About Me
I am a Senior at Purdue University pursuing a degree in User Experience Design with a minor in Psychology and a Certificate for Entrepreneurship and Leadership. I am also a Chick Evans Scholar, which is a full tuition and housing scholarship funded by the Western Golf Association. I am from Burbank, IL, where I have spent most of my summers caddying on the golf course, which allowed me to grow my networking and communication skills. However, the past two summers I have completed UX internships with Chamberlain Group and KeHE Distributors. This experience provided me the opportunity to work collaboratively with a team of UX designers on current and innovative company projects, consequently, this engagement allowed me to further strengthen my visual design skills and knowledge tremendously.
My current skill sets are in the area of visual design. I have done a lot of work with drawing and graphic design, which I am utilizing to advance my sketching and prototyping skills. I have had a lot of past success as an artist, which includes winning awards from the Anti-Defamation League of Chicago and also creating a mural for a reading room funded by neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
In my free time I like to draw and invest in cryptocurrencies. I also enjoy being outdoors and seeing the beauties of nature. I hope to do a lot of traveling and viewing of all the scenic wonders of the world. I also love to go fishing and take week long fishing trips to Canada.
My Design Philosophy
My design philosophy is supported by the foundation of art and illustration. Creating art is a personal methodology that is by no means linear. The same is applied for my design process. When beginning to create a new art piece, it is filled with trial-and-error, endless decision making, and tons of ideation. It is a messy process, but it is an internally engaging experience.
As an artist, I can make art from a vast array of utensils and mediums. This array represents the unique set of characteristics that is instilled in every piece of art that is created. This unique set of characteristics is also presented by every new design problem I am presented with. Therefore, I have to think about the design tools in which I possess and determine when to apply each.
A challenge I have always faced as an artist is the concept of perfection, and the ability to determine when a piece of art I have created is done. This perfection has led me to constantly iterate and keep on creating. However, the truth is a piece of art will never be perfect, and neither will a design be. Most often, we are creating and designing for humans, and the fact is humans are very complicated. People’s expectations and needs are constantly evolving; therefore, I continue on a path toward iteration and constant creation.
Often pieces of art are made of just imagery and lacks words, but the audience manages to interpret it and find meaning in its form an creation. Design has the ability to work in the same way. A great design will be understandable and intuitive to the user without saying a word.