Shannon Ruetsch

I'm a user experience designer. What does that really mean? Well, I help make sure that the person using your product will pretty much intuitively know what it's for, how to use it, and, hey, hopefully even enjoy using it. As a UX designer, I get involved in so many aspects of a project, it's hard to sum up what I do. I guess that's kind of part of it—no stone ever goes unturned and nothing's off-limits. I'd start by understanding your audience, what value your product provides, and what you want your audience to do with your product. There's ways to track this stuff these days, so you always need to keep measurable results in mind. Then, figuring out the information architecture is a big deal. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. If you skip the IA, you're dead in the water. Once all that's sorted out (but, mind you, it's an ever-evolving thing), then it's time to start working with the graphic designers to make the product come to life visually. Almost in parallel, it's essential to communicate with the developers early and often in order to make sure the designs are feasible for the real world, and can get executed in the project timeline. I spend my days getting my head around all the different components of a project and then I keep it moving forward, without losing sight of the end user's experience. So, what's up your sleeve? Want to redesign your website? Got a new app idea? Let's talk. It'll be productive (and fun!), I promise.