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I’m a designer passionate about designing simple systems to drive efficiencies and public good.
I am a Denver-based experience design consultant specializing in user-centered design strategy and digital product design, and have over fifteen year's experience in design, creative direction, research, and consulting. My passion is scaling design thinking practices within an organization to help build the relationship with their customers and improve ROI from digital platforms. Currently, my specialization is within luxury automotive, B2B, and dealer franchises, though I am drawn to tackling wicked problems across industries.
Outside of my day-to-day work, I enjoy learning about Fintech innovators and how to disrupt the financial services industry through technology and design. As a first-generation college student, my love for UX originated from building solutions to address the opportunity gap for underserved populations. Over the course of my career I have had the opportunity to work across a wide variety of industries, from large enterprises to non-profits, to startups. I create impactful user experiences that strive to build digital retailing capabilities and drive sales, alongside serving and exceeding user needs.
Colorado-based NYC enthusiast
In 2014, I received an MFA in Transdisciplinary Design from Parsons School of Design in NYC. I have a dual bachelor's degree in Graphic Design and Philosophy with an emphasis in Ethics and Public Policy from The University of Northern Colorado. While I am currently based in Colorado, I visit NYC often for inspiration and good food.
I have a passion for education.
I’ve been fortunate to teach in a variety of contexts, from leading a semester-long capstone portfolio Web Design and UX course at the University of Northern Colorado, and working as a graduate teaching assistant at Parsons School of Design. For two-and-a-half years I led one-day bootcamp and Intro to UX courses at General Assembly in Denver, helping adults interested in getting into the UX field through experiential education and mentorship. Currently, I use my background in education to teach my clients how to consistently gather customer feedback to improve their digital experiences and drive revenue.
I believe problem solving starts with paper.
As an artist by background (mostly drawing and painting), I was trained in the fundamentals of art and design - concepts which I use every day in digital product design and planning. Because every new piece has to start with a solid strategy for execution, I’m a big believer in putting pen to paper to sketch out ideas and concept directions. Being trained in service-oriented design at Parsons and throughout my career, I’ve worked in cross-disciplinary teams using design research methods to iteratively reach a viable design solution that will serve the bottom line and benefit customers. Through sketches, paper prototypes, and whiteboard sessions, I problem solve collaboratively with teams to explore what’s possible.
My passion is transforming social and economic challenges into innovative design solutions that positively impact society.
Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to work as a design consultant for amazing organizations such as the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Child Mind Institute, the Museum of American Finance, and the Coalition for Debtor’s Education. The majority of my past work as a practitioner explored how underserved populations think about their career opportunities and plan for their economic success. This interest has led to a variety of projects focused on financial education, including career planning, and creating digital experiences to enable users to “shop” for college options and avenues, as well as how to map and understand your net worth over time. My interest in the financial technology space stems from discovering how technology can help people from a variety of backgrounds build wealth.
When in doubt,
keep it lean!
As a UX practitioner, my focus is designing experiences that leverage technology to enhance social and economic opportunities. Therefore, advocating for continuous lean user feedback is crucial to me, as it ensures any product strategy promotes the design of straightforward digital systems catering to diverse technical needs. Experience has taught me that maintaining lean processes significantly accelerates the delivery of value.
If you love bringing concepts and ideas to life through great design, customer experience, and strategy, contact me at blasi.elizabeth@gmail.com. Learn more about my service offerings here.