It is a big bio isn’t it...
I’ve spent the last 5ish years in Product and UX, and prior to that was doing good ol’ graphic design. Before all that, I was a very confused undergrad student who kept switching majors because everything is fascinating to me. I studied sociology, urban studies/planning, a semester of computer science (ouch, my brain), and then visual and interaction design.
General design philosophy
Make, critique, observe, reflect. This isn’t my original thought, it’s from IBM, but I think anyone who has spent a lot of time designing will know this intuitively.
I also believe that everything created is essentially a form of designing. Organizing your living room is a form of design. Everyone does it, they just don’t realize it.
ExperienceProduct & UX/UI
Dec ‘20 — Current @ Thrivent (Financial Services)
Jun ‘19 — Nov ‘20 @ Kalderos (B2B Healthcare)
Sept ‘18 — Jun ‘19 @ Simple (Banking)
Jan ‘18 — May ‘18 @ Doblin (Consulting, Financial Services)
Graphic Design May 2017 — July 2017 @ HBO, Digital Marketing
Sep 2016 — Dec 2016 @ Northlich
EducationVisual Communication Design (with a focus in Interaction Design) @ Univeristy of Cincinnat’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning.
Make stuff as a team and have fun!
When I say that I like making stuff with people, for people—I mean it! There’s no fun in going into a project alone. The best vibe is when everyone is flowing together, throwing ideas around, trying things out for the sake of trying things out. Individualism and solo perfectionism is not the way.
Leading with curiosity; there are no dumb questions.
Or put differently, dumb questions are allowed. I think the most complicated topics in this world can be simplified, and the more time we spend being less scared of how complicated things are, the more we become knowledgable about complicated things. I’m all about demystifying the complicated parts of this world.
See my work with Kalderos
Depth and craft
In work and in personal life, I love getting deep into the weeds of a topic—whether it’s trying to understand the macro problems of existential problems in society or into the minutia of how interaction design works (not my writing). Hopefully my work reflects this.
Audience & clear communication
Alan Alda has a book titled, “If I understood you, would I have this look on my face?” and it’s something I keep in the back of my mind anytime I’m talking to someone. Whether it’s a stakeholder, a fellow designer, or an engineer, it’s really important to know how to communicate and meet people where they’re at.
Strong design culture
I want to be surrounded by other people who are seasoned veterans of their craft, a place where we can critique and experiment, and a place where human-centered design is valued at all aspects of the work. Can’t grow my design craft without a good design culture.
Insights to delivery
A place where I can go deep into the work, rather than shallowly working from a list of requirements that I have zero context for. I want to question assumptions, know if we’re really solving something.
Life-work balance > work-life balance
Life comes first, work comes second. I want to work in places where people acknowledge your basic needs as a human before seeing you as a worker.