Mentors & Motivators – Meet Lindsay Moore
Mentors & Motivators is a series of blog posts interviewing some women who are accomplishing some amazing things with the hope that their stories will encourage, inspire, and motivate you in your career, business, or personal life.
Meet Lindsay Moore. Lindsay is a User Experience Architect at EffectiveUI.
I would urge women in design to be leaders and to strive for more visibility and participation in their design communities so you can be those professional role models for young designers ~Lindsay Moore
What is your background and how did you get into the design field?
I started my career in painting, after receiving a degree in Fine Arts from New College of Florida. I was working as a real estate assistant and struggling to stay motivated in the studio. I thought I’d go back to school for graphic design and learn to make better real estate fliers, which always makes me laugh now. Luckily, I had the good fortune to do a Graphic Design & Interactive Media degree at Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design. The program there is very user-centered, and focuses on creating experiences that solve problems and meet people’s needs. I discovered that it is way more interesting to solve creative problems for other people rather than for myself, and interaction design couldn’t be a better fit.
What is it about experience design that you most enjoy, or find most rewarding?
I love taking smart, user-centered problem solving and concepting and then starting to make it feel more real via visual design. I don’t ever want to get away from the side of interaction design where you are actually dealing with pixels — there is something about the tiny details that I just love.
What’s your favorite milestone in your career or business
A few months ago, I was up snowboarding. I was riding in the gondola with a few people who were around my parents’ age and they were talking about how much they love their iPhones. One fellow started talking about how much he loved the CNBC iPhone app, and how he used it every morning to track the markets. I was the lead designer for that project a few years ago at my former employer. It was extremely validating to have a moment like that, and to get to see in an unprompted way just how something you made impacts people’s lives.
Often when conflicts arise on a project it’s just a matter of needing to figure out a new way to communicate with *my* user, aka my client.
What major obstacle/barrier/conflict have you faced and how did you overcome it?
I try not view situations as obstacles and try to deal with whatever is handed to me. One thing that is disappointing to me is the way the design industry as a whole tends to vent about its challenging clients as if they are the enemy — I’ve been guilty of this as well but I feel like a challenging client situation is just another problem I need to solve. Often when conflicts arise on a project it’s just a matter of needing to figure out a new way to communicate with *my* user, aka my client.
What are the common mistakes made by companies when it comes to usability?
I think one of the biggest mistakes companies make is thinking that usability alone is enough to make their product successful. Usability is an important part of design thinking, but there is much more to creating great user experience than just making an application easy to use. To create exceptional digital experiences, you need to really understand what users want and need.
Which websites do you admire from a user experience perspective?
Mint.com, Flickr (yes it’s old but I still think it’s great), Etsy, and my latest find, Pinterest.
It is important for companies to understand the motivations of their users before putting a digital application out into the world. In what context will people be using it, and how does it create value in their lives?
Do all websites need to do some form of usability testing? And if they do, how should they get started? Can you recommend some tools that you use?
Well, above anything I think it is important for companies to understand the motivations of their users before putting a digital application out into the world. In what context will people be using it, and how does it create value in their lives? How does the product fit in with the brand’s digital ecosystem? I think there are ways to do this kind of research even if you don’t have budget for formal usability testing in the later stage of a project. At EffectiveUI, we try to bring some kind of customer insight activity to every project, whether it is basic stakeholder interviews or full-on contextual observation.
What is the latest, greatest technology that helped you make a quantum leap in your work?
I’m going to cheat a bit and name a technology approach: Inbox Zero. It’s extended into not letting technology push me around, which allows me to get more done.
What are the qualities & characteristics that a professional woman needs to succeed in today’s fast paced world of technology?
- An ability to voice and stand up for your opinion and perspective
- Empathy towards the goals and needs of the people you are designing for
- Curiosity and passion for learning
- Compassionate leadership
What sage words of advice (words of wisdom) can you offer to other professional women to help them achieve their own success?
I know that when I was first starting as a designer I didn’t have a lot of female mentors, and it sometimes felt like I didn’t have a clear picture of what professional success could look like for women. I would urge women in design to be leaders and to strive for more visibility and participation in their design communities so you can be those professional role models for young designers. And if you are a young designer, stay open to the knowledge and mentorship of those around you — ask lots of questions and never stop learning.
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