Hi, I'm Katie!
I like to think my experiences have been the perfect storm that have brought me to the brink of UX. When I started out as a graphic designer, I learned the importance of planning with sketches and file organization. I also learned to welcome criticism, as it is imperative part of the iterative design process. With these experiences, I really began to view each new design I approached as a problem that I simply needed to solve, albeit through sometimes complex processes.
This love of problem solving through design brought me to an interest in teaching other people how fun and worthwhile it can be to solve problems if you hone and follow a process. So, I became an educator. I spent 5 years teaching kids how to problem solve through visual arts. Teaching gives you a unique perspective on empathy, especially within a highly diverse community. Continually ideating on new and better experiences for my students became something I was very passionate about and that I would regularly evaluate to evolve my program. With that goal, I spent a lot of time analyzing data and creating action plans and goals to bring more purposeful experiences and resources to not only my classroom, but the entire district.
With these past experiences in visual design, research, and advocation, it only feels natural to now be on this UX journey. I see myself as a modern day anthropologist, fighting for streamlined and accessible experiences for all, while preserving and celebrating the best of traditional methods and designs. I also love creating hypotheses only to find that there are unexpected needs to be addressed. It's like getting a surprise in a toy capsule vending machine.
"All things are so very uncertain, and that's exactly what makes me feel reassured" - Tove Jansson