“An Exploration of Knowledge Practices Among User Experience (UX) Professionals”
This was my 2021 Master’s Thesis paper from the Master of Information, University of Toronto. You can access the paper through U of T’s “T-Space” Repository.
Abstract: This qualitative, exploratory research investigated the knowledge practices of User Experience (UX) designers, an emerging, knowledge-intensive profession that has not been well studied. Three areas of exploration included the way UX designers share knowledge, manage knowledge in work contexts, and participate in communities of practice (CoPs). Grounded Theory Method was employed to generate two frameworks of knowledge sources, based on 10 emergent themes from 21 interviews with UX professionals: Knowledge Sources in Work and Knowledge Sources in Career Development. These frameworks illustrate sources of knowledge that UX professionals use in their work and throughout their career. They make use of explicit knowledge, tacit knowledge, and CoP participation to help identify suitable work processes. In addition, experience and the level of UX maturity in organizations influence the knowledge sources they use. UX professionals and organizations will find value in these frameworks for enhancing practice and supporting UX career development.
Thesis Advisor: Professor Colin Furness
Sheridan College Virtual Internship Program: Innovation Accelerator
Sheridan’s Innovation Accelerator is a 10-week summer co-op experience where students from various programs form multidisciplinary teams to solve challenges brought forward by community partners.
As a project manager and program developer, I created 10-week work modules based in human-centred-design and design thinking for over 300 co-op students. This program received national award in 2021 (Colleges and Institutes Canada, Award of Excellence – Bronze, The Program Excellence Award).
Resource Garden: A Human-Centered Library Experience
This project was my 2016 undergraduate thesis from the York University / Sheridan College Joint Program in Design. This project was published in the Communication + Place Journal by the Society of Experiential Design in 2017.
Abstract: Resource Garden is an educational project designed to re-evaluate and transform the search-experience of academic/scholarly resources within post-secondary libraries. It allows students to explore their research topic across a variety of disciplines to gain a greater breadth of background knowledge and a critical perspective. The experience takes place in the space of a library, which involves interacting with tactile and digital media. This space is designed using the metaphor of a garden where digital installations, made to look like plants, represent different academic faculties.
ISBN: 978-1-940297-35-4
Thesis Advisor: Professor Myles Bartlett
Creativity in the Lockdown
This is a data-driven artwork which expresses the rise in arts and crafts during school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.