Hi! I’m Catt Small.
People are at the center of everything I do. I design user experiences that millions of people use every day. I also make games, write, teach, speak publicly, and work to make the world a better place by organizing events across the tech and games industries.
years
That’s how long I’ve been programming and designing. I grew up on the internet and began to code websites and games at the young age of 10.
I am a product design expert.
Every day, I collaborate with product managers, user researchers, engineers, product marketing managers, and other designers. I create beautifully usable experiences by testing divergent ideas as quickly as possible.
Most recent design work
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Etsy Payments
Etsy created a new payments service in order to make their purchase experience more trustworthy, seamless, and secure. I worked with a nimble team to make the announcement and user experience successful.
I am a game developer.
Since 2011, I have made video games in my spare time. My games have been shown in spaces around the world including IndieCade in Los Angeles, Fantastic Arcade in Austin, and the V&A Museum in London.
Most recent game
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SweetXheart
SweetXheart is a slice-of-life game about microagressions, race, and gender.
Writing makes my thoughts permanent.
When I release something new, you can hear about it first by subscribing to my newsletter and RSS feed or following me on Twitter. I always post here before Medium.
Recent blog posts
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Impress for success: Strategic ways to seem more hireable
Job hunting is stressful, exhausting, and ultimately humiliating. Unfortunately, it's up to you to convince employers that you're worth hiring.
You don’t have to quit social media
But you should know which platforms are right for you. Here’s what I did to find positivity in my usage of social media.
Tools for self-improvement
Over my many years in design and technology, I have created a variety of free and low-cost tutorials, printable worksheets, and more.
Upcoming talks
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Designing and Building an Emotionally Impactful Web Game
SweetXheart is a video game about race, gender, and microaggressions. It’s also a native JavaScript-based web game with a handmade dialogue system. In this talk, Catt discusses how she designed and built this extensive game over the span of five years using a JavaScript framework called Phaser and a dynamic data platform called Google Sheets. Attendees will leave the talk with an expanded idea of the potential of web-based software.
Support my work
I love writing and sharing tips, but it's time-intensive and takes a lot of effort. This kind of labor is not cheap.
Want to talk?
Got feedback, looking to suggest a future writing topic, or want to invite me to speak at your organization? Send me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!