With a BFA in Graphic Arts and a Minor in Design Thinking, I bring a blend of creative artistry and strategic problem-solving to everything I do. My journey began in graphic design, but my entrepreneurial spirit and drive to help businesses thrive soon led me to the world of product design and scalable digital experiences.
I’m passionate about crafting thoughtful, user-centered designs that not only solve real-world problems but also drive measurable success for businesses. I thrive in collaborative environments, where teamwork fuels innovation and great ideas transform into meaningful results.
Efficiency is at the core of my work. I’m dedicated to building scalable UI systems and refining designs through measurement, iteration, and constant improvement. For me, there’s nothing more fulfilling than taking on complex challenges and turning them into elegant, actionable solutions.
Creativity and self-motivation drive my approach, but it’s the results—experiences that delight users and empower businesses—that truly inspire me. Let’s build something incredible together.
*Depending on project needs and maturity of product these deliverables adapt and can change.
This foundational part of the process ensures we are focusing on solving the “right thing.” It establishes the goals and defines the problems we want to address. The process consists of two distinct phases: the first is a divergent phase, where ideas and potential solutions are explored broadly, and the second is a convergent phase, where focus is narrowed to a single project goal, shaping the trajectory of the project.
Project discovery is an exploration of possible directions and focus areas for the project. Tools such as brainstorming, mind mapping, affinity mapping, journey mapping, and, in some cases, As-Is mapping can be employed to foster insights and uncover possibilities. These methods help generate clarity and create distinct paths forward, ensuring a well-defined trajectory for the project.
This convergent phase focuses on defining the problem, which is essential for achieving intentional and targeted outcomes. Designers will analyze previously documented artifacts from the discovery to identify pain points and opportunities for solutions. In addition to problem definition, this phase benefits from incorporating prioritization and strategy. Tools such as Impact/Priority mapping and other roadmapping techniques can help refine the project’s direction and ensure alignment with key objectives.
*deliverables can be both hi-fi and lo-fi depending on the need and what is trying to be solved.
This stage focuses on ensuring we “design the things right.” Guided by the problem statement defined earlier, this phase involves two key steps: exploring creative ideas to address the problem and validating those ideas through testing and feedback. This process ensures the final solution is innovative, effective, and aligned with user needs.
Starting to define the soution with low-fidelity exploration can take many forms and serves as a crucial stage for sorting out user flows, information architecture, and page structures. Common tools include workflows, wireframes, sketches, and diagrams in various styles. These tools are designed to allow designers to document ideas quickly and efficiently, enabling rapid iteration and exploration.
This essential step helps designers organize their thoughts and ideate on multiple solutions. A broad exploration at this stage ensures the impact and quality of the final solution, laying a strong foundation for informed and effective design decisions.
High-fidelity exploration builds upon the foundation established during the low-fidelity stage. This phase focuses on visual execution, ensuring a perception of quality for the user while being mindful of the cognitive load the design places on them.
The speed of this stage can vary significantly based on the quality and maturity of the design system. Projects without a design system require additional time to establish design patterns and styles and ensure scalability and extensibility. In contrast, mature design systems designed for scalability allow designers to leverage component libraries, making this stage faster and more efficient. This balance between creating visually impactful designs and maintaining usability ensures the final solution is both refined and effective.
In both low-fidelity and high-fidelity stages, divergent exploration is essential to uncovering innovative solutions. One effective strategy is the parallel development of ideas, where multiple concepts are explored simultaneously to ensure the quality and breadth of the final solution.
At the core of this process lies exploration and creativity. To foster creativity, it’s crucial for all participants in the exploration phase to set aside self-censorship and critical screening. This is best achieved by embracing collaborative techniques, such as starting feedback with “yes, and…” statements, which encourage idea-building rather than shutting concepts down.
All collaborative partners must be aware of and actively participate in this structure. Criticism and reductive thinking inhibit creativity, and during the divergent stage, such thinking can hinder progress. By maintaining a focus on openness and exploration, teams can unlock truly innovative and impactful solutions.
This stage of the design process is an opportunity to critically evaluate and screen all potential paths forward. Ideally, this is achieved using low-fidelity or high-fidelity prototypes tested with users or subject matter experts. The quality of the validation methodology directly impacts the accuracy and reliability of the insights gained.
Tools like A/B testing, user testing, interviews, and other related methods are specifically designed for this stage to validate concepts and ensure their alignment with user needs and business goals. Effective validation not only increases the likelihood of your product’s success but also provides clear, data-backed rationale for design decisions, which can be effectively communicated to stakeholders.
*At this stage, as ownership transitions from the solution team to the development team, design remains actively involved, collaborating closely to adapt solutions to technical requirements to ensure sealess execution
To ensure the quality of the build, it’s crucial to involve development leadership, such as a development architect or lead developer, from the early stages. This fosters alignment and ensures the technical strategy aligns with the expected user experience and functional requirements. A key advantage of this approach is that technical constraints are addressed upfront, preventing issues like long load times or high costs from the call structure. This proactive collaboration ensures the solution is both technically sound and user-focused.
The hand-off symbolizes a shift in ownership but does not mean design becomes hands-off moving forward. An effective hand-off provides an opportunity for the team to review acceptance criteria and address any additional requirements for a smooth development process. Designers, equipped with pixel-perfect specs and prototypes, collaborate closely with development partners, walking through the solution piece by piece to ensure nothing is missed and all questions are resolved. This alignment fosters faster development and happier developers by providing a clear and well-defined trajectory.
The efficiency of this ceremony depends on the quality of development involvement throughout the solutioning stages. While comprehensive, this meeting doesn’t need to be lengthy if collaboration has been thorough and consistent earlier in the process.
The Design QA serves as a reassurance of alignment and ideally takes place before any sprint review. It ensures the visual and functional quality of the product, requiring meticulous attention to detail, sometimes down to the pixel. As design systems evolve and mature, these ceremonies become faster and more efficient, streamlining the process while maintaining high standards.
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