Who I Am, and How I Think
My Design Tenets
Understand the system
Good design doesn't miss the forest for the trees – incentives and context often are the hardest part of the design problem to solve.
Explore & wander
How long and where one wanders depends on the project. Even pattern matching should involve some exploration – but not without purpose.
Constraints help
Out of the box thinking requires a box to be defined. Uncovering the strict needs, demands, and edges of a problem space enables design work to happen productively.
Key Experiences
SaaS & low/no code
I’ve built and improved a range of products for Smartsheet, an enterprise work management platform that serves 85% of the Fortune 100. A highly flexible tool, Smartsheet needs to serve all audiences.
That meant learning how to build software at massive scale, understanding complex use cases, and exposure to a wide range of industries.
Fintech & insurance
I designed customer-facing pages, dashboards, and decision making tools at Principal Financial Group – a Fortune 500 provider of 401(k) plans and life insurance.
Finance and insurance touch almost every part of our day-to-day lives and decision making –and the human and business understanding I gained was priceless.
Operational management
Standing up a SaaS platform for Bowlero, I gained exposure to how operational management at massive multi-location scale functions, and how to build interfaces that reflect real-world business processes.
Travel
Building safety and monitoring interfaces for Carnival Cruises, I learned about the complexity and process rigor of very tangible industries – where 'onboarding' means getting on board a ship.
Background & Influences
Technology obsessed
I’ve been fixated on gadgets and screens as long as I can remember – and the open ended, ‘anything is possible’ nature of technology.
Art & education
Raised by art educators, I’ve got a deep respect for DIY skills and the transformative power of learning and education.
City meets country
Growing up both in a college town and on an acreage, quiet landscapes helped form an active imagination. And, the ebb and flow of the academic schedule formed my circadian rhythm.