About Diane
Southern California girl, born and raised.
I pursued a career in UX armed with just a laptop and curiosity.
Through my UX courses available through LinkedIn Learning, I teach to a global audience of individuals from all walks of life with a common interest in learning UX concepts and topics.
I’m often asked, how did I get into this field?
I didn’t know what UX was, but I loved the idea of working with web based technologies. I had just finished my undergrad in psychology and wasn’t interested in pursuing experimental research as a career.
After frantically googling, I found Library Science, and in my studies was introduced to Information Architecture, and I began my road to a career in UX.
My career and strengths
My expertise is crafting pragmatic design strategies intertwining product strategy with delightful experience. I’m a business focused designer solving every design problem with a user centered approach.
I create multi-year roadmaps, working closely with business partners, designers, and engineers to ensure the highest quality design for a flawless execution.
I love organizing information, and my curiosity has led me to work on diverse projects, including consumer mobile apps, social media, HR technology, advertising platforms, gaming, and e-commerce.
I’m known for being a well-rounded designer, a strong communicator, and for influencing product strategy through design and collaboration.
Teacher and Mentor
I teach design on LinkedIn Learning, and actively mentor newcomers in the UX field to land their first UX designer job, including career changers.
Dog Mom and Dilettante
When I’m not solving design problems at scale, I’m learning something new, watching films, and playing with my dogs.
Speaking Events & Workshops
Oct 2022: Talk UX (Tokyo online) “Driving product strategy as a product designer.”
Apr 2015: Academy of Art (San Francisco) “Portfolio creation” for Visual development majors.
What you should know about me
I don’t have a formal design background
I had passion, determination, and grit. I watched online courses, and learned on the job with great mentors. So, I understand what it means to learn UX from the ground up.
I teach what I wished others had taught
Learning UX is no easy feat. To learn design well, you have to understand a lot of foundational and advanced concepts. I teach what I wished I had known early on.
Skills & Experience
User Research
Interviewing
Unbiased questions for exploratory research and product definition.
Persona Development
Modeling key users of the product based on research and insights.
Journey Mapping
Developing journey maps and other mappings of the user’s experience.
Contextual Inquiry
Naturalistic observation and informal interviewing to understand workflow.
RITE Testing
Identifying, and rapidly solving usability issues between tests.
Synthesis
Distilling user research into actionable insights and frameworks.
Card Sort
Information architecture organization technique to inform design.
Usability Testing
Creating test plans for remote and in-person research, and moderation.
Heuristic Evaluation
Conducting evaluations based on standard usability principles.
Cognitive Walkthrough
Uncovering key questions and conceptual models of the experience.
Design
Sketching & Ideation
Rapid ideation of ideas, and sketching interfaces.
Prototyping
Low to high fidelity prototype creation, using a variety of tools.
Patterns & Design Systems
Creating, documenting, and testing of patterns across use cases and team.
Information Architecture
Defining navigation, structure, and organization of user experience.
Flows
Flow diagrams, and other diagrams to capture user experience.
Storyboarding
High level depiction of experience, told visually.
Design Specs
Interaction documentation for engineering handoff.
Visual Design
Layout, hierarchy, and information design for usable, elegant interfaces.
Leadership & Soft Skills
Storytelling
Inspiring organizations through presentations and stories.
Facilitation
Design vision through workshops, design studios, and stakeholder alignment.
Mentorship
Supporting, sharing and cultivating design expertise.
Collaboration
Working cross-functionally, and with other designers to achieve amazing design.
Creativity
Bringing a fresh perspective backed by research, insights, and originality.
Negotiation
Finding win-win solutions to bottlenecks, or difference of opinion.
Grit & Determination
Making the impossible, possible, and not giving up while doing it.
Communication
Cross-functional communication, up and across the organization.
Process Improvement & Culture Development
Instilling and fostering processes that support a design culture.
