USER INTERFACE DESIGNER, OOMPH, INC., SPRINGFIELD NJ
As a designer, I thrive in the creation process and am driven by a sincere curiosity and fascination with the intersection between design and data. As a neurodivergent individual, I fiercely advocate for accessibility, inclusion, and empathy in everything I touch.
Through my position, I perform various user experience exercises and create different design systems primarily for clients’ websites. There is no better feeling in the world, than starting a project from the first steps of discovery to finalizing a site’s style guide. My favorite part about Oomph has been the opportunity to partner with progressive clients who focus on making good in the world.
I wouldn’t be who I am as a designer today without the countless design professionals and professors who have helped me along my journey. In 2022, I earned my Master’s Degree in UX Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), and transitioned my fulltime role from Graphic Design to UX/UI Design. Prior, I earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design at The College of Saint Rose in 2018.
I currently reside in New Jersey but grew up in Upstate New York. In my spare time, I often spend time with my pup Luffy, enter Broadway lotteries, and create digital art.
As we pivot into a post-pandemic era marked by societal challenge and change, are you optimistic about the future of Graphic Design in supporting and shaping commerce, culture and causes? Are you optimistic about the future of your own design career or business?
I am cautiously optimistic about the future of Graphic Design. On a positive note, remote work is now “normal,” and it seems that voices are amplified for the causes of sustainability, diversity, and one’s own social responsibility. However, the introduction of AI tools like ChatGPT has started to change the landscape of business operations. We must use AI as a tool and enhance the human touch in our work, not replace it.
Due to the pandemic, small but mighty formal art education programs, such as my own undergraduate program at the College of Saint Rose, have closed for good. Future generations of young designers will not be able to be shepherded through the same program that gave students such a competitive edge.
However, I feel that arts are nothing but resilient, and even without community, those who want to create will continue to create even without structure. In regards to the future of my own career, I take the UX approach of “pivoting” seriously: never settle, and keep changing to adapt to new tools, new information, and new trends. If I can keep contributing my creativity to communicate forward-thinking, positive messages and help make design more accessible to everyone, I will be successful.
