Aloha! I'm Monk.
My Philosophy: "As Much As Is Needed"
Every company is different. Every team. Every product, project, and design. Each is unique, and therefore each process and system should be unique.
I have basic processes and systems in mind that probably look like what you'd find if you searched for "UX Design System" or "UX Research Process," but then I find out what is needed for the context, and I adjust for efficiency and necessity. My goal is to make everything as lean as possible without breaking it.
Gather data that is actionable. Design what is needed. Build what will be used. And nothing more.
As much as is needed.
"Don't use seven words when four will do."
- Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), Ocean's Eleven
About Me
I started my professional career as a photographer and videographer at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, and it was pretty rad, but I was always drawn to digital and online experiences. The moment I could get a full-time job working on websites, I jumped in head-first.
Even before I could do it professionally, I was designing and building websites. My first ones were coded in Notepad and you accessed them using a dial-up modem. To put it another way, I've been designing digital experiences since before "user experience" or "UX" were even terms.
In my time as a web, digital, and UX designer, I've had the opportunity to work on online social music festivals, healthcare sites, racing software, data tools, every aspect of e-commerce, and more. Easily the biggest game-changer along the way was being able to gather user insights. Once you design with data and get to be a champion for the user, how do you even go back to designing for someone's subjective gut?
"I fight for the user."
-Tron (Bruce Boxleitner), Tron