Nice to Meet You, I'm Michael!

Before I began working as a UX/UI Designer, I worked in several customer service/hospitality roles for around 3-4 years. I did all that as I pursued a bachelor's degree in art, specializing in design, at CUNY Lehman College with my initial goal to become a graphic designer.

In my service roles, I learned the significance of soft skills like empathy, communication, and active listening as essential components to understanding the needs of my customers to deliver exceptional customer service. While in school, I gained valuable knowledge and practice in various design disciplines, like graphic design, visual design, and motion design. This shaped my creative thinking process, keen eye for detail, and ability to learn and use multiple design tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects.

The experiences and skills I gained from my customer service and art backgrounds became valuable assets as I pivoted into my current UX role. In the beginning, I quickly saw how my customer service skills allowed me to deeply connect with users regarding their goals, needs, and frustrations during user interviews and usability test sessions, while my art degree and general design skills facilitated a fast transfer to Figma as my primary design tool and unyielding pixel-peeping anxiety.

I'm forever grateful that I got to tie my initial career in customer service, my love for art and design, and my passion for helping people into a job I thoroughly enjoy with goals I'm motivated to achieve.