The Good Fight in UI/UX Design: Why Personal Connections Matter More Than Ever

I started the article by mentioning how many of us began our design journeys by watching other people’s content. And believe it or not, Jesse’s design career started out in the same way: “reading design blogs and watching other people’s content”. So yes, if you’re reading this while still trying to figure it all out through YouTube tutorials, don’t worry! Jess was there once, too!

He admits that he was heavily inspired by other creators that he’d seen online – many of the same ones that you and I have probably learned from as well. So, for him, the most meaningful way to honor this is by giving back and helping others the way that he had been helped. 

“I actually started out by wanting to blog, but I realized really quickly I hate writing.”, Jesse joked.

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Although writing wasn’t his thing, he did, however, like telling stories and talking with people. So, that’s when he thought that it would make more sense to have an audio podcast. But until he actually finished that idea, Jesse figured, why not just turn on the camera and give it a shot? (pun intended)

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And he did! Almost 10 years later, Jesse is still one of the most trusted voices in the UI/UX design community.

But not everything is as it seems. Jesse reveals that he didn’t start creating content on YouTube to be an influencer, nor to gain money. Instead, it was also about helping him become more consistent. “I was a very inconsistent person”. So, by posting regularly on his channel, he was challenging himself to break that pattern. 

Of course, the opportunities that followed were pretty “rad” as well. And the reason is simple. More than anything, what truly grew from this project was a community. 

Jesse goes on and talks about an experience where a dad reached out to him and told him that his teenage son was really struggling with school and wasn’t interested in doing anything. But there was one exception. You’ve guessed it. Design. Apparently, this 12-year-old boy discovered Jesse’s videos and started regularly watching them. For the first time, he found something that gave him hope. And brought a son and a father closer together along the way.

Jesse himself said that the joy and the personal satisfaction that came from this story are incomparable.

Stories like these remind Jesse why sharing knowledge and connecting with others matter so much. While sitting down with him, he talked about the power of conversations and creating connections – just by sharing our own stories and experiences.

“I can share my stories. You can share your experiences. And for me, that's where real growth happens.”

But way before Jesse was a mentor, he was also the mentee. Mario Quesada, a designer who’d worked with Disney Interactive and Warner Bros., was the one who literally opened up Illustrator on Jesse’s laptop. He guided his hand on the pen tool and showed him why design thinking mattered more than anything else. They are still great friends to this day.

These personal interactions are exactly what make us better designers. It’s not just about getting feedback on a certain project. But it’s about learning from one another. That’s what Jesse is trying to do with Design Champs, his YouTube community. He wanted to create a place where we could meet up with each other and build those relationships.

“I want to help you in a personal way. So it's Design Champs is my attempt at reaching out and connecting with more people in a more personal way.”

Jesse is a well-known content creator and educator. So, after reviewing a lot of portfolios, he noticed some misunderstandings that many junior designers tend to have. 

The most common one? It’s the one that comes from a lot of young UI/UX designers transitioning from backgrounds like web design or graphic design, or even print. There’s nothing wrong with moving to UI/UX design. However, they do tend to “bring a similar creative exploration and branding process” to the UI design.

But truly great UI/UX design is all about beautiful, functional, and easy-to-use experiences for customers. As Jesse puts it, it’s not about what the designer wants to express – it’s about what the user needs to accomplish. 

The secret to being a successful UI/UX designer is letting go of your ego. The design should feel invisible – so intuitive that the user doesn’t even notice.

Jesse believes that this is what separates a portfolio that looks good from one that works well. When we’re receiving feedback, our impostor syndrome may kick in as we tend to tell ourselves that “we don’t know what we’re doing” – it’s normal. The key here is to lean on the experience and wisdom of those who’ve already faced the same challenge.

Just like Jesse looked up (and still does) to other designers, creators, and mentors who came before him, he encourages others to do the same. 

For many designers, the ultimate career goal is to work at a top-five tech company. This was Jesse’s dream as well. In his mind, he felt like it was a “checkmark that needed to be hit” – something that he had to accomplish to feel like he’d made it.

So, when he landed the job at Apple, he really felt like yes, this is it. This is the moment. Years of hard work, consistency, and growth had led to working there. Jesse was part of a couple of big releases, such as the studio display, the Mac Studio, the Apple Trade In program, and so on. 

Buuuut, once he got there, it wasn’t quite like that: “It was awful. It was really bad”. Jesse admits that while the idea of working with an iconic figure like Johnny Ives sounds incredible on paper, it wasn’t what he expected in the first place. And it’s not necessarily what you would expect.

When you’re working in such a huge organization, you don’t really have the freedom to move fast and try weird things. We know that. Even more so, it’s also really tough to lead any sort of design idea because it’s going to get picked apart and designed by committee. He also revealed that it needed 60 or 70 people to build a single landing page. 

Unfortunately, he’s “just not that person”. His personality doesn’t do well with such slow momentum and too many decision-makers. Of course, he appreciates his time at Apple and considers it a great learning experience. However, this may be the goal for many, but not for Jesse.

“So I love you, Apple. Love your design team. Enjoyed my time there somewhat, but it was probably it was more me than them. It's like breaking up with a girlfriend. Like, it's not you, it's me.”

This is just the perfect example that success isn’t one-size-fits-all. As designers, we should always chase what feels right for us and look for projects that align with who we are as creatives. This experience reminded Jesse of something he already knew deep down: fulfillment comes from meaningful connections.

So, when Dribbble reached out and asked him to help build a new design course, he wasn’t immediately sold. “There are a million courses out there”, he told them. “I make free content on YouTube every week. What would make this different?”. It didn’t align with what he believed in at all, nor did he think there was any value in that course.

He took their idea and made them more Jesse-like. He pitched something more hands-on, more personal – a cohort-based learning, small groups, weekly mentorship, guest sessions, and real community. Something that felt like someone sitting next to you. And Dribbble agreed.

Together, they built a 16-week product design based on personal interaction, collaboration, and growth – exactly the kind of learning Jesse wanted.

Beyond teaching and content creation, Jesse channels his passion into a personal project as well – Good Fight Creative, his own design agency. After years of freelancing solo, Jesse wanted to take the next steps. But not in a way that many designers would expect.

Jesse reveals that he wants to focus on creating that personal connection that he loves. So, that’s why he doesn’t want to (nor did he ever want to) run an agency that has 15 people in it. “I have zero desire in that”. Instead, his company stays small – just Jesse, one full-time designer, and a part-time designer, working closely with clients and solving their problems. A boutique, as he calls it.

“I wanted to really just, again, have that intimate, personal, hands-on experience with my clients that I do when I'm freelancing, but still have it be more than just me.”, he explains.

And that’s exactly what Good Fight Creative represents. And exactly what Jesse stands for.

The name also carries a deep personal meaning for Jesse. Inspired by a verse from the New Testament (1 Timothy), it’s about “fighting the good fight”. For Jesse, this isn’t about physical fights, but about perseverance and consistency, even in the midst of tough seasons. So for him, sometimes projects are hard, or maybe they are dealing with a hard period. Jesse wants to be there!

“And I can help you fight that fight. So that's kind of my clever little jab, we want to be there with you in the good times and in the not-so-good times to help bring about more good times.”

Whether through his agency, teaching, or content creation, Jesse’s work is about building personal connections, which fuel his growth and creativity.

At the end of the day, design is about people. Showing up, listening, helping, and fighting the good fight along with others – and that’s what truly makes a difference.