What started out as a quick way to sign emails has grown into my brand. No need to ask my permission, please call me “G”, my students sometimes call me “Professor G”.
It is no secret that I love purple, but few know the origin story. It was my father's favorite color. My father was my first and biggest supporter. He didn’t understand design but he knew it made me happy. Purple reminds me to believe in myself and others.
I often describe my transition to Product Design as a time when I wore a cape. I was attending graduate school, working full-time, was a mother of a young child and a wife. My cape was my support system of co-workers, family and friends.
I am facinated by the trinities of product making and the correlation between them.
I use the metaphor of a three leg stool to describe the core disciplines of the product team. Sitting upon the stool is the user. If any of the legs aren't present or there's an imbalance the stool sags to one side and the user toples off.
This intersection is where a product team collaborate to create products that are market viable, technically feasible and user desirable.
It is also where design works to create product outcomes that are usable (a user can use the product to do a job), useful (the product does a job that the user needs) and delightful (the user gets joy from using the product).
