Meet Darcy...
...a friendly guy, with a crap ton of experience thinking about how users come first. He even made up a phrase to describe it: 'user empathist'. It’s not a real word, but who cares, because you figured out what it means anyway.
Some may call him strange, weird, or quirky, and they're right! For those who don't agree, let's get to know each other better.
©2010 Alison Grippo
20 years of UX and counting…
It's simple, I love how stuff works, the structure and mechanics of things. Figuring it out, and then being able to improve, or explain it have been natural inclinations of mine since I was young. After I graduated from university, I fell into the world of web design and development. I did front-end coding and some visual design work for Gartner. I continuously looked at the larger problem, always trying to solve the root, rather than the symptom.
I've been thinking about digital for 20 years, working with digital agencies, large organizations, and for myself; my experience spans a wide breadth of industries, including consumer packaged goods, social apps, advertising, financial technology, and software as a service. I'm a self professed UX generalist, with no single focus, but I have a knack for grasping complex problems and empathizing deeply with users.
I believe that UX is a way of thinking, and should be practiced at an organizational level, not just by those of us with the title. I am passionate about the problems your users have, and the solutions you can provide for them.
Design is more than Pixels
Being a design leader has opened up a new world of design and design thinking for me. The opportunity to not only impact meaningful experiences for people, but to impact an organization and the way it solves problems. Developing a user experience capability in a company is more than helping a team design a product, it is about how an organization understands their customers and leverages that understanding to drive strategic business solutions and product decisions. I believe that User Experience teams are poised to change the way companies do business by giving leaders direct access to what customers wants and needs are.
Let's get to know each other.
“...that rare creative-type that could help us think through the business process side as well. He was quick to understand our business issues, clever in his design and UX solutions, and always a pleasure to be around. ”
