Balancing Creativity With Research

Growing up, I moved several times both internationally and all over the United States. I learned about the world from a perspective that no book or TED talk could ever teach you: every person has their own problems, their own desires, and their own belief systems; you also learn that each person’s problems boil down to very similar things: comfort, stability, and happiness.

The experience of moving every few years drove me to focus my future on empathy and building things to improve all lives. My current work surrounds building relationships with users, stakeholders, and the members of my internal team to build the best products possible. Through that work, I have launched mobile apps, created design systems for multiple internal platforms, worked on the full SDLC process, and worked cross functionally with engineers to build greenfield applications and new features for existing applications. What I learned was how important communication was internally and externally, how great of a tool Figma is, and how much I love working with users as they navigate these platforms. Joining the world of UX has been incredibly rewarding, but that wasn’t where I thought I would end up originally…

I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received two Bachelor’s degrees: a BFA in Theatre, where I concentrated in Theatre Studies, and a BS in Speech and Hearing Science, where I concentrated in Neuroscience of Communication. My senior thesis researched the idea of vocal perception and how we view and judge others based on the way they speak. My research was based on multiple studies and mock-casting sessions, where I asked a group to cast strangers into popular shows based on only someone’s voice and only someone’s body, where I then looked at the similarities and differences. I now use that research in my dramatic writing in my free time, where I focus on discovering the person behind the voice.

As you can see, my journey to the UI/UX field has not been linear nor has it been predictable. However, pursuing my BFA and BS at the same time taught me how influential research was to creativity, how logic plays into design, and about how projects must focus on the audience’s perception.

Upon graduation, I worked as a full-desk recruiter in the IT field because I wanted to help others find their path as I looked to find mine. When covid-19 hit, I had to take a step back and evaluate what I wanted from my career. I knew I wanted to implement more creativity into my day-to-day and decided to utilize my creativity in an empathic way - that’s how I found UX.

Outside of design, I’ve written and produced several original plays and I’m working on writing a new novel as I type this. I’ve also helped create a video production company, where I learned how to use the Adobe suite to edit their promotional videos, short films, and marketing materials.

My motto is that all you can do is take life one step at a time. You can’t rush it, but you can always take another step forward.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions for me, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, view my resume (also listed below), or connect with me through the contact page. Looking forward to chatting!