ValentinaAntunovic
– Design Manager at Vhi Healthcare
“As the founder of UX Tree, my goal is to nurture and elevate the skills of junior UX designers, guiding them towards crafting exceptional user experiences and shaping the future of design.”
- Mentoring at UX Tree since September 2021
- Based in Dublin, Ireland
About
“I founded UX Tree to bridge the gap between education and workspace for junior UX designers. I aimed to create a nurturing space where new designers could learn practical skills and gain real-world experience.
After working at AIB for 5.5 years and now as a Design Manager at Vhi, I bring a wealth of experience to guide these new designers. My goal is to use what I’ve learned to mentor them, helping them build the skills they need to succeed.”
Top Skills
- Feedback and Critique Skills
- UX Research
- Project Management Guidance
- Industry Knowledge and Experience
Favourite Topics
- UX Research
- UI & Interaction Design
- Stakeholder Management
- Preparing for Job Interviews
Mentoring Skills
- Active Listening
- Constructive Feedback
- Career Guidance
- Networking and Community Building
Working experience
Vhi Healthcare | Design Manager
• Developing and managing design strategies, plans, and processes in support of product launches and other initiatives
• Monitoring and managing Design team, ensuring they have the necessary skills, tools, and resources to complete projects on time
August 2022 -Present
AIB | Lead UX Designer
• Leading, supporting, and mentoring a team of Designers, making sure they respect the design process
• Planning and moderating usability testing sessions, testing the prototypes with a user-centred approach
• Daily collaboration with developers, product owners, business analysts and stakeholders with a main goal of taking every project to completion
Feb 2017 -August 2022
My Portfolio
My LinkedIn
Why UX
“I started in Digital Marketing, but it was building a website that really got me into UX Design. I love how UX starts with what the user needs and works to solve their problems – it’s completely different from digital marketing.
I first got into UX in Croatia as a web designer. Wanting more challenging work, I moved to Ireland and joined AIB, where I worked on big projects like Remote Account Opening and Mortgage Digitalisation. These experiences helped me grow a lot as a designer and as part of a team.”
Case studies from Valentina's Mentees
What Mentees say
Niamh Fahey, Content Designer at IBM
“Valentina was an amazing mentor. She always provided engaging, thoughtful and insightful advice that helped me to consider perspectives abd tools I might not have discovered on my own. It was a delight to work with her each week and she expertly helped me navigate the project, her passion and expertise in UX evident throughout. Her advice and guidance helped me to develop a well-rounded and robust case study. “
Nunzia Terminello, UX/UI Designer at RettApps
“What worked well was clear communication. Valentina was open and honest with me. And having regular check-ins was crucial for maintaining a strong relationship throughout the process. She provided consistent feedback and support.”
Feargal Cassidy, UX Designer at Cora Systems
“The UX Tree Mentorship Programme has been a great opportunity for me to develop my skills in UX while working alongside an experienced designer. Throughout the programme, Valentina has been fantastic offering their enthusiastic support at every stage. My confidence approaching job interviews grew while taking part and Valentina was always there with calming advice and reassurance.”
Valentina's certificates
These certificates represent the number of mentees Valentina has successfully guided to completion of the UX Tree Mentorship Programme. It’s worth noting that a mentor might have fewer certificates than the total number of mentees they’ve begun mentoring, as not all mentees complete the program.
