Designing a great app or website is more than putting together some cool visuals and calling it a day. There’s a lot of thought and strategy behind design and how your users are, well, using your product. Whether you’re creating a mobile app or a responsive website, the goal is to build a platform where users can easily navigate it and get things done. In short, it’s about user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design working together to make sure every button, swipe, and click has a purpose.

And that’s why you need a UI/UX designer. They don’t just make things look pretty—they dive into research, strategy, and design to create systems that truly understand what users need and how they think. They have a solid grasp on both the practical and emotional sides of user experience so every product feels intuitive and natural.

Today, we’ll introduce you to Milton Timms, a Skillcrush student who turned a course in UI/UX design into a successful freelance career. Milton’s journey proves that making a career change is completely possible, no matter what your background is. Freelance work in UI/UX design does have its challenges—juggling multiple clients, working on different projects, and setting your own hours—but it also offers the freedom to work on your own terms. Milton’s story shows that with the right skills and dedication, you can take control of your career and turn your passion for design into something real.

Here’s everything you need to know about Milton Timms — from how he got his start in tech to his “day in the life” as a freelance UI/UX designer.

Related: What Do UI/UX Designer Salaries Look Like in 2025?

Table of Contents

• Day in the Life of UI/UX Designer Milton Timms
  • Monday Morning
  • Daily Warm-Up
  • Task Review
  • Sketching Ideas: The Old School Method
  • High Fidelity Designing
  • Wrapping Up The Week
  • After Work
• Daily Toolkit
• Start Your Story as a UI/UX Designer

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Day in the Life of UI/UX Designer Milton Timms

Milton Timms didn’t set out to be a UX designer. A year ago, he was teaching English in South Korea with his wife, and then suddenly—new country, new direction. When his wife started her PhD in Portugal, Milton decided it was time for a change too. After diving into the tech world, sorting through different career paths, and briefly considering web development, UI/UX design pulled him in. And that’s when he landed on Skillcrush’s Break Into Tech program. Now four months into his internship, he’s knee-deep in real-world projects and working on developing apps.

Right now, his work is all about collaboration. Milton spends his time designing alongside a small but focused team—a CEO who codes, a front-end developer, and himself. He’s not dealing with any outside clients, and there’s no bouncing between endless stakeholder meetings—just tight-knit teamwork on two internal apps. The work is unpredictable, and no two weeks look the same. Some weeks, it’s all hands on deck. In other weeks, things slow down. Either way, he’s getting the kind of experience that can’t be taught in a course.

Freelancing in UI/UX isn’t always a neatly packaged “day in the life,” and while this isn’t a typical hour-by-hour breakdown, it’s an example of what the early days of a UI/UX career can actually look like. It’s less about rigid routines and more about adapting, problem-solving, and figuring out how to turn a new skill into a career.

Monday Morning

The week starts with a meeting, but not just any meeting. Milton kicks off his Monday with project updates where the team aligns on goals, tasks, and what’s coming down the pipeline. It’s a relatively low-key start but critical for setting the tone for the week. He knows exactly what’s expected, but the rhythm of the actual work is loose. With one big meeting to cover everything, it keeps everyone trusting that things will stay on track.

Daily Warm-Up

Before getting into the design work, Milton has a personal ritual that helps him ease into his day. It’s not part of his official work, but it makes all the difference. He spends 30 minutes watching design inspiration videos—kind of like a creative warm-up. He checks out videos from design influencers, picking up tips and maybe testing a few new techniques. He doesn’t jump straight into a project but rather eases into it, like how you might stretch before you go on a run.

Task Review

Once the creative juices are flowing, it’s time to take a quick look at what’s on his plate. Thanks to his trusted project management tool, Notion, everything’s neatly organized and ready for review. He checks the tasks, aligns them with the project goals, and makes sure he’s good to go for the day. Freelance life can come with a million distractions, but using project management tools helps him stay focused. Reviewing the plan ensures he’s not drifting, and that every task is checked off by the end of the day (or week).

Is Tech Right For you? Take Our 3-Minute Quiz!

You Will Learn:

☑️ If a career in tech is right for you

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Sketching Ideas: The Old School Method

Milton doesn’t always jump into design software right away. Instead, he goes old school with a pencil and paper. He grabs his sketchbook to sketch rough ideas and wireframes. The goal here isn’t perfection but free creativity. He knows that some of his best design work happens when he doesn’t have to worry about layers, fonts, or colors—just getting the ideas out of his head and onto paper.

Sometimes, though, he does skip the sketchbook and heads straight to Figma. Using templates and wireframing kits in the design tool allows him to lay out his thoughts quickly and digitally. It’s a matter of adapting based on the needs of the project and time constraints, but one thing’s for sure. Whether digital or paper, the creative process always starts with a bit of exploration.

High Fidelity Designing

Once he’s comfortable with his sketches, Milton moves into high-fidelity design. This is where things start to take shape, especially if the project is focused on visual design. He cleans up wireframes, applies UI/UX design principles, and ensures everything is user-centered. While there isn’t a lot of user research on his plate right now, he keeps UX principles—like accessibility—at the forefront of all of his work.

This phase is a balance between iteration and refinement. Milton will often create a few versions of a design to see which one works best and fine-tunes as he goes. It’s trial and error, but with each iteration, he gets closer to the final version. Of course, this process isn’t a solo mission. Feedback from the team helps him shape and tweak the design before it’s complete.

Wrapping Up the Week

As the week draws to an end, it’s time to present the designs. Milton walks his team through the various iterations, explaining the thought process behind each choice. He welcomes feedback, and sometimes, this means combining elements from different designs. This part of the process is crucial because it’s not just about individual designs. It’s all hands on deck to create the best possible user experience.

He’ll take the feedback, tweak the designs, and make any final adjustments. And once the week wraps up, he starts preparing for the next one. The design process may change depending on the client or project, but Milton’s week always ends the same way: feedback, iteration, and— from what I can tell— a job well done.

After Work

Even when Milton’s workday wraps up, design doesn’t take a backseat. During his internship’s first few months, he dedicated at least an hour each night to refining his skills in Figma. He’d dive into lessons on the platform, Zero to Mastery, tackling specific design tasks in bite-sized chunks and learning new techniques that would help him iterate faster. Not only is he staying sharp, but he’s also mastering Figma’s many tools. As he puts it, if you only practice one skill, you’ll stagnate.

And, if he’s stuck during the day with a tricky design problem, Milton turns to YouTube or Google to search for solutions. It’s an ongoing process of learning and solving, no matter the hour. It’s how he keeps growing and mastering UI/UX with a steady commitment to improvement.

Is Tech Right For you? Take Our 3-Minute Quiz!

You Will Learn:

☑️ If a career in tech is right for you

☑️ What tech careers fit your strengths

☑️ What skills you need to reach your goals

Daily Toolkit

These tools are Milton’s day-to-day essentials that help him take his ideas from concept to reality:

• Notion
• Figma
• Discord
• Zero to Mastery
• YouTube

Start Your Story as a UI/UX Designer

Ready to start designing your future (see what I did there) like Milton? You can start preparing for a career in UI/UX design right now. All you have to do is sign up for Skillcrush’s Break Into Tech program and enroll in the UI/UX design track. You’ll learn everything from user research to wireframing and get all the support you need with job search prep, 1-on-1 coaching, and interview practice. No more waiting around! When you’re ready, Skillcrush is here to help you take the next step toward landing your dream job in tech.