"Normality is a paved road. It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it"
Vincent van Gogh
My path to UX has been a winding one.
I come to User Experience Design by way of Advertising. After studying Marketing and Information Systems in my hometown of Ottawa, I moved to Toronto and started my career as an Account Manager at the independent advertising agency, Bensimon Byrne. At this time companies were just beginning to shift their media spend to digital channels and establish themselves online. This is where I got my feet wet and learned about how advertising and digital production worked.
After almost 4 years, I moved to another agency, JWT, where I again worked as an Account Manager. This is where I was formally introduced to Strategic Planning, Advertising Research and the concept of testing.
It was at this time that succumbed to the idea that Account Management wasn’t my bag. I was more comfortable with numbers and data, so after a few years, I shifted gears and took on a role that focused mainly on research and planning at another independent advertising agency, Cundari.
This is where I was introduced to UX; the agency had acquired a digital production firm and after working on a couple of projects with the team, interviewing users and designing wireframes, I decided to pursue a career in User Experience Design.
Over the next five years, I took on various contracts at startups and digital production agencies to help me gain more experience and fully transition into the field. I now currently work at Home Depot as the Manager of UX Research.