World IA Day Akron took place on March 7, 2025 at the Blu-tique Hotel in Downtown Akron, OH. Learn more about the presenters and event details here.

Thanks to all our presenters and attendees. We had great discussions and learned so much from each other! It’s great to be in community.

Special thanks to photographer Jessica Collura Gardner for capturing this event.

Photos from World INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE DAY 2025 in AKron

Stay in the loop

Stay up to date about upcoming events and what’s new in UX for Northeast Ohio by subscribing to our monthly newsletter.

Elizabeth Gould, User Experience Designer, Kent State University

What drew you to study User Experience Design?

I was drawn into UX when trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I graduated with my undergraduate degree, at Kent State University, with a BFA in Installation Sculpture. At that time, trying to survive and pay bills with an arts degree was not realistic. So, I spent some time doing odds and ends until I happened to do some digging in Kent State’s School of Information graduate degrees and saw UXD. After doing some research trying to figure out what User Experience Design was, I learned it was a good blend of Technology along with the bits of an artist’s background. 

Tell us about your experience working in the University Library at Kent State. How  does your library experience inform your UX work?

Working at University Libraries prepared me for the difficulties that come with most front-facing service jobs, along with learning how to manage back-end operations simultaneously.I feel like I have been practicing UX during my entire career at University Libraries, just not from the typical digital standpoint that most people associate UXD with.
When Patrons come to the desk, or call over the phone, they have a general idea of what they want, but sometimes have no idea how they need to access what they need. In my various roles, I have had to troubleshoot and problem-solve all these different issues. Sometimes the Patron was not at fault for being unsuccessful, it was the flow of information that was confusing. Those situations sometimes resulted in having to connect with units who oversaw those operations, figure out their point of view, tell them about the Parton experience, and figure out of path forward that worked for all parties involved. 

What’s something you wish more people understood about design in general or about your day-to-day work?

I wish people understood that it is not always about them when it comes to design. I think the heart of the problem they are trying to solve is about making something better, but there are times when it is not presented in that manner. There are so many different threads that feed a final product and for many reasons, not everyone is aware of those threads. We do not need to understand how to do someone else’s job, but we should become more aware of these threads and how a decision could influence another thread.   

What do you wish more designers understood? Or what do you think the dialog in our community of practice is missing?

In some regard, think our community is missing simplicity. UX is constantly evolving, and evolution is great. Things are constantly being re-evaluated and adjusted to keep up with the market and big enterprises, but it feels like some areas of UX are moving too fast. Is UX evolving for the sake of trying to constantly chase enterprises and stay afloat or is it evolving because there is a functional need for it to change?  The hardest thing I am trying to keep up with is the constant shifting of the names of what we call things.  It feels like every year and a half the names are being updated and now I have to play catch up with my own terminology.

What are you working on learning now, or have just heard about that fascinates you? What would like to learn next?

I am currently learning how to lead and direct as a UXD. In some ways, it is the same as a manager role, but in other ways also very different. Depending on the team, the target goal, the day even, there are so many pieces of the puzzle that I am trying to learn how to keep afloat until I need a specific piece. It is very overwhelming, but I am trying to focus on one element at a time. I am very grateful to my mentors who have coached me and were there to just let me talk through things. I would not be where I am without them.  

UX Akron is a 501(c)(3) organization that runs on the generous support of individual donors and sponsors. Your donations allow us to offer in-person events that are free and open to the public. The majority of the money we receive goes directly to these events. A portion is also used to serve day-to-day overhead and operational needs, such as monthly costs for website hosting and development, online meeting software, etc.

Allison Nowak, Instructional Designer at OUCCAS (Ohio’s University Consortium for Child and Adult Services)

Tell us a little about yourself! What do you enjoy outside of work?

I just moved to the greater Akron area.

Outside of work I sew, listen to multiple podcasts, hike, and take care of my houseplants and three cats. I’m working on training my cats to go hiking with me. 

Tell us about your path to becoming an Instructional Designer. How did you end up in this role?

It took a few other jobs and lots of research for me to discover Instructional Design. It’s not a widely known career for people working outside of Learning & Development.

But, as I researched Instructional Design and analyzed my current & potential skillset, I discovered I already had a lot of the skills needed. So, I spent four months of full-time, self-directed study to fill the gap in my knowledge and skills. I took a few classes and consumed all the books/blogs/podcasts my mind could absorb. (Shoutout to Luis Malbas & the TLDC—your content has been indispensable!)

I landed my first ID contract in that 4^th month. That job and all work since as an Instructional Designer & eLearning Developer has been so rewarding, and downright fun. I finally feel like I’m able to use my whole brain at work and be valued for it!

What’s your favorite part of your workday or week?

When my Teams is on do not disturb, or it’s after typical business hours, and I know I have 4-6 uninterrupted hours to build something beautiful that will solve a problem.

Do you use anything in your work now that you learned in school or in the past that surprises you, that you thought you’d never use “in real life”?

Growing up with parents who struggled to use computers meant I did things like handwrite a “How to Print” guide for my mother. I was maybe 11 or 12. It was a click-by-click guide with numbers, headings, and icons. I then coached her through the steps along with the guide until she was able to successfully print on her own. She kept that guide by her printer for many years. 

Understanding the barriers to a work task, coming up with a solution that will help that person successfully do that work task, and presenting said solution in a way that can be used by that person—that’s a lot of what Instructional Design is. It was natural for me to create solutions like this. It showed up in all my previous jobs—tutoring music, caring for an elderly family friend, teaching English to adults. But it wasn’t until later in life that I made the connection that it was a valuable work skill.

Also, playing with fonts in Word ’95 when I was a kid. Selecting the most ridiculous of fonts—Jokerman ITC, Goudy Stout, Curlz MT—just to see how that would change the document. Obviously, those would be terrible choices for most products today, but I still think a lot about fonts: is it readable by my users in all formats (print, digital, up close & far away); will it display in all software (PPT, Adobe Acrobat, Articulate); and does it convey the correct tone for the product?  

If you could give yourself 10 years ago advice from yourself today, what would it be?

“Do what you love” is bad career advice. And practicality isn’t everything. You can and should find a middle ground between following your passion and pursuing a strictly-practical field. 

Do you know a stellar UX, UI, Product, or Software Designer or Researcher who has joined the field in the last five years that we should feature? Let us know!

Podcast:

The Design Systems Podcast

https://www.designsystemspodcast.com

The Design Systems Podcast features fantastic conversations with great guests, with new episodes every week.

In a recent episode, “From Consistency to Contribution: How Design Systems Grow Trees with Jay Smith at REI,” host Chris Strahl and guest Jay Smith discuss the goal of “creating models that encourage flexibility of use while slowing down the rate of change.”

Book:

Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar

https://bookshop.org/p/books/paved-paradise-how-parking-explains-the-world-henry-grabar/18727296

The impact of design decisions is far-reaching, and in Paved Paradise, the author discusses the myriad ways 20th Century Infrastructural design decisions continue to shape our world in surprising, heartbreaking, and comical ways.

Listen to Terry Gross interview the author on Fresh Air here: https://www.npr.org/2023/05/09/1174962751/paved-paradise-examines-how-parking-has-changed-the-american-landscape

  Blog Post:

Expressing Ideas Through Mind Maps by Tasha Markovich, UX Matters https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2022/12/expressing-ideas-through-mind-maps.php

Local UX Researcher Tasha Markovich highlights the under-utilized visualization tool “mind maps,” fleshing out best practices culled from her experience creating them for a variety of contexts, and reviewing some of her favorite digital tools for hosting collaborative mapping events.

Article:

New Yorker – “What Happens to All the Stuff We Return?” by David Owen https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/21/the-hidden-cost-of-free-returns

This thought provoking article about the reverse logisitics industry provides a window into the world of physical product development, where many of the same concerns digital product designers face also pop up. The author discusses how snags can lead to design innovation when someone takes the time to really look at the process. “You can’t beat the information you get from a product once a customer has touched it.”

In Pop Culture:

Dennis Takes a Mental Health Day – It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, S16 E8

The longest running live action sitcom in American history ended their latest season with a deep dive into tech hell, where every device Dennis encounters seems to be conspiring against him. You can stream the episode on Hulu.

Have you read, watched, or listened to something really great and UX-y lately? We’d love to share it! 

Shannon Kelly is a senior UX strategist at OverDrive in Cleveland, OH.

As a user experience professional, you have many skills, methodologies, and tools at your disposal. With so many methods available, learning them all can be overwhelming (like those listed in Universal Methods of Design: 100 Ways to Research Complex Problems, Develop Innovative Ideas, and Design Effective Solutions by Bella Martin and Bruce Hanington.) 

But when standing out amongst your peers in an ever-fluctuating job market, sometimes you need to know more than traditional UX methodologies to put you ahead. You may need (and have attained) extra experience or skills to differentiate yourself from competitors for specific industries or positions. Let me preface this by saying you should NOT be a jack-of-all-trades and apply for jobs with multiple roles rolled into one. Instead, gaining some basic understanding of a different skill set makes you more marketable to hiring managers because it shows you can communicate effectively and work collaboratively. 

Here are three skills recommendations I believe can make you more marketable as a UX professional: 

1. Analytics

Traditional UX methods (User interviews and usability testing) are revered as providing qualitative data findings. As a researcher, you synthesize the information from these studies and make recommendations based on results. These methods are the holy grail of discovery and the primary methods for finding the “why” behind user behaviors. Due to testing budget and time constraints, limited sample sizes may not always provide a sense of urgency among stakeholders, and as the saying goes, “There is a big difference between ‘what people do’ versus ‘what people say.’” 

Analytics data can help support (not replace) traditional research and provide (often massive amounts of) quantitative usage data. Having a skillset like Google Analytics (GA) in your toolbelt is one of the most undervalued skills a researcher can have. GA lets you quickly gather historical user behavior on a website or application and find out what areas your users are interested in, what they’re trying to do, and what areas are problematic. 

Some key areas of analytics to learn:

• Segmenting Traffic Channels and User flows
• Tracking user retention and falloff (bounce and exit rates)
• Event and conversion goal tracking

By pairing qualitative and quantitative data, you can effectively convey a greater sense of urgency to decision-makers.

2. Conversion Rate Optimization

One of the skills I’ve learned over the years that helped prime my career in UX was Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). CRO is increasing the likelihood that website or application visitors will accomplish a desired action. A conversion can be anything actionable & measurable and is tied to a business goal. Some examples of conversions include adding an item to a cart, making a purchase, or filling out a form to download a PDF. The conversion rate is calculated by taking the number of conversions and dividing that by the number of sessions. For example, if you had 25 conversions from 100 sessions, your conversion rate would be 25%, or 25 ÷ 100 x 100 = 25%.

Often, the goal isn’t just to increase conversions but to increase the rate at which people convert. If marketing sends enormous amounts of traffic to a website, but users aren’t converting, the answer isn’t more traffic. The goal is to make incremental and measurable changes that help improve how users use the site and get them toward a conversion goal. 

From personal experience, becoming a CRO specialist allowed me to learn Google Analytics, heat-mapping, and A/B testing platforms and become more familiar with digital marketing practices. It also taught me to tie design updates to quantifiable improvement metrics, sell ideas to stakeholders, and set goals for project work. When I had measurable project improvements, it helped me sell myself come annual review time and eventually changed the trajectory of my professional career in design. 

3. Previous Transferable Skills

Is there anything you did in a previous job (anything at all) that you gained experience in and qualifies you for the position you’re going for? Did you work in restaurants or another customer-facing service job? What about customer support? Perhaps you’re a graphic designer who wants a change. Maybe you’re a writer, a psych major, a former medical professional, or military personnel. Either way, whatever experience you have, some skills you attained are likely transferable to the UX field. 

For example, a former restaurant cook who decided to make a career change into development. While learning to code in school, he worked as a software consultant (or, dare I say, researcher?) and talked to restaurants to help improve their point-of-sale (POS) systems for order fulfillment. Thanks to his restaurant experience, he could communicate effectively with his restaurant employees, understood their needs and feedback, and conveyed that information to the developers to enhance the POS platform.

Especially if you’re transferring to a UX career, think about all the things at your former position(s) that you’ve learned, gained skills in, or even the processes you thought could be improved. Maybe you were a nurse and found the internal patient portals frustrating – what would you have fixed? Perhaps you traveled the world through the military and studied different cultures – sounds a little like ethnographic research. Whatever you’ve done, something can be transferable. 

It is essential to be transparent about your unique experiences and how they distinguish you from other applicants in the industry. Highlight these relevant skills in your resume, portfolio, cover letters, and interviews. Promote yourself and your expertise – it’s not just about your UX knowledge but also your ability to apply past experiences effectively.

Our guest authors are carefully selected to spotlight thought leaders in Ohio’s UX community. Interested in sharing some insights? Or would like to hear from a local UX superstar? Reach out to uxakronteam@gmail.com to pitch us post ideas and author suggestions.

Pearl Greene, Senior UX Designer at Sherwin Williams

Tell us a little about yourself! What do you enjoy outside of work?

 I’m Pearl Greene, a senior user experience designer at Sherwin Williams, originally from Ghana, and now proud to call Akron, Ohio my home.

Beyond the office, I cherish moments spent with my husband, friends, and in-laws, while also staying closely connected with my family in Ghana through frequent FaceTime sessions. I’m enthusiastically diving into disc golf, enjoying the company of my beloved cats, Alfie and Moose, nurturing my garden, and rekindling my passion for reading novels. 

Exploring the globe with my husband and savoring new culinary experiences ranks high on my list of favorite pastimes.

Tell us about your path to becoming an UX Designer. How did you end up in this role?

My journey began when Ashesi University introduced robotics to my high school, diverting me from a medical career into the world of computers. Pursuing a computer science degree at Ghana’s sole liberal arts institution expanded my horizons, nurturing my interest in entrepreneurship and design. I developed a passion for problem-solving, mentoring numerous high school students in design thinking.

In my final year, I naturally gravitated towards human-computer interaction, realizing my forte in software engineering was identifying problems, redesigning, and documenting solutions. Following graduation, I worked as a user experience designer in Accra, bridging the tech gap for small-scale entrepreneurs.

Over four years, I wore various hats, including UI development and product management, culminating in my role as Head of Product before relocating to the United States. A UX Akron meet and greet facilitated my introduction to the American job market, where I worked as a user experience designer for Landi Industries.  

Subsequently, I joined Sherwin Williams in the Store Operations group, focused on modernizing their systems and facilitating the transition from outdated technology to user-friendly solutions.

What’s your favorite part of your workday or week?

The highlight of my workday is the exhilarating collaboration with my exceptional team, where we embark on crafting revolutionary user experiences. At Sherwin Williams, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside a team I genuinely adore. They’ve not only fostered my professional growth but also accelerated it, propelling me to new heights in record time.

Tell us about Ghana! What do you miss most?

What I miss most about Ghana? Well, it boils down to the three Fs: Family, Food, and Friends. Particularly, I yearn for my mother’s cooking and her doting care. While Asian and Mexican cuisine have helped fill that void to some extent, I’ve even stumbled upon Ghanaian-inspired dishes in unexpected places!

Improving my own cooking skills has provided quick fixes when nostalgia strikes. Through this journey, I’ve come to realize that, despite our diverse cultures, we all share a common human experience. It’s a reminder that we’re more alike than different, transcending accents and appearances to appreciate our shared humanity.

Do you use anything in your work now that you learned in school or in previous roles that surprises you, that you thought you’d never use now?

Surprisingly, my education, both in college and from previous roles, continues to astound me with its relevance in my day-to-day work. From entrepreneurial insights to social theory, human-computer interaction, and programming skills, I find myself drawing upon a rich reservoir of knowledge.

In Ghana, I crafted inventory and point-of-sale systems tailored for the local market, and it’s intriguing how these experiences still resonate here. Dealing with challenges like low internet access, prioritizing accessibility, and navigating the unpredictable timelines of product development, even with large teams, has given me a unique perspective that fosters empathy with leadership and their requests.

Moreover, my entrepreneurship classes have ingrained the significance of harmonizing user needs with business objectives to ensure efficiency and profitability. I must extend a heartfelt shoutout to my college for equipping me with these invaluable tools for navigating the professional world.

If you could give yourself 10 years ago advice from yourself today, what would it be?

It’s all gonna work out. Breathe! You don’t need to be first in class to make it in life 

Do you know a stellar UX, UI, Product, or Software Designer or Researcher who has joined the field in the last five years that we should feature? Let us know!

Zoë Wrisley, UXer and Community Advocate

Tell us a little about yourself! What do you enjoy outside of work?

I’m Zoë Wrisley, I love animals, music, and creativity; and I like to travel and see new places. I most recently visited Toronto for the first time to see a Beyonce concert with my friends. It was a dream of a lifetime experience for me, and the city is huge! This summer I’m growing a garden of fruits and vegetables, my first time trying to grow corn, okra, and watermelon- wish us luck!  

Tell us about your path to becoming a User Experience Designer (or whatever title or label you’re comfortable with.) How did you end up in this field? 

While pursuing my undergraduate degree with a focus on political science, I had an internship that introduced me to the tech side of a government relations software company.  Following the internship, I joined the IT department as a permanent employee and graduated from Kent State.  

Having graduated in May of 2020, I felt swept into the uncertainty of the 2020 pandemic. I liked the work I was doing and enjoyed learning more about Information Tech and how to support web applications. Upon hearing about Kent State’s User Experience Design program, it seemed like a perfect fit considering my career path, and to be able to learn in a 100% online setting.  

I call myself a UXer (I sort of made it up) because I have applied my UX knowledge, research strategy, and the design process in many different settings. After graduating from the program, I wanted to become a UX researcher, that being my strongest interest (but titles are not as important as vision and strategy within the work.) I worked on projects in a corporate setting with Fortune 500 clients to improve online services, and conducted research for designing technology and advocating for the needs of public schools and their supporting orgs. I recently took an entrepreneurial route with the goal of launching a desirable-to-user, problem-solving application. 

What’s your favorite part of your workday, week, or the work you’re doing?  

My favorite part about doing the work I do is having the power to be able to advocate for others and make a real difference in their lives; specifically, to be able to make their experiences easier.  

Easier can mean many different things depending on the values of the user; such as clearer, faster, safer, or simply more pleasant. The world we live and operate in is becoming more and more reliant on digital processes that can be enhanced through the focus of UX practices. Everyone deserves to be heard and accommodated so they can achieve the same outcomes as other users. In UX this can be shown by encompassing user values, providing accessibility features, and incorporating guidance for success within the design of websites and applications. 

I am currently working on a project to support our public schools’ work with organizations that seek to improve local education. There are many voices to hear from and accommodate when designing a digital process like this one. I must listen to all user parties to collect their concerns and pain points, then work to design a system and journey that is feasible and can support their tasks in an agreeable way- so the user will want to use it. Even though this field pertains to digital experiences, the ideas and strategies can overlap with other practices of design and advocacy. 

What was getting an MS in User Experience like? What areas do you wish you had learned more about?  

I had a great time during the MS program at Kent State University. The online aspect not only made it more convenient to complete my projects and classes, but it concurrently reminded me of the importance of seamless digital experiences and inspired me to think of supportive designs. We had the opportunity to work in groups as a team, and even simulate work environments with assignments where we had to communicate with and present to ‘stakeholders,’ (our professor.) This program prepared me for vast opportunities, or to be what we call a UX unicorn & do it all! 

I like that the staff and faculty encouraged us to pursue areas of UX that we felt most passionate about. The variety of classes offered us the chance to go deeper into different routes, for instance design, research, accessibility, and more. The culminating requirement could have been a project or portfolio, really putting everything we learned and worked on into practice before graduating. The one thing I wish we could have learned is popularly used UX software and practicing with it. I feel that could give us more experience essential for landing a User Experience role post-grad. 

Do you use anything you learned for your undergraduate degrees in International Relations,  Political Science, and French that surprises you?  

Surprisingly, there are similarities and crossovers in ideas and problem-solving techniques found throughout my studies. While the approaches to learning in each program were very different, I find that for me, user research and advocacy is comparable to the idea of diplomacy, a role found in the field of International Relations. UX is sort of like the middleman between users and developers, such as a diplomat would be the communicator/advocate between foreign parties.  

Another subject that piqued my interest in undergrad was foreign language and translation studies. The use of language is very prominent in UX and ultimately is what guides users to have a successful journey within a digital process or product. We must ensure that any user can use the platform successfully, so research should be conducted to support many languages and ensure that translations are accurate, intuitive, and equal when guiding users through a platform.  

In the UX design and research process, it is vital that research participants are diverse to sufficiently discover the needs and preferences of all potential users and not overlook groups. In my future studies, I would like to look more into how we can incorporate practices of equity and inclusion to promote social justice when designing technologies and organization developments. 

If you could give yourself 10 years ago advice from yourself today, what would it be? 

People tend to think that they are not successful until they reach their goal, or get their dream job, etc. I’ve learned that you can still be very successful while working towards your goal. Even though it may not be accomplished yet, or you have not seen your dream come to fruition, every day is an opportunity to take one step closer to that dream, and in that alone there is success. I have realized that I will consistently be working towards a new goal, so success has become a redefined term to me. As long as I can stay true to myself, take advantage of good opportunities, and be focused on what matters, I will be able to keep climbing to redefined heights of success.  

I am currently pursuing a Doctorate degree in the field of Interprofessional Leadership with a concentration in Educational Technology while simultaneously working on my own UX projects. Although I do not currently have a UX title, the MS program and professional work I have done is supporting my continuing education, and providing crucial components for my research and understanding, as well as the opportunity for real world application in my experiences careerwise. 

I would like to tell my past self to not lose hope due to not achieving the ‘role’ that I set out to become. I understand that everything I am learning will be useful for my journey, even if I don’t get to practice it right away or in the anticipated capacity. I am and have been accumulating skills and knowledge that will support my future roles. I have faith that as I start to step into new forms of leadership and more opportunities for growth come my way, everything I have practiced and learned will come out to support my goal of improving lives and add to my own personal growth. 

Do you know a stellar UX, UI, Product, or Software Designer or Researcher who has joined the field in the last five years that we should feature? Let us know!

Dan Minder

Dan Minder is an IT and education professional who brings UX principles into his work. He received his M.S. in Information Architecture & Knowledge Management from KSU.  Outside of work, Dan enjoys backpacking, and is involved with Toastmasters.

Tell me about how you got involved with Toastmasters. Do you enjoy public speaking, or were you terrified? Has your feeling changed from participating?

I very much enjoy public speaking. I attended a few meetings at the club where I work, and I saw the value. Through practice, Toastmasters has helped me polish a wide variety of speeches, like technical presentations and storytelling. The club also helped me practice speaking off the cuff, which has helped immensely in work meetings. 

What got you started backpacking?  What are some of your favorite trails? Do you have any funny or surprising stories from a trip you’d be willing to share?

I became interested after watching Wild, a 2014 movie starring Reese Witherspoon, where the protagonist hikes the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexican border all the way to Northern Oregon. I became so enthralled with the idea of long-distance hiking, that I read the book on which the movie is based (once I start reading about something that interests me, it’s already become an obsession). Then I started reading backpacking books and blogs, taking classes, and watching YouTube videos from the trail. I started amassing my own gear collection and then took the plunge on a trail in Western PA. 
My favorite hike, so far, is Isle Royale National Park, Michigan. It’s an island in Lake Superior, close to Canada. It’s one of the least visited national parks in the country since it’s only accessible by boat or plane. The park rangers pick you up in Michigan, ferry you to the park, drop you off, and you’re on your own from there. There are plenty of moose and a few wolves. It’s very primitive, biodiverse at different elevations, and absolutely spectacular. 

What makes you passionate about UX? How do you work UX ideas and philosophy into your work/day-to-day tasks?

I got my first taste of UX as an undergrad while taking a class titled Cultural Implications of Technology. One of my favorite readings was an article that discussed the need for user-centered design. Another reading discussed the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, and how poor control design contributed to it. These lessons stuck with me. 
I witnessed this first-hand at my first real job working in K-12 schools as a support technician. Every day, I saw people struggle with tech – apps and smart boards, for example – that were supposed to make their jobs easier. I also noticed that teachers and administrators tended to berate themselves for not “getting it”. In many cases, I found that the users weren’t necessarily technically inept, but that the technology didn’t work the way they expected it to, that training or guides weren’t made apparent to them, or that things weren’t presented in a way that they could easily understand. Many were intimidated by technology too (“I’m afraid I’m going to make this computer blow up!”).
In my current role, I work more on the customer experience side of things. Here, my knowledge of user research has come in handy. When examining complaints, I find it helpful to observe the users in their work environment as they’re completing troublesome tasks. From there, I try to find workable solutions that meet their needs.

Do you have a UX lesson you had to learn the hard way?  Or some experience that made you realize the value of something you learned about in school?

My instructors reinforced the importance of treating the user with respect. Over the years, I have seen too many instances of colleagues holding end users in contempt, or regarding them as an inconvenience. I think it’s important to remember that, as professionals, we exist to serve people through technology, and not the technology itself. That idea keeps me grounded. When someone reports a tech issue to me, and then can’t reproduce the error when I’m present, just sincerely saying “I believe you” goes a long way toward building a solid relationship. Sometimes it drives the folks I work with crazy, but I have always been one to side with the user. 

Christina Turner

Christina Turner is an artist and designer working toward her M.S. in User Experience Design at KSU.  Currently, she’s developing an information portal that connects people to relevant regional information resources. She’s worked extensively as support staff in public libraries, co-owned FORUM artspace, sat on the Board of SPACES in Cleveland, wrote for various local art publications, and currently co-hosts The Richfield Branch Library Podcast.

Tell us about the library! What’s it like to work there?

The library is an incredible place for idea-loving people.  Being able to dive deep into new topics and to learn about so many different subjects alongside patrons when they come in looking for research help is my favorite part of the work.  The library is also exceptionally old-school; we’re living in the Information Age, but libraries are not new and actively avoid trends.  Working there for nearly 20 years has given me a unique sense of the scale of time.  I think it’s encouraged thoughtfulness and looking past the hype to see the (much, much) bigger picture.

It’s also an analog internet, where you can physically rearrange information and observe people existing inside your information structures.  I think libraries need some serious UX.  I’m excited to see what the future holds for libraries.

What drew you to UX work? How do you incorporate UX principles into your work?

My undergraduate degree is in Printmaking, which is basically graphic design minus computers.  I remember being frustrated sometimes at the way the art world sort of shirks the responsibility of making anything functional or useful.  I want to make things that look appealing and make people feel certain ways, but also function in some way or help people accomplish something.  So I started researching Industrial Design, and then came across Human-Computer Interaction programs, like the one at Carnegie Mellon.  So I’ve been keeping an eye on dialog in that space for years.

I didn’t really piece together how well suited I would be to this work until the pandemic.  Stepping back and saying “What do I enjoy doing?  What do I want to do more of?” made me realize how much I’m interested in the fusion of visual design and information organization that happens in Web Design, and I think my work at the public library helping people navigate pages that really don’t seem designed for them is what led me to value coming at web design from the user’s perspective. 

I’ve kept various blogs and created websites for myself, my projects, and projects my friends were working on since junior high.  I never really thought that was something unique about me or worth pursuing professionally, because it was never about the website, it was always about getting the message out.  So in many ways, I’ve been accomplishing components of a UX practice without the language for it.  Getting some language that other people understand and respond to has been invaluable to me and my work.

How is this degree changing your perspective on tech and modern life?

Computers are so rigid.  It’s fascinating that humans made them, maybe it’s aspirational: we long to be precise and unchanging, because fundamentally we’re not. At all.

At the library, tech help is a huge component of what I do all day.  We’re the community’s IT Help Desk.  And a large part of helping people use computers is reassuring them that it’s not unreasonable to be frustrated at these rigid little boxes that insist things are a way they’re not.

In my personal life, I’m seeing interface design now as its components: when something’s off, I have a better sense of what’s off about it (this menu should be over here, those categories are labeled wrong, this is too busy, I don’t know what I’m supposed to look at, etc.) It’s like tasting food after you’ve learned to cook, or going to the museum after you’ve hung a dozen art shows.  I’m encouraged to see things I would improve about almost every interface I encounter; there’s plenty of work to be done!

How did you get involved with UX Akron?  What do you love about this group?

Another Board member, Jen Stencel, encouraged me to come to a mixer when I was first starting my degree, and I’m so glad I did!  It’s such an encouraging group, I left feeling so energized and relieved that I finally found “my people.”  No matter where you’re at in your career, don’t be afraid to come meet us!