In a nutshell:
I'm a Principal Product Designer with 15 years of professional experience in product and user experience design, branding, visual design, and web design + engineering in both the US and Japan. Working with clients including Fortune 100 corporations, creative agencies, and nonprofit organizations, I create inclusive, accessible, and joyful human-centered experiences.
I’m currently leading a team of UX designers, researchers, and engineers at Nike, designing B2B and B2C software that is radically reshaping how the world’s top designers create the world’s best products.
The “tell me about yourself” version:
It all started when I was just a kid going in to the office after school with my mom, a senior art director at an ad agency, and she'd sit me down in front of some Photoshop production work (removing red eye, simple layout, etc) to keep me from scribbling with the Copics. I never looked back; design was in my DNA from the start.
Immediately after earning my degree in Digital Art & Design, I moved to Japan and started my design career in earnest, becoming fluent in Japanese and an expert in Japanese visual design and typography along the way. I got to do really fun work with large corporations and old family businesses alike, mentor junior designers, broaden my skillset as a digital designer and developer, and forge a Japanese work ethic that serves me well to this day. Also, I wound up with an addiction to Japanese snacks and stationery.
When I moved back to the States, I started a boutique creative agency with a partner and got right to work. Apart from getting to wear all the hats required to do great work as an entrepreneur, my favorite part was getting to work closely with clients to learn their needs and tell their stories effectively. No matter where my career takes me from here, I'm deeply grateful to have had this experience.
More recently, I’ve been leading a Product Design team at Nike to create exciting new software that will improve the lives of tens of thousands of designers and engineers.