Anuj Gupta, Katelyn Southard, Ryan Winet University of Arizona Context The Office of General Education at the University of Arizona (UA) designs, implements, and supports changes to the General Education (GenEd) curriculum. The University of Arizona is refreshing its GenEd Program for the first time since 1998 to update its curriculum…

Many job postings for UX design and research roles ask applicants to submit a portfolio showcasing their work. For people moving into the field of UX, creating a portfolio can be a daunting prospect and bring up many questions. What kinds of elements should a UX portfolio include? What kinds…

Putting berries on a stick — The UX Cookbook (https://theuxcookbook.com) is a collection of guides for UX research, design, and content strategy created by the UX team at the University of Arizona Libraries. It’s open and free, so anyone can start learning about UX at no cost. The UX Cookbook first went live in November 2020…

Categorizing devices for a library tech lending program — Having access to technology can be a defining feature of a student’s experience in higher education, where students rely on mobile devices and other technologies to access course materials, conduct research, and complete coursework and projects. Since 2007, the University of Arizona Libraries (UAL) has operated a tech lending program…

18 practical tips for improvement — Do you sometimes wonder if our interview practices, especially those for hiring faculty, are getting in the way of our goals around diversity, equity, and inclusion? We talk a lot about building diverse teams, both as a value and a priority. When we have a more inclusive workplace, we all…

Four Practices for Designing Student-Centered Courses — As a user-centered approach to design work, participatory design offers great entry points and practices for instructors interested in making their courses more student-centered. In this article, I explain and reframe participatory design principles for the classroom by providing four practices for student-centered, participatory course design. …

19 lessons over 19 years at an academic library — I worked at the University of Arizona Libraries for 19 years (half my life!), starting as a student shelver and then public services staff before landing my first librarian job in 2008. My interest was always around improving library websites, services, and spaces. My work in UX started in 2010…

Most of my work as a soccer coach did not fall on game day. My work happened behind the scenes, everyday at practice, and in the classroom where I would get to know and understand players’ personalities. Similar to how user experience design centralizes users, a coach’s priority is the…

In the fall of 2021, I was given an incredible opportunity to be a User Experience (UX) Research and Design Intern. As someone who had absolutely no experience in UX, to humbly be able to learn and work with the UX team at the University of Arizona Libraries for the…