Featured Projects.
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SynCampus
UX/UI Research + Design
This project focused on an application, called SynCampus, for students at the University of Michigan, who are current members of clubs or organizations on campus.
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Pluto TV
Product Design
User testing on button placement, code activation, and global navigation, we well as persona design and research using user interviews for a large streaming platform.
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Mission Web Platform
UX Research + Design
The United States Department of State needed a redesign with user testing of various components of their embassy website template, for use by millions of international users yearly.
What do I do?
UX DESIGN
Design Thinking + IoT
User Journey Mapping
Sketching + Ideation
Prototyping + Wireframing
Accessible User Personas
UX RESEARCH
Qualitative + Quantitative Findings
Generative + Evaluative Research
Surveys + Interviews
Usability Testing + Card Sorting
Information Architecture
PRODUCT + CONSULTING
Problem ideation
Contextual Inquiry
Agile Methodology
Competitive Analysis
Affinity Mapping
OTHER
HTML + CSS + Python + C++ + Wordpress
Adobe Suite + Figma
Digital Humanities
Photography
Digital Strategy + SEO + Social Media
My Interests
International Design
I believe that designing for a good user experience is a highly contextual process. Cross-cultural design is important in this highly connected digital age, and designing for global audiences should be a business priority. I’m also fascinated with design’s use in historical and museum applications.
Non-Traditional Interfaces
Non point-and-click or touchscreen interfaces, including automotive screens, appliances, and ambient devices, have always excited me. I am particularly interested in designing for the particular quirks and mental models they present, and creating information architectures for these systems.
Educational Technology
How can a good user experience facilitate learning environments across all levels, from professional training through simple gamification? I’m interested in this interdisciplinary field that fuses research into how we learn best with technological. I am inspired by Cynthia Breazeal’s robotics work and Osmo in fostering dynamic play and creativity.
Environmental Technology
How can technology be built harmoniously into our earth’s natural environments while minimizing disruption, augmenting environmental preservation, and working with the world around us? How does a built environment influence nature, and how can technology mitigate climate change and risks?
Data-Informed Design
Quantitative and qualitative research is essential in designing systems that work for everyone. Beautiful design is an important part of any interface, but is useless without meaningful considerations of user needs. I’m always looking for innovative research and analysis techniques, such as cultural probes.
Information Ethics
For all areas of HCI, from ICTD to accessibility to social computing, I believe that potential negative effects of technology should be planned for and mitigated to the best of one’s ability. Ethical heuristics, like avoiding black boxes and deceptive patterns, should be evaluated in all projects.
Ubiquitous Computing
Computers are embedded in all areas of our daily lives, whether we notice it or not. Designing products that augment existing skills and routines can improve social development and human progress. By freeing up mental space from menial tasks, we can make lives easier and facilitate innovation. I’m also interested in unboxing experiences.
Technology and International Development
Technology’s reach in international development is wide, and there is no doubt that its role is that of an important catalyst for change. However, my interests in its use co-exist with a commitment to avoiding unintentional negative consequences of tech implementation due lack of regional understanding.
About Me: Why Human Computer Interaction?
With an experimental particle physicist specializing in supercomputing as a parent, I grew up surrounded by technology. I made my first website at age 5, and was constantly handed O’Reilly coding books. I learned about the invention of the World Wide Web from where it was first invented: CERN. But, the technology I was surrounded by was not intuitive. It was not visually appealing. It was not usable. So, I started university, set on studying Computer Science so I could build all the cool things I grew up seeing, and combined that degree with the study of History for a background in research and analysis.
However, the Computer Science didn’t stick - I questioned why I was learning to build programs that weren’t working towards something greater. So, I switched the computer science side of my degree to Digital Studies - the study of the impacts of technology and social media on culture and its users. I loved thinking critically about how to make the world a better place by modifying technology. However, yet again, I found myself wanting to create. I wanted to do more than just criticize the impacts of technology - I wanted to actually create products that were good for society.
So, I used my background in thinking critically about potential impacts, graphic design, research, and photography to obtain internships in User Experience Research and Design. I loved utilizing my problem solving muscles so much that I applied to the Master’s of Science in Information program at my alma mater, and here I am today - still working towards helping global populations though wicked problems with innovative technological tools.