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Starting with why

Starting with why

Starting with why

Week #0 - 31/07/23 to 04/08/23
Week #0 - 31/07/23 to 04/08/23
Posted on 7 Aug 2023




Time passes so quickly that it can be quite frightening.

I’ve never written a blog before and it is not my aim to trigger anyone into a crisis with that opening statement but it’s something I think about often.

Shortly after turning 16, I got my first job, and with the exception of annual leave have never had time out. I ran into User Experience Design while working at Apple and started studying for a Professional Diploma with the UX Design Institute, knowing I was fascinated by the concept and wanted to pivot from my role at the time. 

While I will save from giving an overview of my CV, I will say that when moving into the design space I felt pressure to choose one area or discipline to stick to, and as time has passed I’ve realised there's a persistent curiosity within me that cannot be ignored. I constantly consider creativity, the realm of what is possible and what I might make if only I could make time to learn and explore. That has become my why and acted as a call to action. 

Recently I was talking to a fellow designer who has been a great source of inspiration to me. We discussed being a specialist vs generalist and having multiple interests. She recited to me a well-known phrase I had only ever heard the first part of:

“[A jack of all trades is a master of none], but oftentimes better than a master of one”

- William Shakespeare (apparently).


With the above considered I have spent time putting together a sort of curriculum for myself, and over the next few weeks and months will be treating upskill as my 9-5. I’ll be working to improve my skills across UI, Graphic, Motion, Animation and Web Design to make me more rounded in my abilities. In addition to that I will be learning the basics of SwiftUI.




Time passes so quickly that it can be quite frightening.

I’ve never written a blog before and it is not my aim to trigger anyone into a crisis with that opening statement but it’s something I think about often.

Shortly after turning 16, I got my first job, and with the exception of annual leave have never had time out. I ran into User Experience Design while working at Apple and started studying for a Professional Diploma with the UX Design Institute, knowing I was fascinated by the concept and wanted to pivot from my role at the time. 

While I will save from giving an overview of my CV, I will say that when moving into the design space I felt pressure to choose one area or discipline to stick to, and as time has passed I’ve realised there's a persistent curiosity within me that cannot be ignored. I constantly consider creativity, the realm of what is possible and what I might make if only I could make time to learn and explore. That has become my why and acted as a call to action. 

Recently I was talking to a fellow designer who has been a great source of inspiration to me. We discussed being a specialist vs generalist and having multiple interests. She recited to me a well-known phrase I had only ever heard the first part of:

“[A jack of all trades is a master of none], but oftentimes better than a master of one”

- William Shakespeare (apparently).


With the above considered I have spent time putting together a sort of curriculum for myself, and over the next few weeks and months will be treating upskill as my 9-5. I’ll be working to improve my skills across UI, Graphic, Motion, Animation and Web Design to make me more rounded in my abilities. In addition to that I will be learning the basics of SwiftUI.




Time passes so quickly that it can be quite frightening.

I’ve never written a blog before and it is not my aim to trigger anyone into a crisis with that opening statement but it’s something I think about often.

Shortly after turning 16, I got my first job, and with the exception of annual leave have never had time out. I ran into User Experience Design while working at Apple and started studying for a Professional Diploma with the UX Design Institute, knowing I was fascinated by the concept and wanted to pivot from my role at the time. 

While I will save from giving an overview of my CV, I will say that when moving into the design space I felt pressure to choose one area or discipline to stick to, and as time has passed I’ve realised there's a persistent curiosity within me that cannot be ignored. I constantly consider creativity, the realm of what is possible and what I might make if only I could make time to learn and explore. That has become my why and acted as a call to action. 

Recently I was talking to a fellow designer who has been a great source of inspiration to me. We discussed being a specialist vs generalist and having multiple interests. She recited to me a well-known phrase I had only ever heard the first part of:

“[A jack of all trades is a master of none], but oftentimes better than a master of one”

- William Shakespeare (apparently).


With the above considered I have spent time putting together a sort of curriculum for myself, and over the next few weeks and months will be treating upskill as my 9-5. I’ll be working to improve my skills across UI, Graphic, Motion, Animation and Web Design to make me more rounded in my abilities. In addition to that I will be learning the basics of SwiftUI.

Ste's Upskill Curriculum Homepage in Notion
Ste's Upskill Curriculum Homepage in Notion
Ste's Upskill Curriculum Homepage in Notion

Last Monday to Friday was Week 0 - a slow start to get set up. 


The first thing I did was a bit of a self audit on my values, aiming to better define what is most important to me right now and help steer where I might go next. I came up with the 3 pillars below as a starting place. These themes will be reflected in some of the work I plan to share so will hopefully become less abstract over time.


Next I made a start on 100 days of Hacking of SwiftUI and produced some basic but working code that converts a temperature from celsius to fahrenheit while following along.

Then lastly, just for fun I followed a 10x Designers Visual Design for WatchOS workshop and created two basic faces, just to try it out.


Each week I’ll be posting recaps and blogs on this area of my site then sharing them out via my LinkedIn and Twitter. 

Do you have any thoughts on what additional skills are useful in the toolbox of a designer working in UX, visual or creative design? If so I’d love to hear from you at hello@stequayle.me or either of the social media channels linked above. 

Thanks for reading!

Ste