Sofia Joelson

UI/UX Designer at Topia Design

Posted on 15 Sep, 2025

What apps do you use to help you design?

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Analytics

Awwwards

Canva

ChatGPT

Cursor

Dribbble

Figma

Framer

Hotjar

Lovable

Miro

Squarespace

Typeform

How did you get started in your role as a designer?

I studied to get a degree in UX Design. There I was taught by senior designers about the whole design process, from research and building design systems from scratch to creating complete hi-fidelity designs and prototypes for apps, websites and physical screens. Within the studies I got to work in both fictional and real projects with other designers to also learn about collaboration and agile methodology. Today's job market is strict on work experience, but since two internships were included within my studies, I was able to graduate with hands-on experience and references on my resume. That's one of the main reasons I would recommend anyone who would like to start out to invest in studying.

What are the responsibilities of your role as a designer?

As a designer you ''wear a lot of hats''. The role ranges widely - from understanding behavior and what the user need, to finding the perfect creative solution, and visualize it. You need to ask the right questions to others and to yourself to lead the design decisions in the right direction. You need to understand how it's going to be used and question the possible outcomes of each decision to tailor it to the goal. Finally, you need to visualize the decisions into something that is understood, and preferably looks nice as well. 😄

What difficulties do you encounter in your role as a designer?

The never ending definition of done! An iterative process is always challenging to define as done, when there is always ways to improve it.

What advice would you give to your younger self trying to get into the field of design?

Learn Figma as early as possible, and don't fear auto layout. 😂

As a designer how do you stay inspired?

You can honestly find inspiration in absolutely anything, such as interior design, art, posters, shapes, patterns in nature, media, motion or from simply a conversation. For me it is often hard to get inspired without any starting point. I need a goal, such as a need to find a solution within a project - then I seek inspiration all around me almost automatically. Once I open up your mind to inspiration, it is easier to keep the ball rolling.