Hi, I am Tony Blessander, a UX Designer from Sweden. I have 20+ years' experience as a designer from working in startups, corporations, agencies and as a consultant.
I am currently Senior User Experience Designer at Agria Vet Guide where we are creating the future of animal care. We are building a platform that helps pet owners get in touch with veterinarians so that pet owners can make better decisions about the healthcare needs of their pets.
Outside of work I read a lot of books and spend time in nature with my camera. I also practice the gentle art of folding clothes while people are still in them.
Recently I sat down and wrote down some of the values and principles that I try to practice and work into my day-to-day. I hope that by sharing them with you, you can understand me better and we can work better together.
Start with why. Invest time and effort in understanding why you are doing something. Make sure you understand what the root cause is and that you can clearly articulate the core of the issue. Do not waste time solving the wrong problem.
Put people first. People are at the center of everything you do. The products, services, systems, and experiences you build should address the core needs of those who experience a problem. Do not design for your own motives. Use empathy to understand and connect with the people you are designing for — and working with.
Do no harm. It is your job to protect people and create positive experiences. Do not mislead or trick people into doing something they do not want to do. The world is filled with complexity, ambiguity and plenty of anguish — make it a goal not to add to it.
Learn and grow. There are endless opportunities to learn something new every day — big and small. It is part of life. Ask questions instead of making assumptions about why things are the way they are. Be humble. Make mistakes. Be comfortable in the uncomfortable.
Find purpose. Every company needs money to exist but making money should not be the purpose of its existence. Find a place where you can do at least some kind of positive, genuine difference.
User experience design is about solving problems, anticipating user needs, and balancing that against the goals and objectives of the business. It is about designing something in a way so that it works the way people expect it to work while also taking into account the user's context and limitations to provide a delightful experience for the person using it.
As a designer, I’m passionate about participating in all phases of a project. I have performed discovery and ideation activities, conducted user research and usability testing, wireframing, prototyping and created high-fidelity designs. I am a big proponent of collaboration, prototyping and experimenting to gain new knowledge and insights and believe the key to success is to include the user throughout the entire process.
I do not believe that there is a process that can guarantee success every single time. Each project is unique and has its own set of characteristics, requirements and constraints, and the reality is that things change, priorities change, the world change. Throughout a project, new insights can, and often will, be uncovered that may lead to rethinking previous decisions. Problems can be complex, difficult to understand and it can be hard to make sense of the tangled mess. The key is not to look for the perfect process but to know how to mix and match resources, frameworks and methods according to the context of the project.
2021 – Present I currently work as Senior User Experience Designer at Agria Vet Guide, an online veterinary service.
2017 – 2021 I worked as Senior User Experience Designer and Team Lead at Pingdom, a cloud-based web performance and digital experience monitoring solution.
In 2014 – 2017 I worked as Product Designer at Automile, a cloud-based fleet management system and electronic trip logger.
In 2012 – 2014 I worked as User Experience Designer at AgilOne, a cloud-based predictive marketing intelligence and customer analytics platform.
Worked 10+ years as an independant designer and in collaboration with various design agencies in Sweden and the US on projects for EA, SolidWork, IKEA, Nortel, Panasonic, ATI, Warner Bros, Alienware, Microsoft, Time Warner Cable, Ford, LIFE magazine and many more. Details provided upon request.