In my four years of experience, I have developed a strong foundation in both UX Design and Research for user-centered design processes. While my primary background has been in B2C environments, the core principles of user research, usability testing, and design iteration I’ve honed are highly transferable to B2B and beyond. At Velosaty, I led customer and product discovery research, conducting over 30 usability tests and synthesizing findings to inform the design of intuitive, cross-platform experiences. This involved creating detailed user personas, journey maps, and wireframes using Figma, all of which directly contributed to a 25% increase in user satisfaction and a 40% improvement in design consistency across platforms.

In previous roles, I collaborated closely with cross-functional teams, including product and engineering, to ensure design solutions met both user needs and business goals. For example, at TwinSpires, my research-driven redesign of mobile and desktop experiences, informed by competitive analysis and customer feedback, resulted in a 10% increase in user engagement and a 5% reduction in user support requests. My experience in agile environments, where I contributed to sprint cycles and coordinated with stakeholders, has equipped me to drive usability improvements in a fast-paced, iterative setting.

When synthesizing both qualitative and quantitative research data, I take a holistic approach that focuses on blending user stories, behavioral insights, and measurable metrics to create a well-rounded understanding of the problem at hand. I begin by organizing qualitative data—such as user interviews, surveys, and usability testing results—into themes or patterns using affinity diagramming or journey mapping. This allows me to identify pain points, unmet needs, and opportunities for improvement. I then complement this with quantitative data, such as analytics, A/B test results, and usage statistics, to validate these insights and gauge the severity and frequency of the issues. By combining these two perspectives, I can prioritize user needs and propose design solutions that are not only rooted in real user behavior but also backed by data-driven evidence.

A great example of this process in action was during my time at TwinSpires. I led a comprehensive research initiative that included analyzing user support tickets, conducting usability tests, and gathering feedback through surveys and focus groups. Qualitative insights revealed that users were frustrated with navigation inconsistencies and a lack of clarity in key actions, such as placing bets. Meanwhile, quantitative data highlighted that these users had high drop-off rates on certain pages. By synthesizing both data sources, I was able to pinpoint critical pain points that impacted the user flow. Using these insights, I collaborated with the design and development teams to redesign the navigation and streamline key interactions. The result was a 10% increase in user engagement and a 5% reduction in support requests, significantly improving the overall user experience.

This approach not only ensures that design solutions are grounded in real-world user behavior but also helps stakeholders feel confident in the research-backed recommendations. I continue to refine this process with each project, leveraging both types of data to create user experiences that are both intuitive and aligned with business goals.

Lots of communication! Throughout my 4-year career as a UX Designer and Researcher, I have collaborated closely with numerous stakeholders, fellow designers/researchers, and departments. This collaboration looks like extensive communication, meetings, and discussions with various individuals and teams. In my current position at Velosaty (pronounced Velocity), I work on a wonderful team of four UX Designers and collaborate closely with the marketing department, front and backend development teams, and high-ranking stakeholders. Our team runs through an iterative design process, during which we do extensive research, planning, designing, building, and user testing before making improvements and handing off designs/documents to development. Throughout this time we are not only collaborating with each other, but bringing in the needs of the business, stakeholders, and other departments to ensure a feasible and successful product. Velosaty is a small start-up, so my team and I have had the unique opportunity to build the product and services we offer from the ground up! In my previous position at TwinSpires, I worked with project managers, department heads, fellow designers, and multiple departments across the company. TwinSpires is a large company with millions of users so it was great experience working with numerous high-ranking individuals on large-scale projects and presenting to technical and non-technical stakeholders. 

Evidence: Check out my resume to see who and how I collaborated in each of my positions further, view testimonials from some of those I’ve worked with over the years on my LinkedIn profile, and see how my team and I collaborate by viewing my Velosaty project in my portfolio.

One of the most challenging UX Design and Research projects I’ve worked on so far has been at Velosaty, where we are designing a mentorship program aimed at helping college student-athletes transition into the professional workforce. When I joined the team, Velosaty was still a relatively new startup with an evolving product and a lack of clearly defined direction. This meant that, in addition to creating an intuitive user experience for the mentorship program, I needed to conduct extensive exploratory research to understand the nuances of mentorship programs, the specific challenges faced by student-athletes, and how to make the transition to the workforce more accessible and successful for this unique user group.

The challenges were multifaceted: I had to dive deep into both qualitative and quantitative research, interviewing athletes, mentors, and stakeholders, while simultaneously creating a design system from scratch. This required building a comprehensive understanding of the user needs and pain points before any design work could begin. One of the most critical steps was mapping out the student-athletes' journey, identifying the emotional and logistical challenges they face when transitioning from college to the workforce. This involved not only user interviews but also reviewing case studies, academic research, and gathering data from other mentorship programs to inform the design.

Simultaneously, I worked to establish a more cohesive working relationship between departments. The development and product teams were often working in silos, and it was crucial to bridge those gaps to ensure alignment on goals, timelines, and expectations. To improve cross-functional collaboration, I introduced regular touchpoints and feedback loops that helped ensure designs were technically feasible and aligned with the business vision.

Once we had a clearer vision, I was responsible for developing the project roadmap, creating high-fidelity prototypes of both the landing pages and a dashboard for the mentorship program, and conducting usability testing with both mentors and mentees. Iteration was key throughout this process, as we continually fine-tuned the design based on feedback and testing to ensure that both the mentors and student-athletes could easily navigate the platform and access the information they needed.

The most significant lesson I learned from this project was the importance of adaptability and communication in the face of ambiguity. As a designer, being comfortable with not having all the answers upfront and knowing how to navigate uncertainty through research and iteration was critical. I also learned how essential it is to build strong cross-functional relationships early on to avoid misalignment later in the process. By fostering a more collaborative environment, we were able to work more efficiently and create a product that truly met the needs of our users.