PERSONAL LIFE

Q: Name three things that make you happy.

1. Cute or clever greeting cards.

2. When light fills a space in just the right way.

3. Shopping for clothes.

Q: What do you do in your free time?

A: Building a home, spending time with my dog, and working on myself. I’ve gone through some massive life changes recently and had to do a lot of growing in a short amount of time. Right now, I’m focused on home renovations, learning and finding new hobbies, and creating better balance in my life. I’m no longer the eliete athlete of my 20s, but staying active and feeling strong is still important to me; having that team spirit. I spent the entire summer paddle boarding and I’ve taken up curling for the winter. We’ll have to see what else is in store for the new year.

Q: What’s the last book you’ve read?

A: The entirety of the Murderbot Diaries. The characters are very well developed and I think we can all relate to Murderbots struggles in our current climate.

CAREER

Q: What are your career goals?

A: I get this question a lot in interviews. I think a lot of employers porbably think that my answer shows my goals are not specific, and therefore I don’t have very good goals.

I definitely have a very general understanding of where I would like to be: leading a team, working with people, and designing for a company (or companies) I believe in. Having the level of skill, and commanding the level of respect and that people like Niri Oxman and  Ian Spalter have. To be able to say hey, I have a crazy idea, trust that it’s going to be great. I used to think that I wanted to design for the fashion or sports industry. While that’s still true in a sense, the industry doesn’t matter as much to me as the people and the values.

 I don’t want to be any more specific than this. I have many talents in many different areas: print, screens, interactions, video, social, and I’m always building more. Who know’s what the future holds and what will be needed in a moment. 

Q: In what ways would you like to grow as a designer?

A: I’m constantly trying to break new ground and fiddle in other areas. I recently took several courses in UX Design. But I’d like to learn more motion design, 3D rendering, even get back into CAD.

Q: What’s in your notebook?

A: Notes? I’m a very detailed note taker. Meeting notes, course notes, project notes. I like to try and capture everything and then when I need to go back to it later, I can condense and clean up the information. My notebook is filled with grid paper which I find helps keep me more organized than lines. I also love making lists! Splitting my tasks up and checking them off one by one is not only very satisfying, but helps me make sure I don’t forget anything.

Q: What designers inspire you?

A: I try not to limit myself to “Designers” in the sense of print or digital, but rather to be inspired by creative people. The Netflix series Attract is full of people I find inspiring. Some of the ones that spoke to me most include: Niri Oxman, Cas Holman, and Ralph Gilles.