Bear Academy

I have kept reading 50 books a year since a few years ago, and this habit hugely changes my work and life. In this video, I share all the books I read in 2021, and also some tips and finds for reading more books. If you are planning books to read in 2022, some of them might be good to add to your reading list :)

People want to be productive, and productivity is not only a common goal for professionals, but also a goal for almost everyone. I think I'm productive, but recently, I just found a tip that can fundamentally improve my productivity to a brand new level. What's that? Let's talk about this! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts...

There are a few things creative people need to do every day, actually, some things need to do for the whole life as a designer, programmer, writer, or any kind of creative people. I've joined an online session with legendary designer, Brian Collins, and he listed 3 things that every creative person needs to improve during his/her career. Can't wait to share with you! Bear Who? Hello, I&#39...

Productive remote meetings, everyone wants them, but it's not easy to be productive during all meetings, especially for remote workers. We need to know not all the meetings are the same, and we should divide them into different types, and cope with different strategies. Here's a tip that I'm using for keeping productive and good well-being when taking many meetings every work week. Bea...

I guess most of you guys already watched the Netflix show: Squid Game? As a product and UX designer, I found a few design principles in Squid Game. Sounds interested? Let's jump into the game and review them! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours....

Work could mean different thing for us. What does work mean to you? Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.bearta...

A big tip that helps my well-being during lockdown is disconnecting. To be specific, disconnect from my devices while eat and sleep. Let's talk about the first one. Eating and scrolling was my default - I always need to find something to do. Checking social media, posting photos on social, watching videos, or listening to podcasts...so many things to do while eating! I noticed how my mobile sh...

Recently I ran a team session with 30+ designers in my team, and got some great tips and suggestions on coping with lockdown. Let's see how those top professionals cope with lockdown! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: You...

New Zealand is currently in a level 4 lockdown, and many people from other places are experiencing the same challenge. In this podcast, I'm going to share a few wellbeing tips that I used and worked for me on coping with lockdown, hope they will helpful for you as well. Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about des...

I consider producing content as a serious thing. Since this year, I've decided to make 2 videos per week. That was my goal, and it still is. But in last two months, I stopped doing it. Why? In this podcast, I'm going to share why and how I stopped making content on my channel in last 2 months, and use the time to write a book. Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and w...

It's not easy to give a speech in front of 100 people as an introvert, with your second language. I'm happy that I did it, but even happier about the things I've learned. In this podcast, I'm sharing a few things I've learned from 4 public speeches I did recently: Sincere beats seriousity. Don't start from scratch. Reflection as a habit. Preparation is gold, and practice is...

How many books you can read in a month? If can read 1 book per week, you can read 4 books in a month. I got 10 books done in April, with a full-time job, a four-year-old to take care of, a YouTube channel, and a podcast to take care of. How did I do it? Check this podcast for details! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube video...

As a UX designer at Vodafone, things at work are challenging, complex, and exciting. My habit is to review things I learned at work regularly, and as I worked at Vodafone New Zealand for a couple of months already, here are a few things I learned at work. Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity,...

One of the common questions from a self-taught designer is: what If I’m not good enough to learn design? What if I’m not good enough to become a designer? What if it was a wrong choice? I know it as I've been there, and it's totally ok. In this video, I'll share a few tips that helped me went through it, and finally became a confident designer. Hope these tips can help you as well! Bea...

You borrowed a book from library or from your friend. When reading it, you found it was so good that you want to take notes. But how to take notes from borrowed books? You can't write or doodle on the book, it's not yours. Here's an easy, flexible and productive way to take notes from a book you borrowed, without damaging the book for sure! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI design...

In the book Mindset, Dr. Carol Dweck shows the importance of a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset. Why is a growth mindset essential for UX designers? As a UX designer, you should be bold enough to admit things you don't know and believe you can find the proper solution for the problem you are working at. In another way, the UX discovery stage for designers is a trial-and-fail process,...

Be a closer, or be a loser? In my opinion, always closing the thing you plan to do, even in the way you are not satisfied or proud. If you are not a closer, you are a loser. That's why I recorded this video in my car on a rainy evening.

Philip Mills, the founder of Les Mills International, recommended me on my LinkedIn Profile. It was such an honor to have a recommendation from one of the top leaders in the global fitness industry. How did I get it? Check the video for details!

E-Myth is an excellent book about business, especially for helping small businesses grow without them burned out. I like the book's structure by telling a story about Sarah, a small pie Store owner struggling to survive on her own business. She worked 12 hours per day. She gets used to working as a technician rather than an entrepreneur. The author met Sarah as a mentor to help her to think ab...

Why do we need a UX portfolio? And how to prepare the portfolio that can get you hired? In this video, I'll share a few tips about portfolios for UX designers and product designers, so that you could know how to start to build your own portfolio to help you get the design job you want.

A few years ago, when I move to New Zealand from China, as a designer without local experience, references, and didn't even speak the language properly, I had a big question: how can I start? I think it's not only my question but probably the key question for all the people who would like to work somewhere else from his/her home country: yeah, how can I start? Because I've been experie...

The NZ COVID Tracer app took an essential part during the whole COVID-fighting process - more than half of the people in New Zealand using the app to help save people's lives. The app was developed and delivered by RUSH, an Auckland based digital agency, which only took six weeks from concept to launch. It's a once-of-a-lifetime opportunity for a designer. What are the stories behind the s...

We all received emails like this: "Thank you for applying this role, we really appreciate your time and effort putting on this. Unfortunately, you will not go to the next stage. All the best and good luck to your job searching." It's a bad reply, isn't it? Actually, no. And, there're no bad replies at all. In this short podcast, I'll share a tip that you can always get some...

Onboarding a new job could be overwhelming - you might look calm on your face, but totally freak out inside. I have some experience of onboarding new jobs, new projects in different countries, and I found there are things in common, no matter where and when. Basically, you need to be clear about 3 things: information, resource and expectation. In this video, I'm going to share a few tips to he...

In 2020, I managed to read 54 books, marking the sixth consecutive year of maintaining a pace of one book per week. Curious about which books I read, my recommendations, and my reasons for this reading habit? Check out the video to find answers to these questions. Here are ten books from my 2020 list that I highly recommend: Digital Minimalism - This book helped me regain control of my attention a...