I always wanted to be an artist.
It’s one of my first memories, one of the first things my parents will tell you about me. I’ve just always loved expressing myself through art.
And then I discovered storytelling…
A picture might tell a 1000 words, but a novel lets you write 100,000. And then there are websites where you can combine both, picking words like poetry and images to illustrate. When I designed my first website, I fell in love.
A career in environmental science, following my third passion of saving this world, provided training in leadership, management, and presentations, but did not feed the creative side of my soul. When the chance came to fly, I flew.
My husband and I took a “career break,” and traveled over 100,000 miles across North America in a rusty Land Cruiser with our small dog in tow. Really! We even wrote a book about it. It was amazing, and it gave me a chance to reevaluate and then get back to my first love in a new way.
I started creating book covers, world maps, and formatting books for fellow authors. Which led to more website building. That grew into freelancing. When the travel bug finally calmed down, I realized I had the makings of a brilliant career in UX/UI Design after years of website design and lean UX in course development.
I completed a Google UX Professional Design Certificate as a capstone to encompass my years of experience. Then, working at Precise as the Lead UX Designer added to my skill and knowledge base.
Education
- Google UX Design Professional Certification
- Foundations of Humane Technology
- M.S. Ecology & Environmental Science — University of Maine
- B.A. Studio Art & English with Honors — Bucknell University
- Junior Year Abroad in Manchester, UK
- The Metropolitan University of Manchester — Illustration with Animation
- The University of Manchester — English
- Junior Year Abroad in Manchester, UK
Experience
Precise Software Solutions
- Lead UX Designer
- Responsible for introducing UX processes and standards across the company, including building internal UX / UI website, Brownbag presentations, and consulting with various teams
- Responsible for vetting UX designers for open positions and interviewing candidates
- UX lead on proposals including creation of company case studies, visuals, and wording
- Creation of UX / UI website design for responsive websites in both strategic federal and private sectors, including wireframes, user testing, user journey, insuring designs meet UI and accessability guidelines, prototyping, and working with developers for implementation
- Creation of UX / UI design of mobile based apps from color theory, font selection, icon & logo creation, high fidelity designs of screens, and working with developers for implementation and user testing
- General graphic and marketing design including PowerPoint templates, custom icon creation, video, illustrations, and diagrams
A Raven Design
- Freelance graphic, product, and website design
- UX / UI website design of numerous websites including,
- e-Learning platform
- Author & book websites
- Boutique e-commerce store
- Book cover design website
- Podcast websites
- Blogs with e-commerce functions
- Social media strategist and post creation, including images
- Creation of over 270 book cover—ebook, paperback wraps, and hard cover
- Market analysis, wireframing, customer consultation, final design
- Book layout and interior design including interior images and graphics
- Creation of swag, conference banners, and promotional material, both print and digital
- Product launches with marketing plan creation and roll out
Am Writing Fantasy
- UI website design of blog & e-commerce store
- UX and UI design of e-Learning sales and course website
- Design of e-learning video based courses
- User research, outline development, slide development, video recording and editing
- Design of promotion materials, both print and digital
- Product design, including product launches
- Social media management
- Podcast management
Overland Expo
- UI website management
- Graphic creation, including t-shirt designs
- Creation and management of viral contests
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Project management
- Leadership (18 month course) & supervisory soft skill training
- Public presentations & article creation
- Employee supervision
Skills
UX
UI / Graphic Design
General
Awards
Contact
Have a question? Use the form below to get in touch and I’ll reach out soon. 🙂