My origin story …
I always had a passion for creative writing, design, and music, so I gravitated to the local music scene in my hometown. As early as I can remember, I was writing poetry and songs, eventually picking up an acoustic guitar and singing and playing them myself.
I never really grew out of the weird art kid phase. Growing up in a service-industry-led small town on the Alabama coast, I shuffled around various jobs from cleaning vacation rentals to restaurant hostess, barista, and retail salesperson.
At 18, I entered a local songwriting competition and won, which made the possibility of a future involving creativity as a profession real. I’ve been involved in creative writing projects and design projects ever since.
Professional experience
Writing and copyediting
For several years, I’ve been writing and editing content for different clients. This included crafting blog posts with an emphasis on SEO. Coming from such a strong creative writing background, this kind of writing was good practice in weaving a story and creating engaging prose around something that at first glance may not be that exciting.
In 2020, I completed a copyediting certification from UCSD, which helped me build skills around following a style guide, making concise edits, and giving feedback to writers. I’ve worked with authors across genres to refine their works and craft exciting stories that engage readers. I’ve also consulted as a technical editor for Microsoft on a QA team.
How does this relate to UX?
Working as a content writer and editor for different clients in different industries allowed me to practice researching for the end user. This skill has translated to user research and product research within the UX field.
My technical copyediting background has honed my attention to detail and ability to create concise experiences that all users find easy to understand.
User acceptance testing (UAT) and accessibility testing
At GP Strategies, I started as a user acceptance tester before transitioning to a content-focused role. In this role, I worked closely with designers and engineers to find bugs within the online courses we were building. I also focused on creating accessible designs. This included working with screen readers to test whether the reading order on web pages made sense for people with visual impairment. It also included verifying pages met color contrast standards and that images had meaningful alternative text.
How does this relate to UX?
Working directly with designers and engineers has taught me how to communicate clearly with them about changes that need to be made to their design. It taught me to justify design decisions and problem-solve as a team. Working in UAT and accessibility has made me pay close attention to those items in my designs.
Service industry
Since I grew up in an area with little career opportunity outside the service industry, I worked many different jobs in this field including retail, barista, hostess, restaurant front of house, and back of house.
How does this relate to UX?
Being in such a customer-facing role helped me build empathy for who each product is for. My real-life experience in the service and hospitality industry gives me a fresh perspective on designing digital products.
