Writings

Three Paths, One Journey: The Intersection of UX Design, Visual Arts, and Yoga

7 min read · Jan 23, 2025

Highlights

Highlights

Creation has always been my true north, leading me down three distinct yet deeply interconnected paths: UX design, visual arts, and yoga. Each of these pursuits represents a facet of how I see the world and how I aim to contribute to it — through crafting meaningful digital experiences, capturing the impermanence of nature, and fostering mindfulness in myself and others. Together, they form a narrative that reflects my commitment to awareness, empathy, and action.

Topics

#personaljourney

#growth

#future

#UX

#responsabledesign
#sustainability

#yoga

#awareness

The Designer’s Lens. Crafting Experiences with Purpose

The Designer’s Lens. Crafting Experiences with Purpose

Design has always been a way for me to bring structure and meaning to complexity. As a UX and Product Design specialist, I’ve spent the last decade and a half working on projects that combine innovation with responsibility. I’ve helped businesses navigate renewable energy markets, developed early diagnostic systems that save lives, and mentored designers to infuse sustainability into their creative practices. Each step has been rooted in one question: How can we design a better future?


Yet, for me, design isn’t just about problem-solving — it’s about responsibility.

I believe design it should challenge us to be better stewards of our planet. My work in UX has always aimed to go beyond efficiency or aesthetics; it’s about creating systems that are kind to the earth and mindful of the people they serve. Through initiatives like mentoring in-person or on ADPList or advocating for Green UX practices, I’ve sought to weave sustainability into the fabric of design itself.


One of my proudest achievements is integrating sustainability into the design process. I’ve worked on projects that reduce digital carbon footprints for one of the biggest automotive giants in this world, and helped business use green energy, and advocated for “Green UX,” where every design choice is made with environmental mindfulness. Mentoring other designers has been another fulfilling aspect of my career — helping them not only improve their craft but also consider the ethical and ecological impacts of their work.


My academic foundation in Arts and Design provided the groundwork for this perspective, teaching me that design isn’t just a technical skill but a way to shape how we interact with the world. This education was the bridge that connected my love for structure and my passion for storytelling — a passion I’ve carried into my work as a visual artist.

Documenting Impermanence and Interconnection

Documenting Impermanence and Interconnection

I’ve been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil. And I never stopped. I love doing it. To me, it is therapy and meditation. Lose yourself for a few hours and only think about the shape of your next line. That is for me pure happiness. My journey as an artist began with a few pencils and continued with sooth and fire and on top of that I’ve grabbed the film camera in hand and an urge to document the world as I saw it: beautiful, fleeting, and fragile. Over time, my work evolved to focus on the delicate interplay between humanity and nature. I’ve experimented with fumage, film photography, experimental photography techniques, cliché verre, and photosensitive emulsions to explore these themes more deeply.


Photography has always been my way of engaging with the world on a deeper level. For me, it is a way to hold a mirror to our impact on the environment. My images aim to capture not only the vanishing beauty of the natural world but also the stark reminders of how human activity accelerates its disappearance. Each image is a conversation, a moment to pause and see — not just look.

Much of my work explores the fragile relationship between humanity and nature: how we build, consume, and often overlook the delicate ecosystems that surround us.


The landscapes I capture are fleeting, but they carry a quiet message. They remind us that while nothing lasts forever, we have a responsibility to slow the disappearance of what remains. The first step is awareness; the next is mindfulness. My hope is that my photography invites people to reflect, even if just for a moment, on the choices we make and the legacy we leave behind.

The Dolomites, standing tall and chiseled against the January sun, or the Atlantic’s restless waves — these are subjects that remind us of nature’s grandeur and fragility. As I once wrote: “All earth is connected by the waters of the sea. All life is connected. We are all interconnected.”


Another piece, titled Luxuriant, captures the harmonious coexistence of vines and rock in a balanced environment. It serves as a quiet reminder of the interconnectedness of all living creatures and the urgent need to return to our roots. As I reflected: “Humans tend to forget this, but going back to the roots is the answer. Awareness is key. I’m well, and I’ll be better.”


Through my work, I hope to ignite awareness. Because before we can change, we must first see — truly see — what we’re losing. Awareness is the first step; mindfulness must follow.


My academic foundation further deepened this perspective, showing me that art and design are not separate from the world’s challenges but integral to addressing them. It’s why I’ve dedicated so much of my photography to the disappearing beauty of our natural world — a visual reminder that nothing lasts forever, especially not at the pace we’re losing it.

Designing the Inner World

Designing the Inner World

As my portfolio is showing, I transformed renewable energy markets, simplified compliance for fintech clients, and even reimagined how early diagnostics systems worked for global healthcare giants. Yet, amidst these milestones, a quiet voice inside urged me to explore a different kind of design — one not bound by pixels but by breath, movement, and mindfulness.


Five years ago, I found myself on a yoga mat, seeking solace from the fast-paced demands of my career. What began as a physical practice quickly became a spiritual one. Yoga taught me to slow down, to breathe, to listen — lessons that reshaped not only my personal life but also my approach to design and art.


Last year, I deepened this journey by earning my Yoga Teacher Training Certification. Teaching yoga has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life. It’s not about perfecting poses but about creating space for others to find balance and clarity. In many ways, it feels like designing an experience — one that encourages mindfulness and self-awareness.


Yoga has also reinforced my commitment to environmental education. The practice teaches us that we are not separate from the world around us; we are part of it. This perspective aligns with my work as a designer and artist, reminding me that every choice we make has a ripple effect.

The Interwoven Path

The Interwoven Path

At first glance, UX design, visual arts, and yoga might seem like separate pursuits. But for me, they are threads of the same tapestry. Each path informs the other: design teaches me to think systemically, art inspires me to see beauty in impermanence, and yoga grounds me in the present moment.


Through these three lenses, my mission is clear: to foster awareness, inspire empathy, and encourage action.


Whether I’m mentoring a young designer, capturing the light as it dances on a mountaintop, or guiding a yoga class, my goal is to create moments that remind us of our connection — to each other, to nature, and to ourselves.

As I continue on this journey, I’m reminded that nothing lasts forever.


But within that impermanence lies an opportunity: to be present, to be mindful, and to leave the world a little better than we found it.




Topics

#designforhumans

#health

#mentalhealth

#product

#UX

#responsabledesign


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 © 2023 by Alexandru Botezatu