
In November last year, but I’ve been working in digital design for over 10 years. Prior to joining Atkins, a member of the AtkinsRéalis group, I was working on UX/UI design within the automotive industry, working on the finance calculators for BMW/Mini/Motorad, Peugeot/Citroen/DS and other leading dealerships.

My typical day...
Usually involves creating, designing or discussing the user experience of the tools and solutions we offer. It’s full of challenges and requires a lot of collaboration to ensure that all parts of the project work together to reach the most effective solution for our clients and the business as a whole. And I’m always looking for some chocolate or cake to keep me going!

My most memorable career moment…
Was being part of the East West Rail public consultation app delivery team and witnessing users interacting with our tool first-hand, while conducting user behaviour studies. It was fantastic seeing the app being used after all the hard work we put in as a team. It was also great to have the opportunity to see how to develop it further based on the user behaviour. It was an exciting project where we had the opportunity to really engage with customers.

The worst part of my job is…
I can honestly say that I don’t dislike any part of my job as it’s all part of a balance. You need some mildly boring stuff to make the fun stuff even more interesting!

The best part of my job is…
Being able to work with interesting clients with challenging problems or processes that can be improved, and helping to craft a solution. This is done through collaboration, meetings and workshops to ensure we engage, listen and challenge the client’s understanding of what they think is wanted and what is needed. We base this off our experience and expertise with a view to focus on the most valued output – that might be a work/time efficiency, an information portal or a part that entices users to play with technology.

After work I…
Like to play badminton, go for a run/walk or to the gym – basically anything that doesn’t involve another screen!

If I wasn’t a UX/UI designer… 
I would be a product designer. I love solving problems and creating solutions, thinking of how we can make simple everyday tasks more efficient and valuable for people.