Hi! I’m Rachel.
I’m a UX researcher and designer (and occasional illustrator). Over the past eight years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a variety of companies and clients, including both large and small in-house teams and agencies.
Currently, I spend my time as the UX Research Manager at Safelite where I lead our user research practice.
Outside of work, you’ll find me dabbling in movies, books, or video games. When I’m not behind a screen or a book, you can find me cooking, out on a walk with my husband, or admiring my cat, Iroh.
Favorite movies: Before trilogy, Little Miss Sunshine, 500 Days of Summer
Favorite books: Sorry I'm Late I Didn't Want to Come, Predictably Irrational
Favorite games: Persona, Hollow Knight, Tales of Vesperia, Bioshock Infinite
My journey
Why design? As a child, I was captivated by creating tri-board poster displays in elementary school. As a teenager, that evolved into my wanting to be a “professional scrapbooker,” balancing paper textures, patterns, and images to create a visually satisfying layout. Finally, many years later, that resulted in my decision to become a professional designer. Still today, I’m obsessed with using colors, typography, and layout to communicate.
Work-in-progress Figma file
Why research? After working as a designer for many years, I realized that it just wasn’t enough. As much as I loved creating, I needed to know I was actually making a positive impact on the end user. How did people interact with my designs? What did they think and say? How could I improve? This led me down the path of user research and ignited my passion for quality data and insights.
Miro board of interview notes
Why illustration? This all stemmed from one of my biggest insecurities – drawing. I’ve always been a designer at heart but watched many of my classmates and colleagues incorporate illustration into their design work. Inspired by their raw talent, I wanted to develop this skill. After drawing every single day for almost two straight years, my biggest fear/insecurity eventually turned into a new passion and small business.
Collection of hand-drawn greeting cards