I’ve had an interest in design for as long as I can remember, but UX wasn’t an area of design I was familiar with until I studied at Purdue.

 

When I was young, I thought I would become an architect someday. And I was also extremely interested in interior design. I would sit in my room and draw floor plans of my house until my hand fell off. Once it came time to pick a major for college, I explored different options for design fields, and I had some experience with building websites and graphic design, so Visual Communication Design (VCD) sounded right up my alley. I majored in VCD for a semester and realized I was missing something.

 

I never knew how to put into words why UX was more my fit than VCD until I came across an article by Sanders and Stappers that included the visual above. The article made it seem so simple, but it was something I couldn’t pinpoint for a year; all of the things I had previously had an interest in, like VCD, interior design, and architecture, all focused on the designing of things or products. In UX we design for purpose. I just knew that if I stayed with Visual Communication Design, I would never feel fulfilled in my work.

 

By finding UX, I’m able to uphold my values through the work that I create and I'm grateful to be able to make an impact on people's lives. I found a home in PNC to start my career because of the way in which we support learning, growing, and wellness in each other and in all people.