Hey, I’m Melissa and I’m a UX designer, graphic designer, mathematician (has-been), rock climber, and cat lover. I began my higher education with finishing my BS in Mathematics with a minor in Graphic Design. After graduating, I decided to continue my education by completing my BFA in Graphic Design at Southern Utah University. Although I have a background in Math, I now solve problems through design. After graduation, I completed a five month internship as a UX designer at Instructure, Inc. That’s when I knew this career was meant for me. A degree in solving problems + design = UX; sign me up. Since then, I’ve worked at Clearlink as a brand graphic designer, Weave, and have gone back to Instructure twice more, both as a UX or Product Designer.
I’ve worked on a Data & Analytics team where I continued to solve problems for users through data visualization and user experience design, a VoIP team where I learned the complex ins and outs of phone systems, designing configuration pages for average-joes, and was the lead designer of a design system. I’ve had the opportunity to solve for 2-3 different types of users within one product, such as teachers/students and admin/office managers/patients.
My favorite part of design is the complex problem solving. I love diving deep into products and pulling out all of the edge cases and uncovering unforeseen challenges. On top of complex problem solving, I’m passionate about ensuring a11y compliance across the products I design for. It’s part of my thought process and I enjoy continuing my education on the subject.
I grew up in California but my heart lies in Utah with the mountains. I crave adventure and new places. I’m an avid gym rock climber, love camping at Grand Teton National Park, watch lots of TV and movies, and have picked up a reading habit. Oh, and my cats, Meeko and Otis, are the loves of my life.