From Marketing back to the UI/UX roots: Meet Ege Beşe
Ege Beşe is an essential member of our team, bringing creativity and dedication that drive our success and that our clients value a lot. From running a digital marketing agency to becoming a top-notch UI/UX designer at Magic Design, his journey showcases his unwavering commitment and passion. From vibrant Turkey, Ege seamlessly blends meticulous design with effective communication to deliver exceptional websites and apps.
First, here's a little visual introduction Ege prepared for you:
Q1: Can you walk us through your professional journey before considering a role at Magic Design?
Before becoming a designer at Magic Design, I worked at a digital product studio as a UI/UX designer. Prior to that, I owned a digital marketing agency and sold digital marketing-related products for almost four years. I had been designing websites since 2016, which made my transition to UI/UX design quick and easy. After the pandemic, I decided to close my agency and focus on UI/UX design lessons. I watched YouTube tutorials, took Google UX courses, and began working on my portfolio. During this time, I also freelanced as a UI/UX designer. Eventually, I got tired of looking for gigs and started searching for a full-time job. My first full-time role as a UI/UX designer was before joining Magic Design.
Q2:Why did you decide to join Magic Design?
I was looking for new opportunities because at my job I was creating the same dashboards for the same clients all day long and was buried in Figma components and variants. At a certain point, the co-founder of Magic Design, Sina, contacted me on Dribbble, and that’s how it all started.
Q3: Can you share your experience during the recruitment process, and were there anything that stood out to you?
I was already applying for new jobs when I received a message from Sina. Most companies actually have a similar recruitment processes:
- Interview with HR
- A small assignment
- Interview with the team lead and members
- Interview with the CEO or CTO
- & then you may get hired
I didn't have much knowledge about startups, but what caught my attention right away was receiving a message from the co-founder himself. It made me feel really special. Sina asked to see my portfolio and wanted a quick overview of it, which was a big deal for me because I was tired of submitting assignments without anyone from HR even bothering to look at my work. I completed the assignment and the third thing that really impressed me was the paid demo week. It was something I hadn't come across in my previous job searches and it was really cool.
Q4: For the Designer role, what are the most valuable soft skills that helped you in your journey?
I think communication is the most important soft skill. Without communication in the workplace, you can’t achieve anything. You need to communicate well with your managers, colleagues, and founders. When you disrupt someone's day, it can have a ripple effect and impact everyone's day or even their entire week. This is why being able to communicate effectively under pressure is so important. We all have personal issues, but it's crucial to separate them and still communicate effectively. If you're having a rough day, don't hesitate to talk to your supervisor. If you're having a rough day, you can always reach out to your supervisor. It's not something every company takes seriously, but let me tell you, Magic Design is amazing at treating every employee with respect and empathy - I think this should definitely be more well-known.
Q5: Could you walk us through a typical day in your current role? What tasks and responsibilities do you find most engaging and challenging?
Because of the one-hour time difference, I'm usually one of the first ones to start my workday. The first thing I do is check my Slack messages, as sometimes my Project Managers send me important updates that I need to handle right away. If there are no messages, I try to get a head start on some tasks. Then, it's time for our daily meeting where we receive our tasks and their priority. From there, I dive into working on them.
Each client brings their own unique challenges and responsibilities, so the days are very diverse, which I like! In the past, I used to be a UI/UX designer working on the same dashboards day in and day out, which started to stifle my creativity. But at Magic Design I was able to overcome this challenge with the help of our amazing project managers. Their excellent communication skills and expertise were like a solution that removed the rust and allowed my creativity to flow again.
Q6: Among our core values (Create “WOW”, Pixel Perfect, Own it, Trust & Reliability, Figure it out, Always Communicate), which resonates with you the most, and how do you embody that value in your work?
I personally like “Pixel Perfect”. With my UI/UX design background, I see a canvas as a blueprint. It's important to approach it mathematically, taking into account margins and spacings. For example, when I create a 1:1 scaled asset for social media, I add a six-column layout grid and work within it. This approach makes everything easier for me and leads to clean results.
Q7: If you were to speak to potential candidates considering joining Magic Design, what advice or insights would you share with them?
I would say Magic Design is a great place to be because of the amazing founders, managers, and very talented colleagues. Once you become part of our team, you won’t feel like a stranger. It’s like working at a co-working space with friends where everyone knows their responsibilities and performs them very well. Mondays were never something I looked forward to because they marked the beginning of a new work week. But at Magic Design, Mondays are actually fun!
Q8: When you're not navigating the design world with Magic Design, what's a personal passion or hobby that brings balance into your routine?
Every now and then, the workload can become a bit intense, like in every job. I actually find comfort in my passion for cigars and make it a habit to smoke one to relax after a heavier week. It’s part of my routine. Besides that, I usually prioritize fitness and do Zone 3 cardio exercises. I also love reading, watching movies, playing games, and spending quality time with my friends, of course.
About Magic Design
Magic Design is a graphic design and Webflow subscription for growing startups and scaleups, founded in 2023 by Maximilian Fleitmann and Sina Sadegh.
Since then, we have supported over 70 brands with stunning design and Webflow projects. Our flexible and transparent model allows marketers and founders to quickly and easily get their design and Webflow tasks done in under 48 hours. Of course, this wouldn't be possible without our amazing team of senior art directors, designers, and Webflow developers.
If you want to learn more about our team, feel free to check out the rest of the Employee Stories.
Interested in joining our remote-first and innovative team? Browse our open positions!
