About me

I'm a product designer with over a decade of experience, focused on design systems and accessibility. I studied computer games technology, which is probably an unusual starting point for a UX career — but modular components, rules that scale, and building for edge cases from the start turned out to be good preparation. I went on to study HCI at Indiana University, where I also taught interaction design at the undergraduate and graduate level, and mentored first-year graduate students.

I treat design systems as a product. That means researching and interviewing the designers and developers who use them, iterating based on what's working, and keeping the end user in view throughout. At Amazon Ads, I built the Storm Community Library contribution model, growing community contributed component usage by 328% across 27 teams in four months. I've established systems at Udacity, Possible, and WP Engine.

I push for accessibility in every team I work with. Good design should work for as many people as possible, and the constraints accessibility introduces usually lead to better solutions for everyone.

I've lived in Japan, Germany, France, and Taiwan, which has shaped how I think about design, particularly around assumptions, context, and the things we take for granted when designing for familiar audiences.

Outside of work, you'll find me practicing medieval longsword fencing (yes, really), scuba diving, capturing moments through photography, getting lost in video games, or planning the next travel adventure with my wife.