I entered the field of UX design from a background in graphic design in college and 7+ years of software sales (an interesting blend, I know). Over my non design centered career, I’ve found ways to have a creative outlet whether that was redesigning one of my company’s brand or contributing to feature development. For me, having that outlet has been crucial towards for my sanity, working in a demanding and stress inducing field.

At my current company (at time of writing), I was approached by a product lead to help contribute to a new feature launch in one of our key products. Initially I was brought in to provide user research from my countless hours listen to customer feedback. While on meetings, I provided (unsolicited) feedback in other areas on visual design and eventually wire framing. When the feature finally launched, I was thrilled to see positive feedback from customers I was selling to. It was at that moment I knew it was time to switch.

In late 2023, I was lucky enough to be accepted into Design Labs’ UX Academy. Luckily, the skills and views I gained from my past experiences are applicable to UX design. I have a user-centric mindset when approaching any project and believe research and testing are the most crucial parts of the process.