While we love our career and don’t regret the switch, we have been feeling stressed about the UX industry and want to share the stress we are dealing with to provide more transparency in our UX career. Some of the stress we talk about are: Trying to stay up-to-date with the tech industry trends Maintaining our UX portfolio while still working full-time The pressure to take on side projects or side hustles for career advancements The increased competition in standing out and building our personal brand Mikah also shares a wonderful book for creatives called “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert and we discuss how fear sometimes gets in the way of our creative endeavors. She highly recommends this book for all creative professionals. We have also come to the end of Season 1 of Designer Sushi and we are so happy to hear the positive feedback so far. Stay tuned for Season 2 as we’re gearing up for it! 🚀   Connect with us 📱: Instagram: designer.sushi Twitter: DesignerSushi Email: [email protected]   Appendix We understand our listeners aren’t living in Japan and to help understand our content, we are creating a dictionary based on the content we discuss for each episode. Tatemae - The term relates to “honne” as it means displaying one’s true feelings and the behavior and opinions a person displays in public. It’s a practice in Japanese society to avoid conflict and an act of respect. Kohai- Means “junior” and represents the interpersonal hierarchical relationships in companies or schools.

Japanese work culture is a world wonder mainly when you live outside the country. Well, we are here to spill the tea on this topic in both our previous careers and as UX Designers! We share our experience of how we dealt with Japan’s work culture as foreigners while working in both Japanese and international companies. This was a fun topic as we identified the common stereotypes our listeners would typically read about in media and we also compare Japan’s work culture with our home country, Canada, and the Philippines. So do we recommend working in Japan as a UX Designer? The only way to find out is to tune in and listen to this episode! Connect with us: Instagram: designer.sushi Twitter: DesignerSushi Email: [email protected]   Appendix We understand our listeners aren’t living in Japan and to help understand our content, we are creating a dictionary based on the content we discuss for each episode. Senpai- A term used to say to someone that’s your mentor, or a colleague that’s been in the company or school longer than you. Hanami- An event to view the cherry blossoms at full bloom by drinking or having a picnic under these trees. Dispatch company - A company that hires dispatchers (employees) and sends them to work for a company that is in need of more workers. The dispatcher will be paid and sign a contract with the dispatch company. Hanko - A stamp that is used as your signature to “sign” official documents such as bank accounts, immigration papers, etc. Sometimes, a hanko is needed in some institutions due to traditions or cultural reasons. Suica card - a fare card that’s used for train lines in Japan. It’s a common fare card for those living in Tokyo and surrounding areas. Keigo- The Japanese language that is the speech to show respect. It’s common to speak this speech in business and work situations where you talk with higher-ups, seniors, or even customers.  

To kick off our first episode, we discuss our journey in career switching into UX while working in Japan. Mikah talks about how being a software engineer and coding for car audio wasn’t fulfilling for her, and Lori shares that the travel industry wasn’t as glamorous for her. We both had the same desire to be creative and work in the tech industry. We also chat about: Trying to research UX as our next career move and how to transition into it (both online and in Japan) Our UX education experience - Mikah self-studied, and Lori took a full-time boot camp If we felt ready to apply for jobs after our education Job hunting challenges in Japan and Canada for our first UX job Being a foreigner in Japan and the Japanese language fluency being an obstacle Sharing our tips and advice for those looking to transition into UX Connect with us: Instagram: designer.sushi Twitter: DesignerSushi Email: [email protected]   Appendix We understand our listeners aren’t living in Japan and to help understand our content, we are creating a dictionary based on the content we discuss for each episode. Saizeriya- A Japanese fast-food chain restaurant focused on Italian cuisine Mercari and Rakuten- Top Japanese e-commerce companies (similar to Amazon) N2- Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) for non-native Japanese speakers and ranks Japanese proficiency from N5 (the lowest level) to N1 (the highest level) Omotenashi - Philosophy of Japanese hospitality that represents thoughtful acts and is rooted in Japanese culture

Welcome to the launch of Designer Sushi! In our pilot episode, you can get to know us as hosts as we discuss our professional background and our current job in UX. We also talk about why we named our podcast “Designer Sushi” and why we have such a huge connection to Japan. You can also get a sneak peek at some of the plans and goals we have for this podcast as well as some topics for future episodes. EPISODE OUTLINE Who are your hosts, Lori and Mikah? Our UX jobs Connection to Japan Why Designer Sushi as our podcast name? What we hope to achieve in this podcast Topics for future episodes Our UX journey Talk to experts in the UX industry (in Japan and Canada) Interviewing new UX Designers Feature other UX Designers from different countries Connect with us: Instagram: designer.sushi Twitter: DesignerSushi Email: [email protected]