Empathizing with your user and defining the problem is paramount. Through my years of experience, I’ve learned firsthand how important is to truly understand your users.

No one person thinks alike, and that’s the beauty of design. You are constantly faced with the challenge of creating solutions that will work for multiple audiences.

I strive to make my designs inclusive, accessible, and aesthetically pleasing. You don’t have to sacrifice usability for beauty.

I will speak with the client, project managers, developers/engineers, and other designers to define the problem. I have experience working with major clients and I make sure that whomever I’m working with knows I’m available to chat and discuss things to find the best solutions.

In order to create successful designs, I always make sure to put the user first. Of course, when presented with a problem, my mind starts generating ideas — but I know that first and foremost, I must define the problem first, or anticipate ways to improve a current design.

I want to understand my users. I have experience with user research, using methods such as user interviews, surveys, diary studies, card sorting activities, and usability testing.

I will perform a competitive analysis. and start to develop user personas, scenarios, journey maps, empathy maps, and storyboards.

If this information is already available to me from UX researchers, I will talk to the researchers and ask questions so I have a full understanding of the user.

This information allows me to pair my analytical thinking with my creative abilities and start to ideate solutions.

While research is a guide, creativity is where the design comes to life. I like to find solutions that are innovative and unique. Human-centered design needs to be effective, while also pushing the boundaries of the ordinary.

After empathizing with the user through research, defining the problem, and ideating solutions, I’ll begin prototyping. Through paper prototyping and sketching, I start building low-fidelity wireframes and mockups. I’ll look for feedback on the direction and move to mid and high fidelity prototypes using tools such as Figma, Sketch, and InVision.

During the entire process, I work with designers and developers/engineers to ensure that the designs are accessible, usable, and programmable given the confines of the programs that we are using.

I will check in with project managers and make sure that the solutions are in-line with the goals, due dates, and meet the needs of both the user and stakeholders.

I genuinely believe that two heads are better than one. While I might believe I found a solution that works, everyone comes from different backgrounds, with different experiences. These experiences shape us and teach us things that not everyone else will know.

I enjoy working with others and being challenged creatively. Bouncing ideas back and forth help build better solutions that help more people. I will always advocate for the user, and find compromises that work for all parties.

Hearing others out is always important, because if nothing more, you still get to learn how to communicate with different personality types. People are interesting. Let’s work together and learn from each other!

I want to learn. I love learning. It doesn’t matter if someone is more senior or junior than me in experience level, you can always learn from other people.

I enjoy getting constructive feedback, as it helps me become a better designer. I am constantly looking for mentors, as I enjoy hearing people’s unique experiences and opinions. I am always open to learning new tools, technologies, or methods of designing.

Once solutions have been prototyped, I will perform testing, ideate and adjust as needed, and then implement the solution.

If you got this far, thank you. I hope we get to work together soon!