Cascade SF Archives - User Defenders® – UX Design & Personal Growth

Mentorship

016: Meaning Comes from Making with Alexa Leigh Herasimchuk

00:00 / 48:13

Alexa Leigh Herasimchuk inspires us to go find our why and to not fear reaching out to people who inspire us. She teaches us that the future of UX should be integrated into our education system. She reminds us that we can’t make people care, but we can build things people care about. She also encourages us to design systems that are helpful (not harmful) to future generations.

Alexa Leigh Herasimchuk is a Product Designer at Yelp where she designs thoughtful ways to connect people to local businesses, and business owners to their communities. She also cares about people…a lot. So much so that she started a really interesting project with her partner called “Practice Happy” where they set out to redefine the understanding of happiness. She created a project called #100DaysOfThinking where she posts inspirational quotes and thoughts each day to help make better sense of the world and to relate with others. She’s a designer because she wants to be a part of crafting something greater than herself and for the world to be better because she was here.

LINKS
@AlexaLeighH
Alexa’s Website
Practice Happy

[RESOURCE] Do something not related to design. Get outside, or listen to interesting podcasts. Find a great mentor.
[RESOURCE] Dear Design Student
[VIDEO] We Are What We Build by Eric Meyer
[BOOK] Just Design
[BOOK] Designing for Social Change

USE YOUR SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the newsletter for superguest announcements and more, occasionally.

SUPER-CRED
Artwork: Cesar Lemus | Editing: Chris Combs | Prep: Win Goodbody | Music: Wyman Gentry

Continue reading 016: Meaning Comes from Making with Alexa Leigh Herasimchuk

Mentorship

005: Surround Yourself with People That Reflect Who You Want to Become with Andi Galpern

00:00 / 36:57

User Defenders "Elle Faye" Andi Galpern

Andi Galpern inspires us to ask where do we want to go, and then encourages us to meet a mentor who can help take us there. She states that community is the key to becoming all we can be and that five minutes with the right person can change our lives.

Andi Galpern is founder of the design and technology organization Cascade SF. Located in the Bay Area, Cascade SF puts on events as a go-to space for designers to learn new skills, connect with industry leaders, mentor and stay relevant to the job market. She also is a fantastic designer and UX strategist who designs for human emotion.

LINKS
Cascade SF
Andi’s Twitter
CooperU

[RESOURCE] Your brain and the community. Pinterest is great for design inspiration. Revisiting 3rd grade and learning grammar, English and how to construct a really clean sentence. Because that’s the core of User Experience. You’re combining visuals and words and people have to be able to comprehend what you’re creating.
[BOOK] Just Enough Research
[BOOK] Mobile First
[BOOK] Lean Analytics

SUPER-CRED
Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

Continue reading 005: Surround Yourself with People That Reflect Who You Want to Become with Andi Galpern