I’m an art teacher turned product designer.

Being a teacher is both an honor and a privilege. It’s one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, and I’ve learned more about myself in the last 7 years as a teacher than I have doing anything else. I didn’t know I could be a mentor, an actor (if you know you know), a mother and a motivational speaker all at once, at the same time. I’ve learned that I can be a great communicator, discovered I have an extraordinary range of emotions to express and even that I have a flair for interior (classroom) design. But that’s not all. Here’s a list of skills a (good) teacher practices on a weekly basis:

• User research

• User testing

• Stakeholder interviews

• Communication skills

• Analytics

• Interaction design

• Empathy

Sound familiar?

It turns out, teachers are more than well-equipped to take on roles outside the classroom, particularly in the UX/UI industry.

We define problems in the learning journey, empathize with the students, utilize formative and summative data to inform curriculum design decisions, treat every lesson like a prototype, and the delivery of lessons like a usability test.

Like design, there is no one-size-fits-all solution in education. While taking time to understand the needs of the students, I have to design effective educational experiences while also considering the expectations from the stakeholders (aka the administrators, parents and the state). Not to mention keeping in mind the constraints, which include budget, statewide learning standards, curriculum guidelines, class size, access to technology…etc. As far as multitasking goes, it doesn’t get any better than this.

If human-centered design can be described as “a creative approach to problem solving,” (IDEO) then everything from the arrangement of the classroom to presenting a new curriculum to my principal demonstrates that teachers already understand human behavior. Launching myself into the UX/UI field has given me little resistance coming from this background, and I’m nothing short of grateful for my experiences.

I became interested in design because the process of creating something from nothing, form from chaos, and function from disarray has always seemed spiritual to me—almost holy.

With a unique blend of design and fine art skills, I’ve done a lot of freelance work for friends and businesses for illustrations, logos and branding.

My work is guided by a desire to balance innovative ideas with proactive action towards measurable outcomes. Failure, to me, is an opportunity to learn and adapt.