About Me
I am a multi-faceted creative. I spent many years as a 3D animator and motion graphics artist, working on films, games, and commercials, both as part of in-house teams and as a freelancer. However, I longed to use my creativity to make a larger, more direct impact on the world and on people's lives.
Thus I began my journey into UI/UX, molding my existing visual design skills to be more human-centered and supplementing it with my passion for motion and interaction. I have grown my industry reach into the EdTech and FinTech spaces, working with start-ups to mid-level companies on B2B, B2C and internal products, from mobile to desktop to responsive devices. My future goal is to jump into the environmental field.
In my free time I practice/teach yoga (as a certified 200-RYT) and design lapel pins and handcraft macramé pieces for my side business SEN. I am also an avid video/board gamer, foodie, dog mom, reader of fantasy books, and house plant collector.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Mission
design
experiences for the
wellness
of the world
Journey
the '90s
Growing up with the arts
I was the kid who drew on the walls with crayons. With pencil and paper I re-created the outfits of my favorite cartoon character, Sakura Avalon. Later, I immersed myself in being part of a greater whole by singing soprano in the school choir. I learned how to view the world from different perspectives through the adventures of the residents of Redwall and Hogwarts. I also spent hours writing my own fantastical stories.
2001 and 2003
My first PC
One day my dad brought home a Gateway desktop computer. As a blossoming teen with too many things to write about, I found Xanga and Myspace. Both websites opened my eyes to the world of designing a website to look how I want, by editing colors, images, negative space and html.
2005
Gaming influences
While I had grown up playing many different video games, World of Warcraft had one of the largest impacts on my life. I collaborated with countless other players to reach shared goals.
Through the game's robust add-ons system (basically plugins), it was also my first experience being able to truly customize a user interface and tailor it to my specific needs and goals as a player.
2007
Photoshop CS3
I was able to up my Myspace layout game when I found digital image manipulation. I spent hours searching the internet for patterns, brushes, and fonts to create my own desktop wallpapers.
2009 - 2018
Animation and freelancing
I studied 3D animation at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. Afterwards, I continued my studies with Animation Mentor and spent some years as a freelancer, working in various industries like games, film & marketing. I worked with in-house and remote teams of different sizes across different time zones, sometimes as much as a 7-hour difference. It was during this time that I really developed my professional communication and collaboration skills.
Feel free to take a walk down my memory lane by viewing my old 3D animation work.
2019
UX design and yoga
Eventually I began searching for a better way to use my creativity to make a difference in people's lives or play a bigger part in making the world a better place. My proximity to Silicon Valley led me to UX design, and I became intrigued enough to start studying it on my own through various online courses, books and articles.
Having found a surprise passion for yoga the year before, I also took time to become a certified yoga instructor to empathically help others reach their physical, mental and emotional goals.
2020 - 2021
SEN and Springboard
With the arrival of COVID-19, I filled my time at home with 2 new activities. First, I jumped into running my own small e-commerce business by launching SEN. I designed and built the website using Wix. Through SEN, I sold enamel lapel pins (designed by me) and macramé plant hangers, wall hangings and ornaments (handmade by me).
I also doubled down on my decision to become a UX designer by enrolling in Springboard's UI/UX program. It refreshed and reinforced what I had already learned on my own, and it taught me even more new methods, skills and tools to use in the UX process. After 2 capstone projects and a design sprint, I came full circle to work with a real-world client, Wedo, on a product to improve the lives of freelancers and small business owners.
2022
Europe and Varias
I decided to start a new life adventure on the other side of the world in Amsterdam. Part of that was accepting a position as a UX/UI designer at Varias, a young and innovative product development agency based in Rotterdam. I immediately hit the ground running with multiple different projects and clients, and I'm excited to see what new future problems are in store for me to help solve.
2023 and beyond
What's next?
I continue to look forward to using my UX design expertise to do my part in improving our world. Working at Varias gives me the opportunity to touch many different industries and sectors. I hope one day I can especially influence the environmental field in some way, tackling important pain points for the Earth like sustainability and climate change. My interests in yoga also make me predisposed towards the fitness and wellness industries as well.