Hi, my name is Kristen

Certified Coach ⋄ Feminist ⋄ Singer ⋄ Crocheter ⋄ Cat Mom ⋄ Harry Potter Enthusiast ⋄ Curl Evangelist ⋄ Yogi

About Me

I’m a UX Designer. I advocate for the end user by ensuring their feedback is incorporated in the design process. I am passionate about listening to users and not just following trends or building something pretty. To quote Tron, “I fight for the Users!” My goal is to creatively solve problems using a human-centered-design focus. An ideal fit for me is somewhere with a mature UX organization, including dedicated researchers, and a strong design culture.

What I Do Now

Nordstrom

Nordstrom is a leading fashion retailer. I’m currently part of the design language system team. I am responsible for researching component best practices, designing solutions with input from fellow UX Designers for the XD team to use in their Figma designs, and collaborating both with Content Designers to properly document the usage of the component and with engineers to build the component used by external teams in production. The DLS team follows an Agile model and has dedicated engineers.

What I Did Before

Grainger

Grainger is a B2B industrial supply company. I helped redesign an adaptive/responsive version of the Grainger.com Registration and Order History experiences. I was responsible for the design strategy of both long- and short-term goals and providing wireframes/mockups with interaction notes to the cross-functional development team, while partnering closely with the Visual Designer who was responsible for pixel-perfect comps. The projects ran in an Agile framework, and I was partially embedded on the development teams.

Thomson Reuters

I previously worked at Thomson Reuters, a global organization that is mostly in the software development space. I was a UX Designer in the Tax & Accounting business for 2 years. I was responsible for helping migrate the individual legacy desktop applications to a comprehensive cloud suite, called Onvio, focusing on the Firm Management and Documents applications. It was my job to conduct new (or incorporate existing) user research to determine the problems with the legacy software and/or existing Onvio designs. I then designed solutions to those problems and conducted testing with users to ensure their feedback was always incorporated.

ForeSee

Before that, I worked at ForeSee, a customer experience analytics company that measures customer satisfaction of websites/apps via surveys. I was initially an intern, but was hired to the Usability team after I completed my master’s degree. As a Usability Analyst, it was my job to conduct heuristic evaluations of websites/apps and present usability best practice recommendations to clients like AT&T, Canadian Tire, Delta, Disney, Dressbarn, Express, Federal Railroad Administration, Indiana University Health, The North Face, Ralph Lauren, and Sprint. These deliverables were called Usability Audit Reviews (or UARs).

What I'm Passionate About

Crocheting, curly hair, emotional intelligence, the environment, mental health, movies, music, peace, politics, social justice, technology, and yoga. Check out my Passion Projects page, if you want to know more.

What Makes me Unique

The problem-solving approach I use to design user-centered products is passionate, creative, and artistic. I am perceptive, persistent, and compassionate. Reading people, fostering loyalty, and creating trust come naturally to me and I take time to understand a problem and perceive the emotional elements of a situation before acting. With a background in music, a master’s in Human-Computer Interaction, and experience as both a Usability Analyst and UX Designer, I bring a unique perspective to the design process.

What People Say About Me

“As a member on the UX team, Kristen is a delight and an inspiration in her dedication to creating a healthy culture of harmony, care, and respect at work. She is the one who always takes the initiative to bring us together not only as professionals but also as human beings who need time to decompress and mingle. For example, she brought together UX professionals and other Thomson Reuters staff for the so-called Tea Time, a monthly event when we meet to share ideas, mingle, and support one another in our work. She has also suggested that we come together as a team to discuss best practices for working as a team respectfully and transparently. Last but not least, not long ago, Kristen brought us all together over lunch to watch a UX talk she had recently attended. As someone who tends to get buried in work most of the time, I appreciate immensely Kristen’s effort to make us attentive to our needs as professionals and human beings. I know I can always rely on her to share knowledge and events in the field. Kristen is one of those rare persons that keeps the team together by reminding us how important it is to be professional and caring at the same time.”

“Although I have not been on a project with Kristen in a while, I can speak to what an absolute delight it is to be on the same UX team with her.Kristen is an extremely empathetic, passionate, and hard-working employee. She cares deeply about the people, projects, and culture she contributes to and it shows in her work and how she interacts with other employees. An example of empathy: she can almost instantly pick up on when someone is having a hard day and seeks them out to make sure they are okay, offer to go for a walk, or be a listening ear. An example of her work ethic: she has single-handedly taken on Onvio Documents/Workflow as a designer far exceeded the requirements of her level to deliver for the team. An example of her contributions to a positive team/company culture: she is always the first to schedule team events, celebrations, and attend company-sponsored events like business resource group meetings, Yoga, and more.Kristen is a curious and thoughtful UXer. She takes time to fully understand the problems of a project to analyze how UX can be a part of the solution and strategy moving forward. Her approach to collaboration is very inclusive and fosters an environment of camaraderie and exploration.I appreciate Kristen's ability to vocalize her needs and express her feelings. Her transparency and acceptance of others is one of the many qualities that makes Kristen a trustworthy, dependable, indispensable team member this UX team is lucky to have."

“Kristen does not limit her role and participation within the company to just that of a UX Designer - she gets involved in various business resource groups and is widely seen as an open-minded person and a good listener. She is empathetic and understands what makes people tick, and very importantly, understands the importance of trust in any working relationship, and she's open about this with her peers. You can tell that people who work with her enjoy working with her."

"Working with Kristen has been helpful in many ways, including: finding ways to leverage my natural strengths and preferences, recognizing the role of my own internalized ableism, navigating transitions and new working relationships, and feeling more calm and confident in my work overall."

More About Me

INFP (The Idealist/Mediator/Healer)

Greatest Strengths: Idealistic, creative, supportive; out-of-the box thinker; passionate about personal values, emotions, living in alignment

How to Get in Touch

Phone: Eight · One · Zero · Three · Three · Four · Three · Two · Two · Seven

Email: keshirkey at gmail dot com