{"id":374,"date":"2021-09-28T18:42:24","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T18:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/?page_id=374"},"modified":"2025-07-16T16:41:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T16:41:45","slug":"about-me","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/about-me\/","title":{"rendered":"About Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019ve been designing for the web since the mid-90s - back when animated GIFs were bleeding edge tech and Photoshop was the top design tool. What pulled me in then is what drives me now: creating joyful, intuitive experiences that genuinely make people\u2019s lives easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the past 20+ years, I\u2019ve evolved with the industry - from learning HTML in the early days to leading UX efforts that align design with business strategy. My approach has always been user-first, grounded in empathy, research, and clarity. I don\u2019t just make things look good - I make sure they work for the people using them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These days, I use a mix of research, design thinking, and AI-enhanced tools to streamline everything from early ideation to user testing and prototyping. My favorite kind of work is untangling complexity. I take massive requirements, vague ideas, or legacy systems and turn them into simple, usable solutions. I\u2019m known for being fast, resourceful, and great at filling in the blanks when direction is light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I hold a Master\u2019s degree, earned before UX became the formal discipline it is today. That background gave me an early edge in understanding how to connect user behavior to business outcomes. It still shapes how I work today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If there\u2019s one thing that keeps me going after all these years, it\u2019s this: solving problems through design still feels like solving a puzzle. And I still love watching the pieces click into place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My Process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I'm going to explain my process using the steps of Design Thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\" style=\"margin-bottom: 20px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1011\" height=\"297\" src=\"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/About-Me-Design-Thiking-1024x297-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/About-Me-Design-Thiking-1024x297-1.png 1011w, https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/About-Me-Design-Thiking-1024x297-1-300x88.png 300w, https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/About-Me-Design-Thiking-1024x297-1-768x226.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1011px) 100vw, 1011px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2764\ufe0f <strong><strong>Emphathize<\/strong><\/strong><br>I facilitate user or stakeholder interviews. I excel at empathy and anticipating the user\u2019s pain points, which guides me toward asking the right questions. I'm very organized and take detailed notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\ud83d\udd0d Define<\/strong><br>With the research and interviews in hand, I digest all the information and define the business, user, and technical requirements. Depending on the scale and importance of the project, I might do this in my own documentation or as a team effort with a Product Manager to put together formal documentation. With every project, I define user flows, create journey maps, write user stories, and use other methods of planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\ud83d\udca1 Ideate<\/strong><br>In other words, how do I come up with good ideas for my projects? Storyboarding, sketching, and other brainstorming activities between myself or with a team are essential for ironing out the project's direction and coming up with innovative ideas. I research on Google and AI. I read up on UX articles on the given topic to learn about best practices (UX Collective's blog is my favorite). I explore image search and various design inspiration galleries. I\u2019ll often go back to my research and break down an area to refine my ideas. I want to ensure that I do everything with purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udd28 <strong>Prototype<\/strong><br>My finished designs are presented on collaboration platforms such as Figma. I always stitch together my designs for a click-through prototype. When it comes to developer handoff, I have a detailed prototype and thorough documentation ready for the developers. My designs consist of instance screens and sometimes animations to make direction as clear as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2611\ufe0f Test<\/strong><br>As the developers implement my designs, I oversee their progress and QA their work to ensure that development matches the designs as intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\ud83d\ude80 Implement<\/strong><br>The final Implementation of the product is never the end of the journey for me. As an in-house designer, I always maintain the products I design. New features are always being requested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My professional values<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\ud83d\uddd2\ufe0f Always have a plan<\/strong><br>Even for something small, it's essential to always have a plan. A good plan is backed by solid research, requirements, and thorough documentation. A good plan puts meaning behind every decision. It acts as the source of truth that can help resolve any conflicts or indecisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u26d3\ufe0f Always be consistent<\/strong><br>Whether internally with co-workers or externally with clients, work must always be consistent. From the messaging and intent to the presentation. Without consistency, the experience breaks, and as a result, the message gets lost. Consistency plays a major role in helping a user understand an application. Consistency makes a project clear to engineering when they receive the designs for implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2b50\ufe0f Embrace change<\/strong><br>Working in technology, embracing change is a necessity. The way we use technology is constantly evolving. It's important to stay ahead of the game and embrace the new. I understand it's not always easy to do if we've grown comfortable with the old ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udca1<strong> There's always a solution<\/strong><br>You'll never see me panic and stress out over a problem or situation. There's <em>always<\/em> a solution. Do you like tea? I'll brew us some. Let's relax and talk about the challenge before us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My personal values<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83e\udd17<strong> Get out of the comfort zone<\/strong><br>Life is short. You can't experience new flavors eating the same food all the time. You can't experience new people and cultures traveling to the places you've already been to. You'll never know if there are better tools\/apps\/solutions out there if you only want to use the tools you're comfortable with. I always make an effort to try new things and embrace the unknown. Learning to be comfortable being uncomfortable opened up exciting new experiences for me or better ways to achieve my goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2764\ufe0f <strong>Empathy is everything<\/strong><br>With our work, our professionalism, and our personal lives, I believe practicing emotional intelligence is the path to happiness and success. It's not easy - empathy can be a daily struggle. When we understand what others are experiencing as if we were feeling it ourselves, it brings us closer to what we're looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\ud83d\udc36 Pets are a blessing<\/strong><br>Nothing beats coming home to a dog or cat happy to see you and wanting rubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I've selected a few of my projects that I'd like to share with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/showcase\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"alexrod.net\/showcase\/\" style=\"font-size: 24px!important\">Explore My Portfolio<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve been designing for the web since the mid-90s &#8211; back when animated GIFs were bleeding edge tech and Photoshop was the top design tool. What pulled me in then is what drives me now: creating joyful, intuitive experiences that genuinely make people\u2019s lives easier. Over the past 20+ years, I\u2019ve evolved with the industry [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":424,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-374","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":467,"href":"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/374\/revisions\/467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alexrod.net\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}