/la´s-kou-ské/
: an enthusiastic, hardworking, design and research colleague interested in uncovering usable insights that lead to achieving the best possible experiences for users.
My Journey to UX
Visual Design & Communication
I have a B.A. in Illustration, and a minor in Advertising Design. I love working with shapes and their spatial relationships to one another. The ability to turn a manuscript or wireframe into a professional, polished form of communication has always warmed my heart.
Product Design
I worked for an educational publisher, which afforded me opportunities to evolve from designing textbook materials, to content and e-commerce websites, to educational software applications. It also exposed me to target customer demographics and focus group research to gage new products.
Software Design
Collaborating with subject matter experts helped me understand how to design for specific users with varying levels of comprehension needs. Trial software designs were classroom piloted with the feedback influencing subsequent development and releases.
Product Sales
I wanted to exercise my advertising skills and learn more about sales. I worked in-house with marketing colleagues and later for an agency. These positions taught me about branding and the importance of providing a delightful customer experience in order to differentiate from competitors.
UX Design
Wanting to apply what I learned from my previous positions, I transitioned to an in-house UX team. Because of the organization’s strong commitment to providing the best possible experience for customers, I dedicated myself to attaining a deeper understanding of all the UX roles that play a part in creating that positive user experience. I now have a M.S. in UX Design.
Through that professional development, my passion for qualitative and quantitative research flourished. I believe that listening to and understanding your customers and truly caring about their needs is at the core of improving functionality, ease of use, and ultimately exceeding expectations.
UX Case Studies
Pharm Ordering Transformation
Formative Agile Research Studies
Customer Identification Design
A Usability Research Study
Customer Identification Discovery
Generative Research Opportunities
Retail Account Opening Validation
Ethnographic Pilot Study
Customer ID Discovery & Design
A Generative Research Study
Teller CuRE Validation
A Summative Research Opportunity
User Centered Design Process
User Centered Design is the process of increasing the satisfaction of the customer by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure encountered when interacting with a product.
Through experience, I have learned that good design is not an allusive abstract that materializes in a moment of isolated inspiration. But like most things, it’s developed through iterative work. Experimenting and brainstorming with cross-functional team members and testing with target audiences, evolves concepts into good designs.
I believe in acquiring deep knowledge of target users, including their environments and their goals. I believe in understanding and balancing the users’ needs with the business’ objectives. I believe that successful design requires conducting research, talking to users and stakeholders, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and testing concepts to keep a project aligned with its initial goals.