James Kachan

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you were doing before BrainStation.

Before BrainStation, I ran my own business as a Photographer doing retouching and contract work. I really wanted to get into more of the design side of things and the psychology of UX really fascinated me. I've always been fascinated with design as a general solution to pretty much all problems – from the way that society functions at a really high level to just ordering a pizza. Everything that works really well has been thought through with a lot taken into account. Things that work well essentially have been designed to work well.

This place attracts crazy talent. Working alongside the other designers here has made me a much better designer.

What was the highlight of the program for you?

This place attracts crazy talent. Working alongside the other Designers here has made me a much better designer.

What was the biggest challenge?

Coming to BrainStation, there's definitely a structure here. Time management is an incredibly important skill to have and that was probably my biggest challenge. Learning to work with tight deadlines and work on a schedule that I wasn't used to was something I had to overcome.

You landed a job before Demo Day, tell us more!

I'm very lucky, I have a job lined up right after BrainStation and I think the reason that I got it was because I was able to talk about my passion for design. I didn't think too much about what I was saying or try too hard to show my portfolio or my work. I just really spoke about the things I learned here and the things that interested me and I kept it very casual and I think that's what did it for me.

What are your impressions of Demo Day?

Demo Day is a really interesting challenge to have to think on the spot really quickly, especially when somebody asks a question that hasn't been asked before. It definitely makes me look at the project that I've been staring at for three months in a bit of a different light.