There are two places you’ll find me expressing my truest self: on a dance floor and in front of a computer screen. When my first “step” as a child was more of a “glide,” I was enrolled in dance classes. I never thought I’d find anything else in life that would match the joy I felt when I was dancing - until I got my first laptop.

 

I saw how unique and personable people were able to be on the internet through through custom implementations on their blogs and websites and I was instantly fascinated. Back then, my days were spent dancing and my nights were spent coding. I was as invested in teaching myself how to write HTML/CSS as I was in nailing my triple pirouette. 

 

I began “freelancing” for family and friends - developing custom layouts for MySpace pages, designing "AIM" icons and profiles, and creating beautiful backgrounds for blogs. Creating visual and digital content became a passion of mine. It didn’t matter how exhausted I was after hours on my feet because I knew I’d be able to kick them up once I sat down in my computer chair.

 

I'm not surprised I found myself in user experience years later. Every component, pattern, and interaction of a digital product, and every part of a dance performance, can influence the way a user feels. Empathy is a core value found in both dancing and design. I believe it’s crucial that every part of both these arts should be carefully constructed and thought about with our 'audience' in mind to make the ‘end product’ enjoyable, intuitive, and beautiful.

 

Today, you may find me tapping my toes to a beat while observing my end users, ‘choreographing’ my next ideation workshop, or up on my toes at my standing desk while prototyping.