About Me

During my elementary school years, I struggled with Dyslexia and various other learning disabilities. As I got older I learned how to ‘decode’ the English language cultivating a love for reading. After studying Spanish and Japanese, I realized languages can be analyzed similarly to other tools we use to view, analyze, understand and comment on the world.

English is a difficult language to develop fluent reading and writing skills; about 17% of English speakers will experience minor traits of Dyslexia. Comparing this to a syllabic script such as Japanese, which has a dramatic drop in the rates of Dyslexia, closer to 3.8% of the population experiencing it.

For me to become literate and fluent in English, it required an awareness of Dyslexia from my parents and teachers, along with teachers specialized in teaching those students. It wasn’t until 3rd grade that I had any confidence in my reading ability. Beyond breaching that obstacle, I read constantly and tested at a post-high school level within a few years.

Had I been born at an earlier time or in different circumstances, I may have remained undiagnosed, illiterate or lacking a high school diploma. A far cry from attaining a Bachelor’s in Psychology, a minor in Japanese, and a Master’s in UX Design.

English is one example of a tool’s reach and effect, resulting in wide deviations in outcomes. The fallout of those designs disturb students’ learning experiences, adversely impacting how they can be taught, perceived in terms of their proficiency and performance.

These experiences cultivated a yearning in me to gain a deeper understanding of the world, and to apply that knowledge in my professional career to create tailored experiences to enrich people’s lives.

Portfolio Design

This site was created on Jekyll and the source code for this site can be found here.

Interesting Design Articles

1. Welcome to Hillstone, America's Favorite Restaurant

This restaurant is run phenomenally well, with great food at a deserving price. Unlike their competitors, its food may be one of the least interesting things about it.

Similar to the Hillstone's analogy, websites and tech applications get a primary focus when talking about UX, but that doesn't need to be the case. The best part of Hillstone's experience isn't the food. They do their best to deceive you that it’s not a chain and removes much of the effort typically placed on customers. There is no loud background music deafening conversations, no intimate lighting creating unreadable menus, or even the awkward fumbling of closing a tab at the bar when a table opens up… It gives us a place to eat and enjoy it.

Link

2. The Long, Incredibly Tortuous, and Fascinating Process of Creating A Chinese Font

I have an odd fascination with fonts but more-so with how it affects readers. Often, aesthetics are the primary focus to create an emotion to demonstrate a brand.

But fonts have real impacts on the reader, even affecting reading speed and comprehension.

It’s exciting to see Hanzi get more attention in this regard. Particularly on some Windows computers they can be difficult to read since they sometimes get pixelated, obscuring the character's stroke order.

Link

&nbksp;