Learn more about my skills
UX Design and Development
Skills and Tools
Design
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User research
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User Strategy
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Information Architecture
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User Focused Design
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User Journey / Flow
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Wireframes
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Responsive Design
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Lo / Hi-fi Prototypes
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Interaction Design
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User Testing
Tools
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Figma
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Adobe XD
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Adobe Photoshop
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Adobe Illustrator
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Adobe InDesign
Development
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HTML / CSS
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SASS
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JavaScript
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Media Queries
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Visual Studio Code
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WordPress / PHP
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WooCommerce
2023 - present
Freelance UX Design Job
I was hired by a company called Little Opus to be a freelance UX designer. My job is to communicate with clients in meetings to understand their needs and pain points. After the Zoom meeting with the clients, my boss and I discussed the time frame for the project I would start designing.
When creating the designs for the client I make sure to keep all the notes from the meeting with me so that I meet all of their needs with the design. I ensure the design is complete within the time frame given and deliver all the design comps before they are due so there is time for revisions if needed.
I enjoy working on every project so much and this job has shown me that this is the career that I was looking for because I can not wait every day to work on the projects. I am constantly looking forward to completing the project and am ready to start the next one.
UX Design Journey
Education
Throughout my journey teaching myself UX design and web development I have worked full time in the restaurant industry. I am a self-driven and highly organized person and that is how I was able to work full-time and schedule time to study every day. I love learning and once I started to learn UX Design I fell in love with it and was determined to make this my career.
October 2022 - November 2023
Skillcrush UX Design
Going through the courses I learned UX research fundamentals, inclusive design, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes, using Figma and Adobe XD. Created user-focused portfolio projects using real-world scenarios from start to finish from user research, analysis data, user journey, paper wireframe, high-fidelity prototypes, and communicating with clients and stakeholders.
Using all that I learned from this program I created the City Cycles website redesign and the Sit Conmigo responsive website to sell their chairs. It was so much fun to create these projects and use all that I learned in the courses.
November 2022 - September 2023
Google UX Design Certificate
I completed rigorous training designed for UX design job readiness. Topics included UX research fundamentals, inclusive design, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes, using Figma and Adobe XD. I created user-focused portfolio projects using real-world scenarios from user personas and paper wireframes to high-fidelity prototypes.
Using all the skills and knowledge I learned about UX design I was able to create this real-world project. I created a project for an animal shelter that was looking for a multi-page responsive design to help the animals at their shelter find homes. It was so much fun creating this project from concept to the final product.
Animal Shelter Case StudyJuly 2023 - September 2023
hyper4academy
Completed UX design in-depth training designed for creating SaaS, landing pages, web apps, and responsive design. Learned design principles and using the red square method which is all about spacing and creating a uniform design. These courses taught me about layout and creating responsive designs.
How I taught myself web development
Web Development
Skillcrush - Frontend Development Track - 2022
Completed in-depth training designed for web developer job readiness. Topics included creating responsive websites with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript using Visual Studio Code.
Frontend Mentor - 2022
I utilized the resources provided by frontendmentor.io to help practice my frontend developer skills. Frontendmentor.io provides Figma designs that I used to practice coding pixel-perfect websites to match the designs.
Udemy Completed Courses - 2021 - 2022
- Advanced CSS and SASS: Flexbox, Grid, Animation, and more
- 30+ Web Projects with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- 10 Mega Responsive Website with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Portfolio Website using HTML, CSS, & JavaScript with Hosting
Illinois Institute of Art - 2010
Bachelor in Media Arts and Animation
I completed the bachelor's degree program studying 2d and 3d animation using Autodesk 3dsMax and Maya. I also studied media arts using Photoshop and Illustrator learning design principles, color theory, and typology. The knowledge I learned about design while completing my Bachelor's degree I still use today when I am creating UX design projects.
Soft Skills Gained
Work experience
Since my first job, co-workers have given me nicknames like Wonder Woman and Super Woman because of my work ethic and never-give-up attitude. I am a hard worker who is determined to stay positive with a smile on my face no matter how stressful the day is. I truly believe that as long as I stay calm and positive I can get through any busy or high-stress situation.
Every job has taught me valuable skills and experiences that I bring with me to every job and project I work on. I love learning and am very self-driven so I am comfortable completing projects on my own as well as working in a team collaborating to complete projects.
2002 - 2010
First Awards
Learned from this job:
- Trained in multiple positions: host, curbside, line cook, dishwasher, server, and bartender
- I enjoyed being able to help other positions when they were busy every time I learned new positions.
- I learned how to prioritize and multi-task because I was a full time student and worked full time.
Awards Achieved (multiple times):
- Employee of the month
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Dependability
- Punctuality
2010 - 2017
Kitchen Manager
When I first moved out to California I started working at TGI Fridays and quickly moved up to management. I accepted the management position to be able to pay my student loans.
Learned from this job:
- how to lead by example, stay positive and encourage teamwork
- how to maintain weekly and monthly budget spreadsheets, organize all invoices, analyze profit and loss every week, and pay expenses
Achieved:
- general manager test achieved the highest score among 307 restaurant locations in the US
- 1st place in Regional Culinary Champs competition
- 2nd place in West Coast Culinary Champs competition
2017 - 2018
Kitchen Manager
I worked at California Pizza Kitchen as the kitchen manager at the busiest restaurant in the region helping improve their numbers in the first 2 months.
Learned from this job:
- I learned how to delegate and train the kitchen staff helping to instill teamwork and taking pride in work
- I become comfortable talking to a group of people, organizing meetings, and conducting recipe demos
Achieved:
- I trained and managed the kitchen staff helping to increase the numbers of the restaurant in the first few months
- Asked to help write the agenda and run the bi-weekly kitchen manager conference call
- Asked to help the corporate test kitchen to test new recipes in my location and edit the recipe before it went live to the locations nationwide
Finding my dream job
UX Design Career Change
When I was a kitchen manager I was good at my job and could have kept moving up in the company but instead, I decided to follow my dreams of having a job that I love. I wanted to find a career path that I am excited to go to work every day and truly enjoy what I do. I wanted a job that challenged me and that I could constantly be learning while using all the skills and knowledge I have learned over the years.
This is why I decided to step down to become a bartender and server so that I could have more time to find my dream career and study to achieve that position. My first step was to figure out what career track I would enjoy working every day. I came across web development and I was instantly hooked on the creativity and logical thinking to create the code. I started to take courses and wrote my study schedule to make sure I stayed on track on my time off.
Once I learned web development I wanted to learn how to create the designs for the websites. At first, it was just so I could create better designs for my portfolio. The more I learned the more I realized how much I enjoy creating the designs for websites and apps. I found myself studying for hours at a time and not wanting to stop. This is when I knew this was the career for me!
2018 - present
Server & Bartender
I worked for Lazy Dog Restaurant as a bartender for 5 years and currently work at Cracker Barrel as a server while I was studying web development and UX design.
Learned from this job:
- how to communicate and how to pay attention to even the smallest details to ensure guests leave happy
- how to stay calm under pressure and how to work in a fast-paced environment
- how to stay organized to accomplish all the tasks quickly but also to know when to ask for help
Awards Achieved:
- Fail to prepare is preparation for failure award - 2 years in a row
Thank You!
Thank you so much for your time going through my journey to becoming a UX designer with me. I have learned so much on this journey with every job and course I completed. I am so excited to continue to learn and grow as a designer.
I hope you have a great day!
Animal shelter case study