A picture of Chela

I’m Chéla (shaye-lah), a UX designer creating experiences for a design agency.

You’re here for passion, experience (over 8 years of it), a keen eye for design, and a clear communicator.

Someone who smiles easily, enjoys the challenge in the moment, and believes in a better future for humans (hint: those are our users! At least, typically they are. I haven’t asked my dog how he feels about online shopping yet).

“I feel that employee satisfaction has gone up since Chéla joined. She is knowledgeable, proactive, outspoken, and I feel confident in letting her run with things on her own.”

— Design Director at Farmer’s Insurance

Design Skills

  • As an experienced woman in tech I can wear many hats; however, above all else I am a competent user experience and interface designer. Some of my competencies are:

    • Figma - I am proficient in Auto Layouts, Componentry, and Libraries.

    • Illustration and Iconography - I am proficient in the tools related to these needs, such as Photoshop and Illustrator.

    • Communication - Design is nothing without a well-spoken, open-minded, and confident communicator such as myself.

  • I have spent the entirety of my career working in Agile (including SAFe).

    • Beginning: User research, competitive analysis, stakeholder interviews

    • Middle: Low fidelity wireframes, sprint ceremonies, A/B testing

    • End: High fidelity mockups, UAT, formal design handoff

  • If my team’s project performs well then it is their victory. If the project lacks in any way then it is my error to correct.

    • Workshops - I have facilitated in-person and remote workshops as the design lead.

    • Tight deadline delivery - I have led a team through aggressive deadlines.

    • From zero to eighty - I believe in the 80/20 rule and have successfully guided vague concepts to concrete solutions.

  • I have successfully delivered many projects in my career:

    • Design Library - I have researched, informed, and built a design library from nothing.

    • Mobile-first - All concepts that I work on are created with mobile pages first.

    • Massive data structures - From search engines to complex calculators for consumers.

    • Homepage (re)designs - I have worked with brand new startups and established companies that needed a fresh overhaul.

The goal: delight your users so they don’t think about the experience.

They feel it.

Leadership Skills

  • Being a manager is a joy. I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to encourage the growth of every incredible person that reports to me.

    • Performance reviews - I have provided career path advice and performance reviews.

    • Promotions - I will always advocate for healthy growth and am proud to have been the voice for my reports who received promotions.

  • Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are a critical part of bringing culture to any company.

    • Black ERG - I helped lead several community nights.

    • Women ERG - I primarily mentor women in my company and help instill a sense of self-empowerment wherever possible.

  • As both a manager and a design lead I often find myself supporting project managers and owners. I am happy to help with:

    • Resourcing estimates - I am comfortable with delegating work and estimating effort for my teammates.

    • Ticketing systems - I am very familiar with Jira and other similar services.

Easily inspired

I am:

  • A hiker, cyclist, and camping enthusiast

  • A dog and cat mom

  • A geek in love with video games and anime

  • An artist