My name is Grant. I design products and stories that bring joy to users and users to your business.

 

    As a UX designer and front-end Developer, I have a passion for visual storytelling and new challenges. I recently earned my certificate in Full-Stack web development from the University of Washington, where I developed skills in JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets, and “Mobile-First” web design. I have developed a unique understanding of business objectives and shifting cultures from working both nationally and internationally in diverse industries including Technology, Entertainment, Education, and Construction.

    Strong lateral and big-picture thinking paired with prototyping and visioning skills supports me in communicating with shareholders from both a top-down perspective and a grassroots understanding. A background in graphic design and building interactive, collaborative artworks has given me experience leading teams of three to 15 people to accomplish ambitious projects.

    

"You can't just make stuff!"

    It started with little things. Like being 10 and finding a piece of clay (I grew up in the red dirt of Oklahoma—clay was everywhere). I was shaping it into a ball, determined to make something out of it. When my friend said “no, you can’t just make stuff; you have to know what you’re doing!” I squished the ball around my finger and told him it was now a candleholder. Childish? Probably. As a kid I also knew that broken toys were the best; you could fix them and learn something, or you take the parts and create something new. My two favorite toys were a hammer and glue.

     I’ve never forgotten my childhood sense of curiosity or what I learned way back when. You can make anything; it requires only a little raw material and the willingness to see the world in a new way. And not letting anyone tell you that it can’t be done.


    I have made many things since then, some not quite so little: metal sculptures and wood furniture, poems and paintings, gardens and buildings. A few scars and too many ideas. One of my proudest was creating a degree program at the University of Illinois.

    

The Business of Art

    Going to graduate school in Theatre Design, Technology and Management, I began to see that Theatre was the art (and business) of creating new experiences. Not content with projects only on the stage, I began my own plan of study, Studies in Experiential Environments Design. Using the theatre’s magic of crafting new worlds as a foundation, SEED brought together many different design disciplines: Graphic, Industrial, Furniture, Interactivity, Architecture, Fashion, Robotics, Lighting, Scenic, and Projections.

     Using the focus of Audience first, I have since used my acquired skills to take part in and lead collaborations crafting better experience in everything from Kabuki to Contemporary Dance, and then from Industrial trade shows to art installations.

    

Big Ideas, IRL

    Seeing how important online experiences are in people’s day-to-day lives, I enrolled in a full stack web development bootcamp at the University of Washington and began to train myself in the principles of UX. As I look forward, I see more and more experiences for customers that blend the virtual and the real, using new technologies and platforms that interface with IRL environments and that create more loyal relationships between clients and their customers.

    I love collaborating with small(ish) groups, and the most exciting part of the process for me is when everyone gets to pitch in their first “Big Idea”. Even more satisfying is when everyone’s big ideas start to merge, and narratives develop; when we get to be storytellers. By focusing on the story, research, testing, talking, revision, and iteration, we can find new ways to reach people and keep them coming back for more.