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UX Strategy Masterclass

Vitaly Friedman

Your instructor
Vitaly Friedman

Workshop includes:

  • 🔖  Examples to take away
  • 🗣  Interactive sessions
  • 📺  Workshop recordings
  • 🎤  Dedicated Q&A time
  • 🏅  Smashing Certificate

Unfortunately, this workshop is fully sold out! But you can join the waiting list in case a ticket becomes available:


Workshop, 5×2.5h + Q&A Tue & Wed, Jan 23 – Feb 6 2024
09:00 – 11:30 AM PT 18:00 – 20:30 CET Check your time zone

Large complex projects — from SaaS and B2C to enterprise and B2B — aren’t easy to navigate for UX designers, even with many years of experience. So how do we make an impact, do good work and grow as designers in such difficult environments? How do we make a strong case for UX research and accessibility? How do we wade through layers of internal politics and red tape? Well, let’s figure it out!

In this workshop by Vitaly Friedman, a UX consultant of the European Parliament and Smashing Magazine’s creative lead, you’ll explore pragmatic and practical tactics and strategies to thrive and survive in complex environments, fight through layers of politics, prove the value of your work and choose your career path.


Here’s What You Should Be Expecting:

  • Interactive live sessions

    5 × 2.5h live sessions

  • Practical insights

    From methodology and workflow to creation

  • Hands-on exercises

    With reviews by your teacher

  • Life-time access

    To all video recordings and examples

  • Dedicated Q&A time

    To ask all your questions

  • Smashing Certificate

    A well-deserved reward for your work


Video Message From Vitaly

A short introduction to the workshop by Vitaly himself.

Meet our brand new workshop with actionable strategies, techniques and practices to make a mark at your workplace and thrive as a successful, confident UX designer.

Get ready to take notes, bring your own doubts, problems and concerns — let’s get to the bottom of it! By the end of the workshop, you’ll have a practical toolkit with actionable insights and strategies to be a happier, and a more confident UX designer.

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to:

  • Thrive and survive in complex environments,
  • Explain, present and defend your design decisions,
  • Track and show the impact of your design work,
  • Make a strong case for UX, research and accessibility,
  • Conduct UX research, even without access to users,
  • Wade through layers of internal politics,
  • Manage expectations and avoid late changes,
  • How to tackle and reduce design debt,
  • Manage conflicting feedback from stakeholders,
  • Estimate time and complexity for your work,
  • Make an impact in legacy-ridden environments,
  • Boost UX in a company with low UX maturity.

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is tailored for advanced UX practitioners, design leaders, product managers, project managers, and UX researchers who are eager to become a better and a more successful UX designer.

You’ll walk away with a powerful toolbox of techniques and real-world examples to apply to your projects, products, or apps.

About Vitaly Friedman

Vitaly loves beautiful content and does not give up easily. Born in Minsk, Belarus, he moved to Germany in 1999 where he studied computer science and mathematics. While writing algebra proofs and preparing for software engineering at nights in the kitchen, at the same time he discovered passion for typography, UX and writing.

His curiosity drove him from interface design to front-end to performance optimization to accessibility and back to user experience over all the years.

Time & Schedule

This workshop is split over five days. Our virtual doors open at 8:45, we start at 9 AM PT.

The workshop sessions will run on the following days:

  • Tue, January 23, 09:00 – 11:30 AM PT
  • Wed, January 24, 09:00 – 11:30 AM PT
  • Tue, January 30, 09:00 – 11:30 AM PT
  • Wed, January 31, 09:00 – 11:30 AM PT
  • Tue, February 6, 09:00 – 11:30 AM PT

You can always re-watch the sessions at a more convenient time and follow the workshop at your own pace.

Day 1: Value Of Your Work

8:45 AM PT
Virtual doors open, registration, chat and introductions.

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • How design is actually seen by most companies,
  • The role and the impact of your design work,
  • Key differences in B2C vs. B2B for designers,
  • Designing for corporate world vs. tech companies vs. start-ups
  • How to track and show the impact of your design work,
  • Key elements of business thinking for designers,
  • Choosing and prioritizing most impactful design work,
  • How to explain, present and defend your design decisions.

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Q&A with Vitaly on the day’s material. Networking!

Day 2: Navigating Politics and Legacy

8:45 AM PT
Virtual doors open, registration, chat and introductions.

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • How to manage challenging stakeholders and influence without authority,
  • How to use relationship mapping for management,
  • How to wade confidently through layers of internal politics,
  • How to make an impact in legacy-ridden environments,
  • Managing conflicting feedback from stakeholders,
  • Managing expectations and avoid last-minute changes,
  • How to negotiate budget constraints and define realistic scope,
  • How procurement works, and what it means for designers,
  • Breaking out of micromanagement and scope creep,
  • Strategic and tactical thinking to get around red tape,
  • How to boost UX in a company with low UX maturity.

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Q&A with Vitaly on the day’s material. Networking!

Day 3: Practical Skills

8:45 AM PT
Virtual doors open, registration, chat and introductions.

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • How to estimate time, complexity and pricing for your work,
  • How to run better design reviews and critiques,
  • How to improve brainstorming sessions,
  • How to get constructive feedback,
  • How to consider risks and crisis in design process,
  • Where to start when redesigning a big project,
  • How to manage and tackle design debt,
  • How to protect your focus time and make most out of meetings,
  • How to embed inclusive design decisions in the design process,
  • How to conduct UX research without access to users.

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Q&A with Vitaly on the day’s material. Networking!

Day 4: Big Decisions and Resolving Conflicts

8:45 AM PT
Virtual doors open, registration, chat and introductions.

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • The components of UX strategy and UX leadership,
  • How to deal with difficult and opinionated co-workers,
  • How to navigate tough conversations with your team,
  • How to make sure teams follow design guidelines,
  • Managing tension between designers, marketing, sales and engineers.
  • How to write an executive summary people will read,
  • How to present and explain your design work to executives,
  • How to make a strong case for UX, research and accessibility.

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Q&A with Vitaly on the day’s material. Networking!

Day 5: Career Path and Personal Growth

8:45 AM PT
Virtual doors open, registration, chat and introductions.

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • UX designer self-evaluation matrix and growth model,
  • How to find and choose the right role in UX,
  • Red flags to check in your design interviews,
  • First 30-60-90 days plan for designers in a new role,
  • Key roles and responsibilities in successful design teams,
  • Common career paths and career levelling frameworks,
  • How to choose between the management track and IC track,
  • How to document your work and its impact,
  • How to estimate the cost/fee of a project,
  • How to negotiate salary as a freelancer/contractor,
  • How to find allies and build a design guild,
  • How to pick the right battles to win.

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Q&A with Vitaly on the day’s material. Networking!


Unfortunately, this workshop is fully sold out! But you can join the waiting list in case a ticket becomes available:


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