Meet Benedetto: From Lead Interior Designer at WeWork to Senior UX/UI Designer at Facebook

Benedetto Di Luzio worked in the interior design industry for almost a decade before deciding to make the switch to a career in UX design. Before UX Academy, his last role was as Director of Interiors for a design firm in NYC. 

He became curious about UX/UI design during his experience as a Lead Interior Designer at WeWork, and decided he wanted to find a way to apply his design skills in the tech industry. 

“I loved the idea of design decisions backed by research and data paired together with visual design skills. Digital tech is disrupting industries and changing lives, and I decided I wanted to be part of that change,” says Benedetto. 

He finally took the opportunity during the pandemic to take the plunge and add an extra layer to his design career path.

“After extensive research, I chose Designlab because of the high number of capstones I could add to my portfolio, the affordable pricing, and the fact that it is a US-based company,” Benedetto says.

“It was a fantastic experience. My mentor, Marina Krutchinsky, was what made my UX journey so special. The UX Academy curriculum was really well-thought out, and the feedback I received from my mentor and the other students during the Groups Crits were really precious. Another important part of the journey was the relationship that I created with another student, Jessica Koh. We helped and supported each other throughout the entire duration of UX Academy.”

Landing at Facebook

While in the Career Services phase of the program, Benedetto received a message from a recruiting company on LinkedIn. They were looking for a Senior UX/UI Designer for one of their clients. During the phone screening, they told him the company was Facebook. Benedetto had his first video interview with a designer and project manager in which he presented his portfolio. The second interview happened almost a month later with one of the stakeholders of the company. He received the offer the same day.

“It’s already been a month and it’s going really well. It’s been intense but I’m learning so much in such a small amount of time. The first two weeks were mostly onboarding and meeting people from my team and cross-functional collaborators,” says Benedetto. 

“I knew what I was getting myself into and this experience is definitely meeting my expectations. It’s very exciting!” 

Currently, Benedetto is the only designer on his team and he deals with different developers on a daily basis, depending on the projects that he’s working on. He only recently started being more hands-on, but everything moves really fast at Facebook, and he’s already on quite a few exciting projects.

“I think office life will be really fun and I can't wait to go back at least a few days a week,” Benedetto says.

Reflecting & Looking Ahead

Now that Benedetto has graduated from UX Academy and landed a coveted position at one of the most sought-after companies in tech, he has some advice for other UX/UI design career-switchers: “Embrace networking and real-world projects, and start freelancing as soon as you can in order to gain working experience.” 

Outside of work, Benedetto recently moved to Los Angeles from New York City. He lives by the ocean and thinks being able to walk on the beach every day with his dogs is the best part of his day.

Looking ahead at 2022, Benedetto wants to become even more comfortable and familiar with the role that he’s in. “I hope soon to be able to give back and share my UX knowledge with other students that decide to start their journey in UX.”

If you’re looking to elevate your design career in a field like UX/UI design, we encourage you to explore our UX Academy program.