We humans navigate our lives with limited visibility and understanding of the systems we rely on.

 

Complex systems are a part of our everyday lives. From filling out tax forms to online shopping, we are often faced with the challenges of navigating these systems to extract the relevant information we need to make decisions.

Down arrow with hand drawn humans next to it for decorative effect.

How might we design systems and experiences that don’t have a learning curve, but are instead intuitive and put each of us as individuals in the driver’s seat?

 

With human-centered design, I work to understand the goals of humans and design products that meet those needs through natural discovery, storytelling, and transparency.

Hi, I’m Dené: (‘duh-nae’)

As a UX designer, I aim to make the interaction between technology, people, and humanity simple, effective, collaborative, and transparent.

 

I use various multidisciplinary research methodologies (both quantitative and qualitative) to learn about how humans use technology and to discover ways that technology and systems might work better for people and the planet.

Decorative image of Dené taking a picture of the ceiling in a room that is full of screens that show the occupants through facial recognition full screens on walls and ceiling.

As a manager, I recognize that my work is also a product and I strive to create consistent, scalable designer experiences through transparent, antifragile processes, shared alignment, and priority placed on building diverse teams and honest spaces.

 

Strong products and strong teams should work symbiotically in concert with business goals.

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I practice this craft with a healthy dose of fear and optimism, but always curiosity. My goal is to create experiences that put users in full control.

If my work resonates with you and/or you have feedback [CONTACT ME]

Sign as a representative cover image with text: "VA Department of Veteran Affairs Sign as a representative” with mockup of form question. Linked to case study.

VA (Veteran Affairs) Sign as a representative

Understanding Veterans’ mental model to increase application acceptance and reduce VA staff processing burden.

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Short form cover image with text: VA Department of Veteran Affairs Health care application: short form with image of user flow. Linked to case study.

VA Health care application ‘short form’

Leveraging policy and user research to reduce the amount of time Veterans spend applying for health care.

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ResearchOps for hc.gov Open Enrollment (OE)

Creating a scalable ResearchOps strategy for a program of 100.

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SupChina cover image with text "SupChina new media platform design." Image of SupChina website on phone. Linked to case study.

SupChina new media platform design

Transforming a template-based blog website into a porous new media platform.

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Case study cover image with text: "Behind the scenes The making of dene.land. Linked to case study.

Bonus: The making of dene.land

An existential experiment of me as a designer.

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Team a day cover image. link leads to case study. the text says: team-a-day design studios for craft maturity with people sitting in the background

‘Team-a-Day’ design studios

Fostering craft maturity and quality delivery.

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Research chat series cover image of radio study and people on mic in the distannce. Linked to management case study.

Research Chat series

Expanding research thinking with experts from across the organization.

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Other work

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