Quote:
“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don't hesitate to make it beautiful.” - Shaker design philosophy
Favorite Moment(s):
I love getting to know my co-workers better, especially when it’s away from the work setting. A memorable team outing was cooking a five-course meal together at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. We laughed a lot making butternut squash ravioli from scratch.
What have you done to be a better Yahoo?
I attend recruiting events at my alma mater to talk about the user experience and the design opportunities at Yahoo!.
Are you able to think big at Yahoo? How?
As technology gets more complicated, it’s a challenge to keep interfaces simple. I have to think big in order to design delightful experiences for people who use our applications.
What specific Yahoo! project has made the biggest impact on you and why?
I worked on a new application called Pingbox ( http://messenger.yahoo.com/pingbox), which is a chat widget that can be embedded on any webpage that allows visitors to send instant messages. Our team of engineers, product manager, and user experience designers worked so closely and harmoniously together that it was a pleasure to see them everyday. Seeing in practice that a successful product is the result of all three disciplines has had a big impact on how I communicate and foster work relationships.
What surprised you most about your internship at Yahoo and why?
It's surprising how much I grew professionally in one summer because of the degree of trust and freedom my manager gave me to work on a feature that actually went live.
What made you choose Yahoo! as a place to work?
The first reason was definitely the people. I am fortunate to work with fun, talented people who are not only wickedly smart but also down to earth, and just plain nice. Second reason is that Yahoo! views user experience as an integral part of the product design process. As an interaction designer, it’s important to know my contributions are taken seriously.
