Aliena Cai

CEO @AlienaDesignLLC | Learn UX from a Ex-eBay Senior Designer 🚀 | Youtube 100K+ | Producing

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

𝐃𝐚𝐲 #𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐔𝐗 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐨 🫠

👆 If this sounds like you, the following is for you:
Here are 3 low effort, high return ways to polish your portfolio and finally get started:

1️⃣ 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 “𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠,” “𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧,” 𝐨𝐫 “𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭.”
These words make you sound like you are waiting to begin. Remove them, and you instantly sound more confident and more credible.

2️⃣ 𝐀𝐝𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞.
This could be well recognized company names, product, industries, tools, locations, schools, or relevant skills tied to your real experience. Recruiters do not know you yet. In the first few seconds, they scan for words they already recognize and trust. You can even talk with AI to brainstorm the right keywords, then decide how to integrate them into your homepage in a natural way.

3️⃣ 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬.
Older, weaker, or irrelevant personal projects can lower the overall quality of your portfolio. Usually, 3 to 4 strong projects are enough, and often much stronger than showing everything.

If you want to learn more on this topic, check for my latest video: https://t.co/6GJbSlOSwg

If you want me to share more tips on how to improve your portfolio here, comment “portfolio 🪄”

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

Everyone is talking about how they use AI to do their work. But I think it’s just as important to talk about how not to use AI.

In today's video, I share both sides. Many of the insights came from conversations and interviews with some of my visionary designer friends who are working at the forefront of AI and UX, along with my own workflow.

AI can truly benefit designers if we use it well. But I’ve seen many designers, myself included in the past, approach it with fear or hate. Fear stops you from trying. Hate pushes you away from opportunities.

If you’re curious about how designers can actually work with AI today, this video is for you.
https://t.co/GkVIAe8ka6

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

If you’re a designer who wants to work on meaningful products and websites, CMS is a real-world skill worth learning.

Many modern websites rely on CMS to manage content, scale pages, and support marketing teams. Understanding it shows you’re not just designing polished screens, you understand how websites actually work.

Here's a free tutorial in case you’d like to strengthen this skill. You’ll learn what CMS is, when it makes sense to use it, and how to set it up properly. There are four hands-on activities so you can practice immediately. You’ll also create a CMS collection with AI, which makes the process faster and surprisingly smooth.

If building scalable, production-ready websites is part of your goal, this will be helpful. Enjoy.

https://t.co/6IUemJstSc

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

If you’re a designer who wants to work on meaningful products and websites, CMS is a real-world skill worth learning.

Many modern websites rely on CMS to manage content, scale pages, and support marketing teams. Understanding it shows you’re not just designing polished screens, you understand how websites actually work.

Here's a free tutorial in case you’d like to strengthen this skill. You’ll learn what CMS is, when it makes sense to use it, and how to set it up properly. There are four hands-on activities so you can practice immediately. You’ll also create a CMS collection with AI, which makes the process faster and surprisingly smooth.

If building scalable, production-ready websites is part of your goal, this will be helpful. Enjoy.

https://t.co/6IUemJstSc

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

Web design & building tutorial 2026 version (with AI)
Save it for your next project ✨

https://t.co/DrL2OlmSuk

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

I'm back.

Year #3 of serving my signature dish 🍣
This one hits a little different because every restaurant is going AI.
With every revolution comes its own opportunity.
And this is where I choose to lean in.

All my complaints?
Saving them for my future Netflix stand-up special. Stay tuned.

https://t.co/8fntLgD2YC

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

🥹✨ I’m so excited to share this! Fast Track UX is now officially a 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩!

Every Fast Track UX student, current or future, will now receive 6 months of Figma Education Plan, unlocking all premium features (a $120 USD value).

This recognition from @figma means so much to me and our team. Being trusted as an official partner truly validates the quality and impact of our program and all the hard work behind it.

If you’re joining soon, make sure you register with the same email you use for Figma. Your Education Plan will be activated automatically within 7 business days after enrolling at https://t.co/CtJDOA7B3f

P.S. I’m back from my wedding trip, fully recharged and inspired ✨ Excited to bring you more design, business, and tech content very soon!

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B.

Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

If you want to learn AI in the second half of 2025,
this is a great place to start!

https://t.co/MymBQvCrdr

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? 🧐

Honestly, I think designers face two options if we truly want to “win” in this revolution:
#1 Become a “Super Designer”
#2 Become a “Super Individual”

In today’s video, I talk about what these mean—and 7 more lessons I’ve learned about UX × AI.

I hope this helps! (And if you’re afraid of AI like I am, stick to the end — the golden part is at the end!) 😊

https://t.co/ovDqEHirlr

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 - 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥.

Here are some lessons I wish I knew when I started off my career as a ux/product designer.

https://t.co/Yrx2XkK8N5

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

As a designer, I used to have so much fear around AI. Will it take over our jobs? Will it make UX obsolete?… But recently, my perspective has started to shift.

My mom calls it “pre-suffering”
—when our minds stress out before anything bad actually happens.
We feel anxious, scared, or defeated not because something has gone wrong, but because we’re afraid it might.
And often, what we fear ends up being a positive—even transformative—experience that brings us to a new level.
I think it’s the same with AI.

Every revolution replaces old patterns with new ones. So what are some opportunities for designers in this AI era? (Other than using ChatGPT to write emails and fix grammar mistakes? 🙈)

Last month, I tried no-code tools like Lovable for the first time, and I was surprised by what they can do in such a short amount of time. I built a working prototype in under an hour—something that used to require tons of money and engineers.

This shift is transforming the business world. It allows ideas to be tested faster and cheaper
—empowering more designers to not just design, but also build and own our products.

If you’re interested in building something and owning it as a designer, check out my latest video and drop a ✨ in the comments to let me know if you want to learn more.

https://t.co/qjdOCt5Ml4

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

Gmail features to use in 2025:

𝟭. 𝗚𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘅 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 🗃️
If you go to “See all settings” and then the “Inbox” tab, you can check the categories boxes to let Gmail automatically categorize your emails.

This way, Gmail will sort out everything that’s promotional, so ads will never mix with your important emails again.

𝟮. 𝗚𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗞𝗲𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗰𝘂𝘁𝘀 ⌨️
Go to “See all settings” and search for Keyboard shortcuts. Make sure you select “Keyboard shortcuts on.”

Then, you can type ? to see all the shortcuts.

My favorite shortcut is actually {

This left bracket lets you archive the current email and move to the next one.

𝟯. 𝗚𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹𝘀 🏷️
If you’re someone who finds it impossible to locate old emails (me), this label feature will be a lifesaver.

Just hit L, and you can create a label to organize the email into a labeled folder. I also like to add an emoji to my labels!

𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲?

I just shared a video about Gmail tools with some of my favorite tips to keep your inbox organized. Hope you find it helpful!

https://t.co/23pLs405b6

#inboxzero #2025resolution #email #gmail

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

Today, I released my first 𝐧𝐨-𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐥𝐨𝐠.
Silent vlogs from other channels have significantly helped me embrace life and work with more peace 🍃
Hope this will bring peace to your day.
https://t.co/8wuylBBwyw

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

If I started UX in 2025, I’d do this.

𝟭. 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗨𝗜 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻
Most people pursuing a UX design career don’t realize how important UI design is. If I could start over this year, the first thing I’d do is open *Figma* and practice tracing existing products’ wireframes and mockups. This would help me develop a sense of UI design and get fluent with Figma. I’d do this before taking a UX design course, as it takes longer to get familiar with the tool than with the UX process.

𝟮. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗨𝗫 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲
The next thing I’d do is learn UX design. If I had an *accountability structure* set up with friends or connections, I’d opt for self-study. If not, I’d purchase a course to hold myself accountable. I’d focus on learning how to go through the double diamond process and research 1 to 3 commonly used tools for each step. However, I wouldn’t take any process as the absolute truth, as the real business world is much more flexible and complex.

𝟯. 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴
Product thinking, or business sense, is a must-have for landing top-tier roles in tech companies. It’s about designing features that not only solve user problems but also align with business goals and technical constraints. Mastering product thinking will not only elevate your designs but also help you communicate with stakeholders and secure a seat at the leadership table (where, frankly, not many designers are yet).

𝟰. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗚𝗣𝗧
In the age of AI, ChatGPT can be your ultimate study buddy. It can: Create personalized learning plans; Explain complex UX concepts; Help brainstorm portfolio project ideas; Provide feedback on resumes or case studies... That said, always double-check its advice with reliable sources. Think of it as a helpful assistant, not a flawless mentor. By using AI thoughtfully, you can accelerate your learning and keep up with the rapidly evolving UX field.

There’s so much more to this topic! Discover all 13 things I’d do in my new YouTube video:
https://t.co/c9xxC2fH4q

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

There are 11 other points I discovered. If you’re curious to learn more, check out my latest YouTube video: https://t.co/KYWkc8UfQe

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

How to write *cold email* that gets replies

I performed a small experiment on my email inbox and analyzed 100 cold emails I received to find out the criteria that make a cold email impossible for me to ignore. Here’s what I discovered:

1️⃣ Content beats perfect writing

I assumed professionalism would matter most, but the #1 reason I reply to an email is because I care about the content. If the content is compelling, even if the email has broken grammar and no punctuation, I’d still reply.

2️⃣ Show, don’t tell

If your goal is to sell your service (e.g., UX design), showing is far more important than telling. I’ve received countless emails claiming great success but providing no links or case studies. If you’re offering services, let your work speak for itself.

3️⃣ Add a custom signature

Emails with a custom signature feel more polished. These signatures often include links to LinkedIn or a personal website, which help me learn more about the sender's work. A profile picture also gives a sense of the person I’m communicating with.

There are 11 other points I discovered. If you’re curious to learn more, check out my latest YouTube video: https://t.co/Z1awCCWCya

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

After years of dreaming about starting my own design studio, today it’s finally happening 🎉
I’m excited (and a little nervous!) to announce that *Aliena Design Studio* is officially open and ready for product design collaborations!

If you’ve been thinking about pushing your B2B product’s design to the next level, I’d love to help you bring that vision to life. Let’s collaborate to create something that not only looks good but makes an impact. 💡

Join the waitlist here: https://t.co/ql2Fc5dYuN

Here’s to new beginnings, bold ideas, and breaking boundaries together. 🚀

[Aliena Cai @AlienaCai]

13 UX design career secrets I wish I knew *earlier*

1. You can't become a UX designer in three months.

2. Don't try to do it all by yourself. Find accountability partners.

3. Make your design functional first, then make it pretty.

4. Focus on the happy path.

5. If you are unemployed, work as if you’re running an agency.

6. Get rid of the 'Open to Work' badge on LinkedIn.

7. Don’t compete on price.

8. Intern and junior positions are gone. Become a senior designer on your own.

9. Junior designers have the longest portfolios; senior designers pitch.

10. Real money is in B2B products.

11. Constraints make a project interesting.

12. Your design ≠ you.

13. A great landing page cannot sell a bad product.

What do I mean? Watch my new video: https://t.co/WiuBUnZiao