Jana Halfarova

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Jana and I’m a UX/UI Designer. My background is in agencies, so I have experience designing for various industries, from email campaigns for football clubs to heavily regulated fintech mobile apps. I really enjoy web design though. I love blending creativity with strategy while adhering to UX principles, and sometimes breaking them too. I recently got into building Framer templates focusing on wellness brands. Outside of work, I’m a pretty boring, introverted person but I love music, particularly metalcore and deathcore so naturally I enjoy going to concerts (just got back from Download Festival and seeing System of a Down next month), exploring new places, eating out, and strength training to stay fit for as long as possible.

What first got you into tech?

I’m completely self-taught and only got into tech in 2022, after deciding to quit my job as a Fraud Analyst and pursue design which is something I’d leaned towards my whole life. It started when I was around 10, when I got my hands on a pirated version of Photoshop and started making graphics featuring celebrities and horses (I was very into horse riding back then!). That led to creating a blog to share those designs, which I customised with HTML and CSS and that’s where I first came across coding.

Unfortunately, I didn’t continue down that path. My parents pushed me in a different direction and I ended up studying nursing. I knew long before graduation that it wasn’t for me, so I climbed the corporate ladder instead, eventually becoming a Fraud Analyst but design won in the end. My parents still don’t quite get it and keep reminding me I should have been a nurse.

What does your typical working day look like?

My days are currently quite all over the place with no real routine. I’m looking for a new role, so most of my time goes into job searching and tailoring applications. Despite being unemployed, I try to treat my days like I would normally do with a 9am start and 5pm finish but there is a possibility I may take a longer lunch because there is nobody who can tell me off.

What’s your setup? Software and hardware. Pictures welcomed!

Nothing spectacular, I’m afraid! I don’t buy new tech unless something is broken or can’t keep up with my work.

• MacBook Air M1
• Apple iPad Air 2020
• LG Ultrawide monitor (this was a gift, I have no idea what model)
• Logitech Lift vertical mouse
• Apple Magic Keyboard

Software

• Framer
• Figma
• Affinity Suite

What’s the last piece of work you feel proud of?

Probably my first mobile app project. A fintech product focused on family wealth, helping parents and relatives invest in a child’s future. It’s always rewarding to work on something with a genuinely positive outcome that people enjoy using. Despite being new to app design, I’m proud of how it turned out, even with the complexity of the flows involved.

What’s one thing about your profession you wish more people knew?

Most of our work is invisible. People see the final UI screens, but getting there involves a lot of research, strategy, conversations, systems thinking, and countless iterations. And even then, it’s never truly finished and the cycle just repeats.

Share with others something worth checking out. Not necessarily tech related. Shameless plugs welcomed.

• For any fitness enthusiasts tired of programming their own workouts, I really love the Ladder app
• Palia - Free to play, open-world MMO game that I’ve been enjoying for a couple of years