Hi there, nice to e-meet you! 👋
I'm April, a designer and educator passionate about delivering delightful and usable experiences. My practice stems from my curiosity and I'm happiest when I get the opportunity to detangle complexity and solve for large-scale, impactful problems.
Shoutout to Powerpuff Girls – problem solving to me is the Chemical X that happens at the intersection of research, data, and design while taking into consider the user goals (sugar), business requirements (spice) and technical constraints (everything nice) to make intentional and informed design decisions.
I'm currently a Staff Product Designer at Okta, designing identity solutions to support the diverse needs of organizations from B2C to B2B2B and everything in between.
In my previous role at Wealthsimple, I was on the Money Movement team building experiences that make it fast and seamless for clients to move money into, within, and out of our platform. Before that, I was designing online shopping and omnichannel experiences at Loblaw Digital.
Learn a little bit about me below!
THE BACKSTORY
In my pre-designer life, I was a teacher with my days ranging from playing at the sand station to teaching basic algebra.
How'd I get from 👩🏻🏫 to 🎨?
Having studied information and communication technologies in my undergrad at Queen's University, I sought after a transition from theory to its applications and completed my Master of Information in User Experience Design at the University of Toronto.
I first discovered the UX field from a serendipitous interaction during a special needs program I was a teacher at. If you're curious about the full story, reach out 😊
DESIGN COMMUNITY
Community.
I'm one of the Co-founders of iMPACT TO, a Meetup group with 900+ members dedicated to to bridging the divide between professionals in the tech industry and creating a safe space for meaningful conversation, collaboration, mentorship, and growth.
Below you'll find a number of events we've hosted from chats on ethics to diversity and mentorship events. If you would like to learn more or are be interested in hosting or sponsoring iMPACT, please reach out!
Currently on hiatus during the pandemic.
Mentorship.
I love the design field especially because of the people. I've had the opportunity to support and mentor those making a career transition - from finance, insurance, product management, and so on, as well as students and junior designers looking to get into the industry. I truly believe anyone is capable of success with the right attitude and support and I'm passionate about and energized by the opportunity to help them get there.
I am currently a Mentor with Queen's Women in Computing and am always happy to chat. Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn!
Events I've co-organized
Office Hours: Ask a Mentor About User Research @ Shopify
Speed dating style 1:1s and group chats on research with a diverse panel and a spectrum of experiences
Organizer (Feb. 2020)
Ethics in Conversational UI
@ Shopify
Organizer (Jan. 2020)
Partnership with VoiceTechTO to chat all things conversation UI and voice
Breaking Barriers: Diversity in Tech @ Loblaw Digital
Host & Organizer (Aug. 2019)
Discussions on the importance of diversity and inclusion in tech from hiring to the products we build
Exploring the relationship between design and data science including topics of ethics, creation and usage of AI
Design x Data @ Shopify
Organizer (Feb. 2019)
Ethical responsibilities, the effects of decisions we make, and unintended consequences
Organizer, July 2018
UX Ethics @ Klick Health
Fun(?) stuff
🍊🧐
My happy place is in grocery stores, especially in different countries and observing differences in layout, presentation of produce, and availability of products.
Big manga weeb, having read over 8,000 mangas (including one-shots).
Prone to falling into Wikipedia holes and I'm currently (very) invested in the taxonomy of citrus fruits...did you know grapefruits are a hybrid of oranges and pomelos?