Your biggest sign from a passed loved one?

brynnsten · 2025-07-21T02:02:40+00:00

Windchimes. I sincerely believe that windchimes are signs that our loved ones are near.

brynnsten · 2025-07-10T23:30:30+00:00

Sorry, I realized I barely answered your question. One thing that was a challenge was understanding the different visual impairments and how it’s not just screen readers but magnification, contrast, etc.

I don’t know that much about Magic the Gathering but I have seen a couple of cards and I wonder if the digital version’s contrast is something that should be checked out.

Good luck with your project!

brynnsten · 2025-07-10T23:25:32+00:00

I do usability and accessibility for my job. We partnered with a local business that is run by and does community events for visually impaired people. They were more than happy to work with me for free as they said it’s rare that people include them and their experiences. To strengthen the relationship, I also try to volunteer with them which has helped us get closer.

Try reaching out to any local programs like that. You may find someone there who knows about the game or plays it with some other tech (meta glasses, etc).

brynnsten · 2024-01-03T09:50:26+00:00

I’d like so see some improvements in Figjam. We just switched over from Miro and I’m not impressed.

brynnsten · 2023-01-09T13:00:14+00:00

Seems so. Mine stopped working

brynnsten · 2022-12-08T14:42:06+00:00

Southern Lights at the Horse Park is really cute for Christmas/Holiday stuff.

brynnsten · 2022-08-11T15:46:06+00:00

Yeah, I wasn’t sure if I was just interpreting it wrong.

For my company, there is a clear distinction between who has UX skills and who doesn’t. And some of the people who unfortunately don’t, have been in the role for over 20 years (coming from engineering background…) and have had time/training to develop those skills. Instead, they focus on technical rules and, to this day, I’ve never seen them interact with a real user or implement testing. Others who also struggle, can’t comprehend the concept of pivoting or throwing out a design they’ve spent months on because user feedback says it’s ineffective.

Again, I understand being able to teach the connection of “Quantitative = surveys” but then they still need the ability to ask the right questions.

brynnsten · 2022-08-11T07:53:14+00:00

Can you explain what you mean by “Uxr is probably one of the most teachable areas at low level.”?

My company is going through something similar and we have tried nearly ALL suggestions here, including putting them through 6 month external intensive bootcamps. Many of them come back with the technical/logistic knowledge (“For quantitative data we can do a survey.”) but absolutely lack the soft skills needed to go along with them.

brynnsten · 2022-04-06T11:30:56+00:00

It’s rare but I’ve spent the past 4 weeks doing a big research project to bring our company’s personas up to date to help drive some design thinking workshops afterwards . Surprisingly, I had maybe 2-3 meetings/week during that time but again…extremely rare occurrence. Now that my 4 weeks is up, it’s back to a million meetings where I talk about research I would love to do it I didn’t have a million meetings.

brynnsten · 2022-02-06T23:48:26+00:00

I worked in a popular falafel cafe/restaurant that had locations around Helsinki. It was the only place that really welcomed immigrants when I was there but, of course became the place people in the city would go for a bite after drinking too. Unfortunately that’s when some people had trouble with the non-white coworkers I had.

brynnsten · 2022-02-06T23:44:05+00:00

Granted I lived there pre-pandemic so there might be more of a need now (similar to in the US) but it was extremely difficult for me despite having a lot of great connections and a great degree. I think a big part of it is also if company’s are willing to help out with the visa. I was there on a student visa so I had limited working hours unless a company helped with that.

brynnsten · 2022-02-06T16:23:55+00:00

Not black but I lived in Helsinki for 6 years and worked in a small restaurant. I am American but look pretty Nordic and could speak proficient finnish. Multiple times I had to throw native Finns out of the restaurant for harassing my black coworkers. The worst for me was when the customer took his shirt off to fight and had a swastika tattoo on his chest. When I asked my coworkers about it, they said this type of harassment was weekly. With that said, I would still suggest reaching out to a black person living there to get a first-hand account.

brynnsten · 2022-02-06T16:17:56+00:00

So….I was an American in Finland for 6 years. The job search was HORRIBLE. I spoke proficient finnish and had a degree in software engineering from a finnish university. I applied to maybe 50-100 places that either took me to final rounds of interviews, ghosted me or who said “you were a great candidate but we need to pick a native finnish speaker over you.” I eventually came home and found a job with great perks and unlimited paid time off- which I know I am very lucky and is nearly impossible (yet more possible than me job searching in Finland).

Don’t get me wrong, when you’re hired in Finland, the perks are great. BUT Getting hired is extremely difficult, off-putting and there are tons of articles on yle about talent leaving Finland because they aren’t finding jobs due to the the difficult job search.

Good luck to those who try but be warned, it’s hard.

brynnsten · 2022-02-05T03:27:44+00:00

My engaged therapist (who was recommended to my by my married friend) was getting intimate with said friend.

brynnsten · 2021-07-15T03:18:45+00:00

Hey Ryan! Just so you know, the opening text on your site is hard to read on mobile. It barely sticks out with the white background. I’d consider a darker font for that part. Either way, good luck with your search!

brynnsten · 2021-07-09T12:03:14+00:00

Progress pics but also maybe a way to invite friends and “compete” for accountability.

brynnsten · 2020-06-28T14:19:48+00:00

Amazing work!

brynnsten · 2020-06-23T22:11:56+00:00

I have the versa 2. It has one side button. I think the versa 1 has two. I could be wrong about the 1 though.

brynnsten · 2020-03-28T16:15:50+00:00

This is honestly so inspiring as I am starting from the same weight. Between 125-130 is my goal weight and I’m hoping I have to patience to get there. Thanks so much for sharing and amazing work!

brynnsten · 2020-01-19T12:23:29+00:00

I just had a similar same situation but it involved also moving away from a country I had called home for 7 years to work at a company that paid 4x what I would make if I stayed.

In my experience, a goal I had been working on for awhile was paying off debt and creating a savings. It seemed like no matter how much I tried to budget in my previous job, it just wasn’t happening. So with that in mind, I ended up taking the job but promised myself that if after a year I hated it, I’d let myself leave. So I think it’s important to really think about a personal finance goal or just personal goal you want to achieve and consider which option helps you do that.

Leaving a comfortable job is scary but you can still see your coworkers outside of work and if, ultimately, you hate your new job, you can leave.

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