What’s your favorite piece of home technology?
Right now? My Nintendo Switch. In terms of the actual physical product itself, it’s really cool. It’s so versatile.
Have you always played video games?
Oh yeah. Hardcore. I played World of Warcraft for four years. Four years of my life. I’ll never get those back. A classic arcade-style game like Mortal Kombat makes me very competitive. I don’t think anything can make me rage out more than that. A couple buttons and a joystick. That’s it.
It all started because I have an older brother. I started playing Super Nintendo with him and I remember the day that we went to Toys “R” Us and I got my ticket for the Sega Genesis console. It was a big deal because you have to then take the ticket to this special office, then they give you the actual physical box.
Taz-Mania on Sega Genesis? Extremely difficult. It was one of those games I came back to year after year. It took me a full decade to actually beat that game. I recently gifted that Sega Genesis to a friend, and with it came the whole story of that day in Toys “R” Us. I wanted him to know … I needed him to understand … that this was a family artifact that I was passing along.
Whose creative work do you admire?
I really like the choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. One of his seminal pieces is called Revelations. It’s something that one of my dance teachers showed us in high school.
I love the movement and the storytelling … seeing what you can do with dance that way. I’d love to see the Ailey Dance Company do it live.
What’s a UX trend people should be thinking more about?
I see a trend of UX designers moving more into leadership and team-building roles, which is great. As that happens, I think UX designers need to understand more about business.
I think we need a really solid understanding of business principles and how to talk to business people. That, of course, takes empathy and good listening skills to start with.
It’s important to UX our own process. That idea isn’t under the radar exactly, but I think that it should be emphasized.
It’s easy to point fingers and say, “Oh, you know, marketing doesn’t understand” or “If only the CEO would listen.” Understanding where everybody’s coming from helps with evangelism. Plus it helps us do what we really need to do, which is build better products for real people.
What current TV show should get more recognition?
I really love The Handmaid’s Tale. I know that it’s critically-acclaimed, but I don’t hear people talking about it in my crowd so much. It’s very well-done and I think it’s extremely timely and relevant.
The author Margaret Atwood did heavy historical research into things like how the hoods and puritanical colors reflect oppression, physically and otherwise. To see it visually represented is really striking. I know it can be difficult to watch, but I think that it’s earning a very necessary dialogue.
I have this untested, unvalidated theory that Serena Joy is inspired by Phyllis Schlafly. She was a very smart woman who ran in the circles of conservative and libertarian politics, but who didn’t really get a voice until she sort of spearheaded what became the movement against the ERA. A really powerful lady, definitely. I mean, she accomplished what she set out to do. I’d like to see if that’s true, that would be interesting to me.
What do cat haters fundamentally not get about cats?
You can’t be selfish. You can’t be like, “I need attention and affection all the time.” They have their own thing. They’re their own little identity.
And yeah, they’re jerks. They can be serious jerks sometimes. I know this first-hand. I think that that’s maybe hard for some people. However, I do love cats and dogs equally, I don’t want people to think I’m anti-dog here.
What type of non-digital design gives you inspiration?
Can I say improv comedy? It’s not a type of design, I guess it’s more like jazz. The improv process is so beautiful to be a part of, each person plays a part in this mosaic. There’s collaboration, and you’re doing something together in the moment.
I love watching improv and I love being part of a group that performs it. I think it’s the process itself that I draw the most inspiration from. I’m trying to get more people to do it. I already pitched it to my boyfriend as, like, a collaboration activity. For the health of our relationship!
There are key points in improv which are also beneficial to your work life. It involves empathy-building and thinking on your feet. That whole idea behind psychological safety. Don’t be afraid. Stop saying no. Say yes.
What’s your best experience at a theme park?
I think it was at Epcot. There was a ride there that just blew my little mind.
There was fog, and It smelled kind of dewy. It’s dark in there and you’re moving along in a canoe. Every sensory experience was attended to, it was all-encompassing. You’re in this world within a world within a world. I just kept thinking, “I can’t believe this is real, that this is really happening.”
I remember seeing steps to this Mayan or Aztec temple, and feeling like this is magic. This is what you can do with magic, you know?
Not only that, but there’s also people eating on a platform, it’s also part of a restaurant somehow? It’s almost like a dream.
What’s your superpower at work?
Sense of humor, I would say. It helps you connect with people. I like to do pranks, too. Not just at work, but all over the place. If I can connect with people that way, I think that it can be incredibly powerful in terms of building relationships.
And it gets me out of a lot of trouble sometimes. I’ve seen my dad do this, too. My mom can be so heated at him for something and then he’ll say something sort of self-deprecatory or something. It kind of defuses everything. Because, I mean, you can’t really be that mad if you’re laughing.
