I am Anastasiia Serdiukova. My last name is pronounced as Sir-Duke-Ova, so think of me as a noble knight fighting for users and good content.
I want to make people’s life easier with responsible and ethical designs. When I worked as a journalist, talking to people and figuring out their goals and problems made a big part of my job. I am bringing these communications and research skills to do good UX work. I am a self-starter who is used to working independently and on a team in a fast-paced environment.
I live outside Washington, DC, but I am open to relocation.
Empathy as a journalist
Understanding what motivates people in their actions, goals, and problems has been my favorite part of working as a journalist. I’ve always enjoyed digging deep into an issue with my research skills, taking an extra step to make sure I get the whole picture.
When I covered the Russian diamond market for a leading American trade publication, I loved the challenge of discovering the workings of this closed industry. There were few research papers about it, so I had to rely on talking to people and observing.
Looking at a problem from different angles, discovering what motivates people involved in an issue was the cornerstone of my work as news editor at rt.com. Although I often found myself in a fast-paced environment of breaking news, working there taught me that I should always take a moment to step back, look at a broad picture, and question myself.
Why UX?
A few years ago, I realised that I had made a career I wanted in journalism and was ready for a new challenge. I want to make people’s lives easier and help them understand each other better.
UX is a perfect fit because it puts people first. I’ve also been concerned that sometimes technology has a negative impact on people’s life, even if unintended. I’ve also observed that many good products fail because of a detail or a few words. I believe my research and writing skills along with my experience of empathising with various people and being cautious of biases could really make a difference.