Chloe’s experience to get to the Guardian is a very interesting one. From battling impostor syndrome to struggling with dyslexia and being a mum to two young boys, she brings incredible energy to her UX designer role and team every day.
How did you begin your journey to UX design?
I had a relatively tricky start in life as I struggled with dyslexia, which wasn’t diagnosed until I was about 15 and found schooling quite difficult. For me growing up reading the Guardian felt completely unattainable, it was like a party I knew I would never be invited to. But, despite feeling such a sense of impostor syndrome, it was really amazing to feel so welcomed and valued here. I was one of the first people in my family to go to university. I went to UCA Farnham and studied digital screen arts and, once I was able to move away from writing essays and start designing, everything changed.
How did your career kick off straight after university?
The final project I did at university was to build an interactive table that mimicked a pond with seahorses. This was the beginning of my thoughts towards UX. I then made a portfolio of my design experience in the real world and joined a company which gave me my big break. Here I was given the opportunity to design mobile sites for M&S, Jaguar and local government. The highlight was making a Christmas app for Waitrose – which was featured in the Apple app store. So, at 23 I felt as if I was at the top of my game (and maybe a little bit cocky!). I then moved on to a bigger agency where I worked with global brands, including pharmaceuticals. The highlight however was a beautiful project where my team got to design a tribute to the owner’s late wife. It focused specifically on writing and sharing poetry which was very fulfilling.
What attracted you to the Guardian?
I used to read the Guardian online a lot pre-pandemic but my two small boys take up most of my reading time. Ethics are very important to me and I want to make sure I’m focusing my energy into putting something good into the world. Firstly I couldn’t believe I got the interview and then I was blown away with the people I met in the interview and how friendly, personable and lovely they were. I said to myself: “these are good people”, because handling the news is just such an important job. I feel very proud to work here.
What do you enjoy about working in your team?
I like to channel my energy, which luckily comes very naturally to me. I’ve been in UX for 13 years and I like teams to feel that working with me, doing UX, is the best party and they must invite Chloe. I get a lot of feedback about this contagious energy from the engineers I work with and I think it goes down well when we’re tackling complex designs.
As a female and a mum, do you feel that diversity is championed in the product and engineering community?
The Guardian’s commitment to work/life balance is the best I’ve witnessed. I think this comes from senior management modelling a good example of work/life balance and championing hobbies. I love the diversity and inclusion talks and to see the senior managers make the effort to attend those. I like to see managers talk about their kids at work and people from diverse backgrounds encouraged to tell their stories. I feel that at the Guardian we build things to last and our workplace culture is giving the employees the ability to work without burning out.
Which projects are you working on at the moment?
I’m dedicated to the teams who look after our readers with a paid relationship with the Guardian. We’re always researching, testing, innovating and working with readers to improve their experiences with us. More recently I’ve been working on improving how accessible our checkouts are and how easy it is to ‘switch’ our paid experiences.
Do you have any advice you would give to your younger self?
Not the most corporate answer but I would say: “treat yourself, enjoy yourself, you deserve it babe!”.
Development of digital products is central to the Guardian. You could be building the products that showcase our progressive and independent journalism, crafting the tools that journalists use to write their stories, developing the services that allow those stories to be distributed across the globe, or safeguarding our financial future.
If you’re interested in joining our product and engineering team, please visit the Guardian News & Media careers page.