About

For me, user experience isn’t a job. I’ve been critiquing products since I was young, wondering why most chairs were uncomfortable, or tools were difficult to use. Once digital products became a regular part of my life, they joined the list. You might say I’ve had a passion for LEAN and UX long before I was aware of them. I’ve always felt driven to find the easiest, most enjoyable path to anything in which I was involved. And I like nothing better than to do the same for others through my work.

My first work assignment was running a usability lab. There’s no better introduction to UX than watching hundreds of people use products. Talking with them about the reasons for their actions, I learned how to turn observations into insights and improvements. Since then, I’ve done interaction design and UX strategy on a wide array or digital and physical products. Still, in every industry I’ve worked, the first thing I always ask is, “When do I get to meet some users?”

It’s clear to me that just about everything created by people has a user experience of some form, the only question is whether or not their creators took this into account. That’s because UX isn’t a discipline, like geology or linguistics, it’s a philosophy. Whether it’s a building, a car loan application app, or our interactions with our project teams, all can benefit from the application of empathy, ideation, and a willingness to let evidence drive decision making. In a way, UX is almost my lifestyle.

I’m unusual in the field of UX for having a basic science background, physics. Though I don’t use math or mechanics much these days, the ability to quickly identify the relevant factors driving a problem is still my most valuable skill.