”I applied to inUse because I wanted to be in an environment where UX is a priority”, says Ari Ahokas, new UX Designer at our Malmö office.
Ari Ahokas describes himself as a self-taught designer who made a career change after being a dental technician for ten years.
– I went from a very strange industry designing fake teeth to designing digital products—the two things couldn't be further from each other. I was raised in Raleigh, NC by my Finnish father and American mother—so Scandinavia was always a part of my life in some way or another.
So, what made you apply for a job at inUse?
– I applied to inUse because I wanted to be in an environment where UX is a priority. It's very difficult to find an organization like that, but inUse is defined by UX being a priority. I was extremely impressed by the screening process and how fun it was.
Tell me a bit about your previous work and studies.
– I have never really studied in a traditional way outside of high school, but I suppose we are always studying subconsciously by observing patterns of behavior and design in the world—so in that sense, I've been a student for 31 years. However, I will say that I love Treehouse, Lynda and Google :).
– My work experience has been quite diverse over the years. When you work at small companies and startups, you have to sometimes be the jack of all trades. So I've done everything from branding, visual design and UX, to front-end web development.
What would your dream project be like?
– I've always wanted to build a full-fledged typeface for a large brand.