Born at a very young age, I made Seattle my home in 1991 and have enjoyed time at agencies, high-tech companies, and startups. Sometimes when it rains, I go outside holding a cocktail umbrella and pretend I'm a giant who makes bad decisions. One day, I hope someone will call me "sir" without adding "you're making a scene".
I'm not what many would consider a "designer" in the classic sense (if there even is still such a thing). I'm a self-trained designer, consider myself more architect than artist, I gravitate towards crazy-complex problems that would give others hives, and I love data (a lot). I'm also one of those rare folks that actively seeks out opportunities to speak in public and mentor others.
I lean toward the UX end of the scale (Lean UX jokes welcome here), but also like making things pretty. I love getting into users' heads and hearts to really understand what makes them tick and gets them excited — and then serve as their champion throughout the project. Something magical happens when you can facilitate a deep enough empathy for users that the team begins referring to them like they're co-workers.
I feed off of high energy collaboration and prefer face-to-face interaction over phone calls or email, but also recognize the value of think-time and focused daydreaming.
I also blend movie quotes into everyday conversation, am pretty good with voices and accents, and could probably not embarrass myself on Jeopardy. Probably.
I truly love what I do for a living.