About Erica
The Highlights:
Designer
19 years in design for print collateral, promotional items, signage, and digital graphics
Front-end Web Design
12 years in web design and development
User Experience Consultant
11 years creating usable websites, apps, and documentation
Content Strategist & Editor
15 years optimizing content for marketing and new media channels
The Longer Way ‘Round
Meandering toward Design & UX
I was never much of an artist as a kid. I have limited sketching skills and my fifth-grade sculpture of a clown fish and sea anemone won no awards. My one field of excellence was handwriting and word art, but I had no idea that might be useful.
As an adult, though, I found I could manipulate pixels as a graphic designer. Discovering I could make beautiful, engaging messages set me on a path to doing the things I love.
A few years into that journey, I discovered user-centered design and content strategy. It was a revelation to me. Here was a codification and professionalization of an instinct I’d always had: take the user’s perspective and use design to reach to them rather than designing and just hoping someone like our target audience got it. It was so much easier to hone my instinct with the tools of the User Experience field in hand, and I have taken them into all areas of my work.
Putting My Skills to Work
Now I connect people with all kinds of backgrounds and experiences and expectations with my clients’ messages. I love the excuse to make that all important leap to the user’s perspective and start there, working my way back to my clients with insights that can refine the message to reach them. The balance we strike between clients’ and users’ perspective is a delicate one, but striking it well makes all the difference in accomplishing your organizations’ goals.
To learn more about my current professional pursuits, check out the Services page.
Mustering all my skills, I help small businesses and non-profit organizations grow and reach more customers, clients, and donors. To see my previous work, look at my portfolio.
Beyond Work
I cook, read, and volunteer. I lift weights and do yoga. I knit, crochet, sew, sing, make jewelry, and experiment with jams and pickles. I live in Maryland, and I travel all over.
Want to chat?
I’d be delighted to talk about your project. Schedule a free consultation and let’s see if my skills make sense for your needs.