My Small Hiatus <3

Last fall, I made a decision that felt both exciting and nerve-wracking: I took a break from LAITS to accept a return offer with Auctane as a product design intern. Here ia recap of things I learned as I was gone and what I am bring back as I am excited to return.

Diving Into the Design System

One of the most valuable aspects of this internship was getting deep experience with Auctane’s design system.

I learned that a design system isn’t just a library of components, it’s a language that enables consistency, speeds up decision-making, and helps teams scale. At Auctane, I spent time understanding the rationale behind design tokens, component variations, and documentation standards. I also learned when to work within the system’s constraints and when to advocate for new patterns that better served our users.

Some key takeaways:

• Documentation is everything. When you’re designing at scale, clear documentation helps designers, developers, and product managers stay aligned.
• Consistency builds trust. Users develop mental models based on patterns. Breaking those patterns without good reason creates friction.
• Systems evolve. A design system should never be static. I contributed to discussions about updating components and adding new patterns as our product needs evolved.

Owning Projects End-to-End

Perhaps the most significant difference from my previous internship was the level of ownership I was given. Rather than working on discrete tasks, I was responsible for entire project workflows—from discovery and research through to final handoff.

This meant:

• Leading stakeholder meetings and presenting design rationale
• Conducting user research and synthesizing insights
• Creating high-fidelity prototypes and running usability tests
• Collaborating with engineers during implementation
• Measuring impact post-launch

Having end-to-end ownership taught me that product design is about solving problems, understanding business constraints, advocating for users, and working cross-functionally to ship solutions that actually work.

What I Learned About Myself

Beyond the technical skills, this internship taught me a lot about how I work best and what kind of designer I want to become.

I discovered that I thrive when given autonomy and trust. That trust pushed me to think more critically, take ownership of my decisions, and grow comfortable with ambiguity.

I also learned the importance of asking questions, even when I felt like I should know the answer. The best designers I worked with were curious, humble, and always learning. They created an environment where asking “why” wasn’t seen as a weakness but as a strength.

Looking Ahead

As I prepare to return to LAITS, I’m returning with a clearer sense of what it means to be a UX/UI designer, a deeper appreciation for collaboration and systems thinking, a much better communication/ project management skills. Excited to bring what I learned to my upcoming project of redesigning the Tower Tools UI.