Design Principles

Throughout my user experience career, I believe that a firm adherence to design principles isn't just a preference but a requirement, consistently leading to the creation of solutions that resonate deeper, function smoother, and have a greater impact. Here are the principles I follow that I have found to be the most important to delivering great work:

Guess Less
Take time to understand your users and their needs instead of relying on guesswork; designs crafted from genuine insights lead to more successful and impactful products.

Story First
Stories are a powerful communication tool and I use them to rally a team around a shared product vision. They help me retain information and empathize with others. Stories help me understand who will use our product and in what context.

Pencils before pixels
Starting any design project with sketches keeps me focused on exploring a wide variety of different solutions in minutes. Rough sketches are also a great signal that I don’t have it figured it out yet and signal others that it’s okay to give feedback.

Show & tell
Getting feedback early and often is crucial. It informs my design process, leads me to create better products, and helps me grow as a designer.

Test early
Getting my designs into the hands of colleagues and customers early and often allows me to spot problems quickly and fix them before a single line of code is written.

Work together
Every team has a part to play in the success of a product and involving cross-functional teams in the design process keeps everyone focused on the same goals.

Get connected
Teams across the organization all have a unique perspective on our customers and building a rapport with those teams is crucial to tapping into that knowledge and influencing the success of my work.