About Design & Code
I have been working as a designer for 13+ years. I received my BFA in graphic design from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where I developed my passion for typography. That passion drove me to what I wanted to pursue professionally: designing for the web. Because the web is 99% text (unverified 😅), typography is the most important foundation of any given website. Picking typefaces and typesetting are my first tasks when starting any web projects.
Many think that design is all about aesthetics, but a wise mentor once told me that design is about solving problems, first and foremost
. My obsession of becoming a true designer drove me to what I am today: designing for the accessible web. While polished typographic styles create good forms, more is needed: functions. And more importantly, the experience of said functions. I mull over the user experience of all my designs, making sure they are usable, useful, and inclusive.
Regardless of what you are designing, it is important to pick the right tool. I see HTML and CSS as a design tool, just like Adobe XD, Sketch, or Figma. If one can read and write HTML and CSS, one can fully understand the limitations of the current web technologies. When equipped with such knowledge, a designer can easily rapid prototype designs that stay true to their intentions. Great designers pay attention to the smallest details, and the right tool enables them to achieve perfection.
Being able to design and code allowed me to architect a handful of style guides and design systems throughout my career. I love creating strong foundations for accessible websites.
