Just Do It: User Experience Expert Eric Meniefield Shares Insights with Upskillers

Meniefield conducting an online UX design workshop with Upskillers.

Eric Meniefield’s favorite phrase from the Bible is “Faith without works is dead,” meaning that true faith is demonstrated by actions, not words, and without actions and good deeds, faith is “dead.”

Or to put it another way – and to borrow from Nike, one of Meniefield’s favorite brands – “just do it.”

Lifted by his “faith-without-works” approach, Meniefield became the founder and executive director of Wrkz Inc. (pronounced “Works”), a nonprofit based in Los Angeles that expands economic and career mobility for emerging creators and entrepreneurs from underserved communities.

When Dr. Tati Warren, a founding member and board member of The Upskilling Labs, met Meniefield at a National Science Foundation conference in Michigan, she immediately recognized the synergy between Wrkz and The Upskilling Labs and asked Meniefield to share his expertise on user experience design with the “Upskillers.” The Upskilling Labs is a civic learning community that helps mission-driven professionals put their faith into action by exploring how emerging technology and skill-sharing can create new value for local communities.

“Sometimes, you can have a vision or a dream or a passion for something and never put in that next step to bring it to life,” Meniefield said. “I firmly believe that if you don’t put forth that effort, your dreams are going to stay dreams, and your visions are going to stay visions.

“You don’t want to live in that space where ‘I wish I could have or I should have,’” he added. “I love Nike, so like they say, just do it!”

Wrkz Inc. creators, mentors, and vendors are celebrating the completion of a 5-week User Experience immersive course through project presentations, certificate awards, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Photo courtesy of Wrkz Inc.

From Dream to Reality

Meniefield’s climb to starting his own company was filled with many “just-do-it” moments. After earning a psychology degree from Azusa Pacific University, he worked odd jobs, including one as a Lyft driver. While meeting a variety of people and collecting business cards, he had an idea of creating a digital business card app. 

That led him to think about the process of creating an app, which led him to a software development bootcamp in San Diego, which led him to think more deeply about the user experience (UX) component of computer software.

“I wanted to understand the full product life cycle, from concept to delivery, and what needs to happen in order to launch a successful product,” Meniefield said.

He worked as an apprentice for Pivotal Software Inc., where he eventually went through several rounds of interviews for what he described as his “dream job.” But he didn’t get the job, and what emerged from his disappointment was the idea to start Wrkz and help people from his community who were struggling to break through in tech and creative industries.

“The beautiful thing about tech and creativity is that as long as you have the knowledge, you can apply it to anything, right?” Meniefield said. “And so, you don’t need to work at a Google or Snapchat, all you need is a product or an idea. How about I take that and put all my energy into this nonprofit and just do it for myself?”

What started as a mentorship program in 2018 has evolved into a full-blown business that allows Meniefield to use his expertise and experience to help young people gain access to real-world jobs. In a similar way, The Upskilling Labs provides participants with opportunities to work on AI-driven projects that help them land jobs or pivot in their careers.

Wrkz Inc.’s 5-week User Experience Immersive is a project-based training program that equips underserved young creators and entrepreneurs with foundational UX design,  and digital problem-solving skills through hands-on paid learning, mentorship, and real-world project collaboration.

Photo courtesy of Wrkz Inc.

Exploring UX Design

Regular presentations and workshops are integral to the Upskilling community, and Meniefield’s presentation in late March explained the fundamentals of UX design to understand how a user’s experience translates into value. He also explained how UX and user interface (UI) are different, and how to get started with UX research. 

“So, if you’re sitting on the couch watching TV, the remote control is the actual UI and what you’re thinking, what you’re feeling, and what you’re saying is the actual UX,” Meniefield explained. “I wanted to make that distinction between those two and provide the Upskillers with a research plan template and how they could go about setting that up.” (Watch “An Intro to UX Design with Eric Meniefield” here.) 

Meniefield is looking forward to possible future collaborations with The Upskilling Labs as both he and the Upskillers continue to explore new ways for community members to build real-world skills through hands-on projects and industry partnerships.

“It’s really important to have a space where individuals can go if they’re in limbo,” Meniefield says. “If I’ve been working for a few years, and I have some really valuable experience that I need to translate to another industry, here’s how I can do that successfully.”

For more information on The Upskilling Labs and its current program on solving issues related to energy and climate, visit the program webpage and event calendar, and connect on LinkedIn.