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Asaf

Meet Asaf. He's a Senior UX/UI Designer.

At work, problem solver; off-duty, stand-up comedian

A good day for me is when I really understand a user’s problem. I really like talking to people and solving their problems.

Understanding a user is the key to building better solutions. In my role as a Senior UX/UI Designer, I am part of a funnel team. We get requests to solve problems by building digital solutions. My role, specifically, is to dive nose-first into those problems, validate them – and then work on offering potential solutions that we can develop into proof of concepts or MVPs. I like to think of it as a discovery and early concept development process. 

For the love of token design

✏ Figma is my main tool

“I really like talking to people and solving their problems.”
Asaf Cohen, Senior UX/UI Designer at Novo Nordisk

Solver of tedious problems

I joined Novo Nordisk, because I found an opportunity where I could use my previous experience and knowledge from working in mainly science-based start-ups. At Novo Nordisk, I could build on that knowledge – and improve. Every day I get to use my skills to make changes that improve a user’s day-to-day problems. Ranging from a lab, a production line, to a manager’s office, a doctor’s clinic and for patients at home as well.

Recently, I worked on a tool that removed tedious and error prone manual work for a group of lab technicians and scientists. With the tool, we’ve improved their workflow, allowing them to focus on more challenging and fulfilling aspects of their work.

Before joining Novo Nordisk, I actually had some reservations. I thought that it might just be a traditional suit-and-tie kind of company, but I’m happy to say, it’s much looser than I thought. There is a lot of space to be yourself, and the way employees are cared for here is, frankly, unlike anything I’ve seen. 

Then there’s the one about...

At work and outside work, I like to pursue my passions. Within Novo Nordisk, I’m part of a few UX and design communities. The communities are a great place to share knowledge, experiences and challenges within the realms of UI, user research, and design thinking. Also, when it comes to internal questions about in-house products, that’s the place I go to, to find the right sources or when I need to find the right people. We also use them to band together and discuss different needs. Say, if we want to present a strategy to management, it’s good to sound out the community before-hand to align on our needs and challenges.

Outside work, I enjoy spending time with my family. I’m married to an amazing Danish woman, and we have three wonderful daughters. I’m also passionate about stand-up comedy. To spare my family from always having to listen to my jokes, you can quite often find me at various stand-up gigs on both weekdays and weekends. However, my workplace isn’t spared. Every time I have the opportunity, say when I run a workshop, do a presentation or even when I meet new people, I crack a joke or two. Some colleagues have also joined me for a night out at the comedy club a few times.

My career

My first <3

My first job was in small start-up. I worked within UX, but I was also a scrum master, project manager and a QA tester. And that wasn’t everything, I was responsible for customer communications and producing the release notes for our products.

Then...

I then moved on to a scale-up company, where I was the first UX designer to be hired. Among other things, my role was to help mature the understanding within the company about what design is.

More start-up

My next job was also in a start-up. Obviously doing UX, but a key thing was also that it was a remote working position, way before remote became cool.

And now...

... I find myself in Novo Nordisk, as an actual UX expert. Improving my skills everyday while helping users from all over the world.

Development path

As a kid, I went to “Code Camp” where I learned “Basic.” Yes, I am that old. But, when studying Multimedia Design I realised that coding is probably not my thing. I think everything changed when I studied a Bachelor's degree in Medialogy. Here, I saw the benefits in linking creativity and IT, and I realised, that I really like talking to people and solving their problems. This led me to focus on Human Computer Interaction during my master's degree in Medialogy – and even though I don’t code, I found out that I could do some amazing stuff with Processing.

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