Meet the Team: Iva Sabolek
Iva Sabolek, UX/UI Designer
It’s time to meet one more member of the Base58 team. Need QA or UX design? No worries, she got you!
Hi, Iva!
For starters, tell us how long have you been part of the Base58 team, and how you heard about the company.
It’s been 2 years and 5 months since I joined the Base58 team, the time does fly. Well, a good friend of mine is also working here, and because of him, I heard about this company.
We love it when Base58 pops up in personal word-of-mouth recommendations. :) Besides that, what else drove you to continue your career here?
Back then, I was still a student with little experience when Base58 opened new positions for Apprentice QA Engineer. I liked the interview atmosphere and the colleagues seemed cool so I was thrilled to start working here.
Your path within the company is interesting. You started as QA - however, I know your role has evolved over time. How did that happen?
Yes, as I mentioned in the previous question, I started as an apprentice QA engineer, and with time I evolved into a mid-QA engineer. Luckily I had a chance to express my desire for design and started with basic tasks. Later that grew more to design prototypes and promo designs. After that, new projects just came along and I was all in designing. That’s basically how I evolved from QA engineer to UX/UI designer :)
In other words, you’re still helping create usable and high-quality products with great user experience, only in a different area of development.
But be it QA or UX, I'm sure there are times when your motivation is a bit on the low side; it happens to everyone. What helps you find the wind in your sails?
I don’t know if this stands for motivation, but music is what moves me. Most of the time you can see me with my headphones on and moving to the beat of the music while working. The faster the song, the better I work 😂
So, you’re into “me, myself, and I” parties at work. Cool. I am the total opposite, one of those “3 hours of relaxing-calm-piano-nature-healing-chillout-peaceful music” people. :) It’s all good, as long as it floats the boat…
Which genre of music does the trick for you? Is there a go-to song you use to lift yourself up?
At work, I usually listen to pop-rock, rock, and K-pop. But, I’m the type of person who listens to various genres of music depending on how I feel. Oh, currently I don’t have one particularly, but any song from the band ONE OK ROCK will do the job.
What's the best part about working at Base58?
I like the flexible hours and that you can always educate yourself. Also, first-morning coffee with colleagues.
Seems like a laid-back setting. I bet the team plays a big role in that. How would you describe it?
We are all so different, but yet similar. Everyone will share their knowledge and help you if needed.
A colleague in need is a colleague indeed. :)
So, we already know about coffee time - what does the rest of your typical day look like?
As an early bird, I’m the first to arrive at the office. I like to learn something new or just refresh my memory of the UX/UI, so checking Medium blog posts is the first thing I do. After that, the already mentioned morning coffee with colleagues is a must. The rest of the working day looks productive, doing some research or designing a prototype.
Yes, Medium content is a great way of staying up-to-date with the latest design trends. What is the importance of UX design in the process of product development?
One of the most important things in product development is good UX design. Because it helps identify users’ needs and their pain points. Also, creating products that provide a relevant experience and are easy to use. The more we manage to meet the needs of the users, the more likely we are to have a successful product.
And the UX designing approach that will get you to that success?
That depends on the project, but globally the best approach to UX design is:
- Define the problem
- Research and analysis
- Design (user flows, wireframing, prototyping)
- Testing
- Implementation
Thanks for clearing that up. :) Enough about work. Let's deep dive into things that make you you.
The best thing that has happened to you in 2023 - spill the details!
I can only be grateful for the last year, but from all the good things that happened, the best thing was becoming an aunt to my little niece. <3
That really is a great best thing! :) Congratulations. When it comes to things that happen to us, they can also be funny or unique. Describe an experience that you’ve had that falls in that category.
Can’t tell if this is funny or unique, but did you ever run from the police? HAHA because I did. On my 18th birthday (around midnight), my friends and I were walking down the street when we saw a police car. We panicked (we didn’t have IDs with us), so the only ”reasonable” thing to do was to run. 😂 Police probably saw four crazy girls running so they went after us. In the end, we got caught by them but they just laughed at us because they couldn’t believe what they’d just witnessed. 😂
Probably not unique, but funny definitely! “It was just like a movie…” Adele would say. :) Speaking of movies, what would be your recommendation to the readers (or TV shows)?
I probably have the better recommendation but the only movie that comes to my mind is Pride and Prejudice. For TV shows, I always like to recommend The Handmaid's Tale and How I Met Your Mother (classic).
Ah, The Handmaid's Tale…love it! Can’t wait for the 6th season. Hopefully, there will be one.
We're almost done, but before we wrap up, I won’t miss an opportunity to hear about new cool places to visit. The best place you’ve traveled to and why is?
So far Sicily, and to be more specific Etna. Last summer, my friends and I went there and we tried to visit as many places as possible in a 5-day trip (besides Etna we visited Catania, Syracuse, Ortigia island, Palermo, and Taormina). Sicily is so beautiful, everywhere you look you will be astonished by amazing architecture. But the best thing is the “Big Mama” volcano (Sicilian people love to call it this because the volcano gave them fertile soil). We hired a tour guide and we climbed to 2000 meters above sea level. I cannot describe the adrenaline rush just from walking around there - the view, the black soil, and the craters are just amazing. Without further ado, please scroll down to see the images.
I have a hunch that Italian cuisine also contributed to the beauty of the trip. The food always makes a difference. I’m wondering, what is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Unfortunately, or luckily I can’t answer this question because I’m playing safe when it comes to picking what to eat. My colleagues always tease me for choosing dishes with chicken 90% of the time.
