My super powers are empathy
and curiosity
About me
If there is one thing I have confidence in myself for it is that I will figure it out. Ever since I was a kid, I have enjoyed figuring out things work. It started with curiosity about space, then moved on to solving puzzles in the Legend of Zelda, and then to the outdoors.
As I got older I became curious about how to help others figure things out as well. I went to college for psychology where I took an interest in all types of research spanning from how people coped with the fact they were going to die to the most effective therapy treatments. After undergrad, I went to graduate school for mental health counseling.
While I was in graduate school, I worked in the outdoor industry helping people figure out they are capable of taking care of themselves in the wilderness or on the side of a rock wall. Now, I want to explore how people navigate the digital space and help figure out how to create tools and programs that will be best for them.
My Design Philosophy
“If there is anything I know for certain it is that I know nothing.”
-Socrates
It is important to me to acknowledge the limits of my knowledge. As a therapist and an advocate for others, I learned how important it is to recognize that I can never know anyone’s experience better than they can know their own experience. They are the only person to ever live their very specific life and therefore they are the expert. There are certain circumstances I can’t understand due to where I am from, my upbringing, and what I look like. Therefore, I see my job as accepting what I don’t know, but acknowledging that I can better understand using the patterns that I see, research, empathy, and knowledge I do have.
“We must design for the way people behave, not for how we would wish them to behave.”
-Don Norman
By meeting people where they are at and letting them be the expert on themselves, we can build products that work for them. This is what excites me about the User Experience —getting to empower people to make tools and products that work for them because it was designed by them for them.
When I am not doing UX stuff you can find me doing all the normal dork stuff including but not limited to:
Video games (I am a Nintendo fanboy and have to them all my money)
Improv comedy
Watching videos on space
Reading fantasy and sci-fi books
Making gifs and doodles on my Ipad
I also do some cool guy things like:
Winning 3rd place in my fantasy football league
Playing guitar and bass
Running and Biking
Rock climbing
Backpacking & Camping
Baking my own bagels (this is a cool guy thing right?)
Some fun stuff
Oh, and this is my dog Beans
UX Book Library
My curiosity drives me to be constantly reading books. These are a few UX books that I feel has had the most influence on my design philosophy. Select a book to learn more.
