Sonja’s speaker information

My bio

Sonja Leix is a Digital Strategist who works with the most passionate business owners all around the world to craft successful online experiences. She’s an active member of the WordPress community and co-organizes WordCamp Europe, the world’s largest WordPress conference. Sonja wants to live in a world where online experiences are valuable and intuitive for all users.

UPCOMING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
PAST SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Presentations

Designing without Color

Designers think in color. They often dive right into creating the look and feel of a website before fully understanding the context they’re designing for. We design for humans and human consumption, and as such need to use a content- and user-centric approach to create websites that are useful and usable.

I will talk about the importance of removing the aspect of visual design during the early stages of a project and how this will help pave the road for constructive conversation. The importance of defining and understanding your target audience and what speaks to them. And how creating wireframes with real copy creates real solutions and helps us test drive those early.

Presented at: WordCamp U.S. 2016 in Philadelphia | Slides

Read the post: Designing without Color or watch the presentation

Lessons learned from 7 years of freelancing as a WordPress Designer and Developer

I’ve made every possible mistake there is in the last 7+ years of freelancing as a WordPress Designer. I lost money, time, and was struggling. In this presentation I’d like to share my experience and most important lessons learned. It will help you boost your freelance business by implementing small changes, that take you to the next level.

Presented at: WordPress Meetup Sofia 2016  |  Slides

Read the post: Lessons learned from 7 years freelancing as a WordPress Designer and Developer

Working remotely as a WordPress Freelancer

A location independent life has combined my passion for travel and inspired my work. This talk shares my lessons learned as a Digital Nomad, working remotely as a freelancer on client projects while traveling the world. It explores how I stay motivated, find community, and how you can live a location-independent lifestyle as well.

Presented at: WordCamp Switzerland 2015  |  Slides

Sonja Leix at WordCamp Switzerland 2015 #wcch
WordCamp Switzerland. Photo by Florian Ziegler

My friend the Impostor Syndrome

Have you ever compared yourself to other designers / developers and felt like you’re not in their league? Do you write code, but wouldn’t dare to call yourself a developer? Do you shy away from contributing or publishing your code / designs / projects openly, because you’re worried you’re not good enough? At WordCamps, are you afraid to ask “stupid” questions or admit if you don’t understand something?

Yes?! Congrats, you’re suffering from Impostor Syndrome. Most of us do, but not many talk about it! I’d like to share my personal story with you and how I’m overcoming it. And so can you!

Presented at: WordCamp Europe 2016, WordCamp NYC 2016  |  Slides

Lost in Translation: What I learned by Contributing to the Polyglots Team

WordPress is growing rapidly! It now powers 26% of the web. One of the main reasons for it’s global success is, that WordPress speaks more than 100 languages! Who translates WordPress? And how can we get involved? This is the story of how you, as a WordPress Theme or Plugin author can grow your products by connecting to the Polyglots community.

Presented at: WordCamp New Orleans 2016  |  Slides

500 Days of Summer

This is a presentation on how my journey as a Digital Nomad has made me a better Designer and Professional. It shows how focus, embracing uncertainty, and mental flexibility – qualities of an experienced traveler – can directly translate into higher productivity, more creativity, and inspired thought.

Slides

Anything else you’d like me to cover?

I’m happy to speak about all things WordPress and User Experience, freelancing, client and project handling, working location independent, and my experiences contributing to the Polyglots team and organizing WordCamp events. I can also participate in a panel discussion or a live design critique.