UXDI at General Assembly: Why Me?

UX Designers are often hybrids, people who have a variety of skills and like to wear many hats in order to solve problems. This is so me….illustrator, designer, practical solution finder, and good with people. I like to write, research, draw, and design. I love solving puzzles, and finding positive outcomes.

Through out my working life I have always been a person not easily categorizable. At Time and Newsweek I illustrated, wrote, and researched Information Graphics. Thus I was both an Editor and a Art Director. My series of nine children’s books fall into no neat category, but rather veer between fiction (Mythology, Poetry) and fact (Astronomy, Natural History) for instance. As a freelance illustrator I am my own product manager and strategist. And as co-founder of BumpBump Books (mobile apps for children) I designed, wrote, illustrated, strategized the programming tools, product managed and……loved it all.

And in my personal life I wear many hats as well. I have been deeply involved in the preservation of historic buildings in downtown Brooklyn at the same time that I do not have a degree in preservation. I am a parent who works, but works part time. (I am ready to work full time now, through!)

Irene Pereyra, founder of the Interaction Design firm Anton and Irene, showed this slide at a lecture this past summer:

And here is my personal version: