Four years ago, I tried applying to your company, but it was still too early at that time. Now, I am ready, and I really hope that this time everything will work out perfectly! That's why I've described a short story or why I'm a perfect fit for the GitLab team.
So, I'm Kris, a Lead Product Designer with over 7 years of experience. I have a degree in Computer Technology and some background in Development.
I will be able to fully contribute to the design of the Product Analytics product in collaboration with the Product Manager, Engineers, UX Researchers, and Technical Writers.
And here's WHY
Begin. Since my early childhood, I've been fascinated by computers. Out of curiosity, I used to disassemble and reassemble the computer's system unit. In the third grade (in 2003), I created my first website. I came up with the design, drew the images using just a mouse (I didn't have a tablet at the time), and selected the colours.
I don't have a screenshot, but the website looked somewhat like this:
I remember trying to create a very smooth gradient from emerald green to dark green, but the limitations of web development at that time didn't allow me to achieve it
First software. In high school, I effortlessly created simple programs in Pascal and Visual Basic, achieving top positions in programming competitions.
Additionally, I assembled my own Linux distribution (based on Ubuntu) for educational institutions and won first place in the all-Russian competition "Start in Science" organized by MIPT (top-2 university in Russia). I selected programs for the distribution, designed panels, and came up with several wallpapers. It turned out to be a really cool distribution called "Plug and Study."
After high school, I pursued a degree in Computer Technologies at the university. Higher mathematics, physics, programming in pure C, C++, C#, Java — I learned it all. We were taught how to upload code to repositories and use them without a GUI (only through the terminal).
During my studies, I wrote my own mini-game, a codec, and an archiver. I analyzed assembly code and explained how the processor works. It was a lot of fun!
QA Engineering. So, initially, I joined as a Software QA Engineer at a company that developed a card payment application. During my two years there, I automated testing for 95% of the mobile application. All I needed to do was input the parameters and click the "Run" button. This is where I learned to automate testing by writing scripts in Groovy.
It's like magic when you see the graphical interface being navigated automatically without human intervention!
During this time, I also actively started using GitLab as it was the primary software in our company. It was there that I learned about the profession of a designer and realized that it was my calling! That's when my journey as a designer began.
Me as a Designer. My specialization lies in complex interfaces, and I'm really good at it. I can unravel a large, intricate volume of information and transform it into simple, understandable diagrams, solutions, and ideas.
On this page, I will showcase two of my projects with a focus on analytics and the creation of complex systems. I applied for this role because I'm passionate about visualizing data. However, you can find more projects in my portfolio through the link.
For 2 years, I worked on a product for film production planning, from budgeting to post-production. Link →
"Action Planning" is a new product developed by Action.Online, a company specializing in software solutions for the film industry. I joined the Action.Planning team as a Lead Product Designer at its inception when the team was in the early stages of discussing the potential product.
The primary goal was to create a product that would enable long-term film shooting planning for years ahead. If, for instance, on August 20, 2024, there's rain instead of the planned sunshine, the entire plan involving actors, locations, lighting, sound, and more needs to be revised.
I joined the project at an early stage, and with the product team, we decided to start with research to understand how the film production process works. I integrated continuous research and designed the architecture of the entire product, aligning it with a team consisting of a Product Owner, managers, and developers. Together with two other designers, we worked on the product's design, gradually transitioning completed parts into development with design reviews.
I have a detailed Case Study available through the link →
What I want to highlight here is my work on project analytics. Film production involves tracking analytics at different levels: financials and hours spent. Therefore, it was crucial to tailor the information format to the specific needs of various roles.
Another small open-source project I worked on part-time is a product that allows you to analyze webpack production bundles without having access to the source code of a website.
The goal was to create a straightforward way to interact with web bundle analysis and analytics on a website.
I conducted several interviews with developers and devised the project's structure. With a small team of designers, we collectively designed the necessary pages and handed them over for development. During the development process, we provided guidance on all questions and conducted design reviews.
The project has been released and can be found at the following link →
You can find more of my other projects in my portfolio at the following link →
Lastly, I want to mention that I've been eager to work with your team and product for a long time. I've read your open documents, follow your social media, and have a good understanding of your internal processes. So, integrating into your structure won't be a problem for me. I enjoy challenges and adapt quickly to them.
Thank you soooo much for your attention. I'll be looking forward to your response! Have a great day :)
Thank you :) you are amazing!