5 Questions with Kate Mills, Lead Product Designer @ Aetna Digital
5 Questions is a series where we ask CMCI Studio alumni to share insights about the future of design and how to grow as a creative. To learn more about the Studio masters program check the details at the end of this story or visit our website. Enrollment is now open for fall 2019.
This week we’re featuring Kate Mills, Lead Product Designer @ Aetna Digital.
A recent Studio grad, Kate completed the program in 2017. She took a position with a startup in the Denver area called Autopay, whose main consumer-facing product was a web widget that could be dropped onto sites like credit unions, that allowed their members to apply for auto loans online. As one of two designers at the company, Kate did a little bit of everything including all aspects of product design, service design, content strategy, frontend coding — you name it.
In January of this year, Kate took a position as a Product Designer with Aetna
“ I lead a smaller team within our bigger 20+ person design team that works on health finances — that is, helping our members to utilize their benefits, understand how they are applied when they use their insurance, and manage their spending. I work more on the UX side of the fence and am responsible for the overall experience in our iOS, Android, and web products within this area.”
Of all the projects Kate has work on so far, her favorite has been a big service design project to improve Autopay’s overall customer experience once they hit “send” on their online application.
“The project meant bringing together people and departments within the org that previously hadn’t really talked all that much, and getting to see the results of my design recommendations first-hand with salespeople on the floor and our loan processors.”
5 Questions with Kate
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career so far?
[Kate] Take opportunities for new roles or projects even if, or especially if, they scare the hell out of you. I’ve felt underqualified for every freelance and full-time gig I have taken so far in my design career (I’m also my own biggest critic), but doing so has helped me grow leaps and bounds in ways I wouldn’t if I hadn’t lept at the challenge.
The other most important lesson I have learned is the importance of building relationships with product and engineering partners. I can produce awesome and effective designs for features all day, but if I don’t also collaborate, bring people in, get their buy-in, advocate for the importance of the design process, etc., then I will never be successful at building and executing on long-term UX strategy.
When you look at the current landscape of design and technology what are you most excited about and most concerned about?
[Kate] I am most excited about the increasing prevalence of user-centered / service design in areas where it has formerly been missing, like in government and health services. You know, the stuff that affects most people’s lives every day. Related to that would be that I’m seeing more and more focus on inclusive and accessible design across the board instead of it being an afterthought or non-existent.
When you think about the designers of the future, what do you see as the most critical skills they will need in order to be successful?
[Kate] Designers of the future, like designers today, need to remain curious and always be looking for new tools and processes to grow their workflow so as to remain effective and relevant in design.
There is never a perfect path or process and those who insist on the same rituals will languish in the long run. I also hope designers of the future will do what it takes to innovate: figure out ways to look at problems with fresh eyes, answer the questions no one is asking, and constantly challenge the “givens”.
How did your experience in the Studio graduate program impact your ability to be successful in your career?
[Kate] 1. It gave me the confidence and basic hard skills I needed to move from a career in teaching to a career in product design.
2. It taught me how to network and make connections, which was hugely important to getting to where I am today.
3. It gave me experience working in various design roles (UX, UI, coding) with different types of people with a diverse set of experience and skills. It taught me to listen, and be patient, and that you can learn multitudes from your peers.
4. It showed me first-hand that you get what you put in, a lesson that goes beyond a master’s program to my career today.
What are some of the most important tools and processes you use in your job right now?
[Kate] For sketching: my tools of choice are Paper Mate Flair Felt-Tip Pens and the Baron Fig Mastermind Desk Pad (or pieces of 11x17 paper out of the copier).
For moving to the screen: Sketch and Illustrator.
For sharing discovery work and for collaboration: I can’t live without RealTime Board.
For communication: Slack.
For organization: TeuxDeux, my bullet journal (gotta have those MOO hardcover notebooks), and Trello. For delivery, GitHub and Sympli.
You can see more of Kate’s work here.
Follow the rest of our “5 questions” series here.
About CMCI Studio
CMCI Studio is a design graduate program at CU Boulder. Driven by a culture of collective creativity and fueled by design thinking, our mission is to transform our students into design professionals capable of leading us into the future and solving problems in a rapidly changing world. Our graduates have gone on to design and lead teams at Google, Apple, Spotify, Uber, Pinterest, Twitter, Dropbox, Airbnb, Wieden+Kennedy, R/GAand many more.
We are currently accepting applications for our 2019–2020 school year. The application deadline is February 15th. Get more details and apply at our website.
