Every now and then, I put my thoughts into words on the internet.
When I release something new, you can hear about it first by subscribing to my newsletter and RSS feed or following me on LinkedIn. I always post here before Medium.
Blog posts
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Life update: Recent happenings and upcoming events!
Here's what I've been up to since my last update a long while ago — and what's coming up in my world.
Debug your design interview journey, stage 4: Offer
Let’s talk through common reasons offers fall through and how to avoid them.
Debug your design interview journey, stage 3: Onsite
This exhausting gauntlet is the most crucial stage of your interview process.
Debug your design interview journey, stage 2: Screening
Now that you have a foot in the door, you’ve got to kick it wide open.
Debug your design interview journey, stage 1: Application
How do you stand out to an employer in the application stage? Let us count the ways!
Introducing: Debug your design interview journey
Debugging is an important part of building products. Do the same thing for your job-seeking efforts.
What I learned after shifting from in-house to consulting
Lessons from my time as the Director of Product Design at a consultancy after 12 years in-house.
Moving from execution to strategy as a designer
Designers often find themselves under pressure to focus on aesthetics rather than impact and outcomes. Let’s explore techniques to shift toward a more strategic role.
Principles for living outside of boxes
I’ve balanced various interests for many years now. Here are some affirmations I tell myself when I feel pressured to have a single focus.
Turning remote work cons into advantages
Remote work can help us design products in a more inclusive and efficient way. Here's how to overcome common challenges distributed design teams encounter and get the most out of this working style!
My year in review: 2022 (Yeeting everything everywhere simultaneously)
While 2021 was a learning year for me, the theme of 2022 was applying what I learned, listening to my instincts, and making big changes.
Finding meaning in design when nothing is fine
Thoughts on navigating hard times, overcoming a career block, and building a guided, more sustainable design career.
Facilitating effective design workshops
Brainstorms are often panned for being disorganized, showy, and inefficient. Learn to facilitate effective group activities and you’ll make a bigger impact in little time.
Trading pixels for people
Last year, I didn't intend to quit doing hands-on product design work. Then I did a table flip of the best kind!
4 lessons from my dozen-year design career
It’s been 12 years since I first became a Junior Web Designer. Here are four things I learned!
Looking for your next job? Find a company that values these 3 things
How do you navigate the endless sea of companies bombarding you with all the perks they offer and reasons you should join their team?
My year in review: 2021 (Donate all the things)
It's been 4 years since I did one of these (oops!)— here's a breakdown of my year, plus a few community organizations that could use support!
If you're risk-averse, you'll never have a diverse leadership team
Every leader has had multiple people sponsor them — taking on huge risk — during their career. Take action now; otherwise you are merely giving DEI lip service.
Should you become a design manager?
Management is a great option if you want to invest in people but isn’t the only path to continued growth.
10 questions about going to grad school, answered
Several prospective grad school students have reached out to me over the years for advice. Here are answers from our digital conversations along with some extra questions I compiled from other prior exchanges about grad school (and, more specifically, NYU’s IDM program).
Game dev Q&A: to be a hobbyist or go full-time, process, and more
Last month, I was connected with a person thinking about getting into game development. They asked me some great questions, and I realized my answers might be useful to share with others!
Setting expectations as a Product Designer
Communication is the difference between a good designer and a great design leader. Let's talk about the different ways you can communicate the value of your work to collaborators and become the champion for a higher-quality product experience.
12 tips for getting into a new career
Advice regarding building an entry-level portfolio, finding work, retaining your personality on the job, and more.
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.
My year in review: 2017 (A.K.A. Delete Year)
As we move into a new year, I thought it might be nice to provide a summary of all the stuff I did in 2017.
UX, games, and gamification
As a UX designer who makes games, I know there are ways games can inspire designers to make better user interfaces.
Reasonable arguments and free speech
Over the past two weeks, I have seen many people argue for bigots’ rights to freedom of speech. Let’s talk about this.
Boosting your time management skills: do you need an assistant?
If you have a million side hustles like me, you probably have a lot to keep track of at any given time. It's natural to wonder how you can free up time. I've got two solutions for you to consider.
Being the change I want to see: the 2017 Game Devs of Color Expo
With the hopes of helping to make the industry more inclusive, we’re back and organizing an even better Game Devs of Color Expo this year.
Learnings from Generate New York 2017
I attended and spoke at the 2017 edition of Generate New York. Here are some things I learned while attending Mina Markham's talk about Design Systems and Jen Simmons' talk about CSS grid.
How to become a public speaker in 1 year – Step 10: Practice often
The only way to gain confidence in your presentation is to practice as much as possible.
Live long and prosper, Code Liberation
It's been almost 4 years since I helped to start Code Liberation. However, it's time for me to move on to other initiatives.
How to become a public speaker in 1 year – Step 9: Make slides
If you are interested in making a slideshow for your talk, you will need to make a presentation that fits what you want to say.
How to become a public speaker in 1 year – Step 8: Prepare content
Once you have accepted the opportunity to speak somewhere, it is time to write your talk.
How to become a public speaker in 1 year – Step 7: Accept opportunities
A wild speaking opportunity has appeared! Now you must determine if it will help you become a speaking master.
How to become a public speaker in 1 year – Step 6: Submit proposals
You've spent time crafting thought-out proposals. It’s time to share them with the world!
How to become a public speaker in 1 year – Step 5: Craft your bio
You've spent time crafting thought-out proposals. Now it's time to create a bio for proper proposal submission!
O hai, Etsy!
My next role is in a completely different industry: online marketplaces. Tomorrow, I will become one of Etsy's newest Product Designers!
How to become a public speaker in 1 year – Step 4: Write proposals
Learn to craft a proposal that best conveys your idea and sounds interesting to organizers and attendees alike.
Saying goodbye to SoundCloud
After an amazing two years, I decided to depart SoundCloud. Learn a bit more about what I did during my 2+ year tenure.
How to become a public speaker in 1 year – Step 3: Generate interesting topics
Finding a subject to speak about is the toughest part of proposing a talk.
How to become a public speaker in 1 year – Step 2: Locate opportunities
Before you can speak somewhere, you have to find a place to speak. Speaking opportunities can be found in a lot of places. This post will help you find them.
How to become a public speaker in 1 year – Step 1: Build confidence
If you're like me, public speaking naturally makes you uncomfortable. Before you can speak confidently on a stage, you must feel comfortable talking in front of groups.
How to become a public speaker in 1 year – Introduction
Go from being afraid of speaking in front of groups to a conference-level keynote speaker using this series of posts.
Code and Creativity Go Hand In Hand
Technology has changed our lives for the better. More people than ever seem to believe in the potential of code. How can we fit creativity and artistry into the world of programming?
Spreading my influence (a recent life update)
Here's a comprehensive overview of the past year in my life. TL;DR: lots of speaking, writing, and stress!
Automatically update all your git files with this Ruby script!
Dealing with too many git repos? Here's a script that lets you update all of them at once.
Ten Lessons Learned from Organizing Diversity-Focused Events
Here are some methods I've learned over the past two years to create well-attended, diverse events.
Hiring Isn’t Enough
The true story of a team that tried and failed to retain diverse employees.
My career goals (and how I keep track of them)
People ask me how I keep track of time. My secret is pretty simple: I write lists.
Life Update: May 2014 Edition
A lot has been has happened in the past few months -- it's kind of hard to believe how much I've managed to do in so little time.
Advice for New UX Designers
I was recently contacted by a young person who's trying to figure out their career path. Here's the advice I gave to this potential UXer.
Using AngularJS, SCSS and Twitter Bootstrap to rapidly prototype user experiences
In this tutorial, I will share the way I rapidly prototype using Angular, SCSS, and the Twitter Bootstrap framework.
Advice from Andy Hull, Programmer for Spelunky XBLA
Last night I attended a wonderful Babycastles talk. Here are some of the knowledge bombs dropped.
What it's like to be a woman of color in the tech industry
The following is my experience and doesn't speak for all women of color (or all Black women) in tech.
On Poverty and Dream Jobs
The rise of unpaid internships and the fall of entry-level jobs is in the news again.
Sparkle life, sparkle strife
As a kid, I was told that bragging was bad. Now people seem to want me to brag. Go figure.
Environmental UX for Introverts - Building a Creative Space for Less Social Designers
In a society that encourages open office layouts and constant interaction, how can we help introverts find ways to be productive?
Write: my experience at the first Write/Speak/Code conference for women developers
Like many women in our culture, I live with Impostor Syndrome. I attended Write/Speak/Code to help fix the problem.
What's wrong with Google's new Hangouts app?
Underneath that initial sheen of Hangouts, problems have started to appear -- there are several inconsistencies across the Hangouts apps.
How's your culture?
Culture affects whether your coworkers are productive or disgruntled. It's what many companies lack.
My Life as a Product Designer + General Updateage
It's been about a year into my second term at NASDAQ, and I've learned how much I really enjoy product design.
New year, new look; plus, a new group - Tech Under Thirty
This year, I'm going to try to focus on becoming a great Product Designer. To help with that goal, I founded Tech Under Thirty.
Is it time for you to switch jobs?
After working at a startup for about nine months, I decided it was time to find a new workplace. Here's why.
Moving Out: Maximize the Space in Your First Apartment
I moved to a new apartment last week! Here are a few items I've bought for my tiny box apartment to help beautify and maximize the space.
How to Balance your Full-Time Job & Freelance Projects
Here are a few tips I've learned to keep you from burning out from taking on too much work.
Your life after college: what will you do?
I graduated and jumped right into the work force. Here are some other things you can do once you graduate.
Site Redesign + Catt Life Update!
The new site design is up and things are working pretty well. I'm QA-ing the site all the time to make sure everything works in multiple browsers and OSes.
It's time to upgrade my website again!
I am graduating next month and am very excited! Expect a style change soon.
MADOKA MAGICA, PAX, AND OTHER CAPSLOCKED ITEMS!
I'm in love with Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
Site Updates & HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I've been getting back into the swing of school and catching up on all my projects.
Black Friday & Cyber Monday - Why are Commercial Holidays Taking Over?
It seems that modern times have cost us our traditional love of holidays. Holidays have become a yearly sale for merchants.
What has Catt been up to? UPDATE!
Hello internet! It's been two months and I've decided to update. Lately I've been doing a lot of stuff.
Is Art School Worth it?
Everyone gets to a point where they wonder whether it's better to get a degree. I've been in art school for 3 years, working the entire time, and I've noticed many things.
OH, you make me wanna listen to music again!
Recently, life has been a tad complicated, and music has helped me stay awake and get through it.
Spam and Other Stuff
Spam has become considerably more annoying. I am still without a new phone. Would anyone like to buy an AC?
Silkscreening & Work Update, New T-Mobile Phone Speculation!
I've been learning how to silkscreen. Last week I made my first set of books in class.
Make the Best Business Card Design
I work with a card scanner to enter data into a gigantic database. I’ve noticed that some cards are much easier to work with than others. Here are some tips to make your business card great.
Alice in Wonderland + Computer Upgrade + Design Books! Catt's Life Update.
I've been gone for a month or so, but I haven't been slacking on anything besides homework.
Looking for Internships
Even in a normal economy, looking for an internship can be really tough.
Global Game Jam, Puppies, and New Subway Art!
Global Game Jam 2010 happened! Additionally, I saw some cool new subway art.
Bathrooms
I went to my school and checked out graffiti near the toilets and decided to take some photos.
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.
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!